Hi there, This is the thirtieth edition of D&T Special, a more in-depth view of topics that interest the Canvs team. Today's topic - Embracing intuition as a product design. We hope you enjoy.
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✍️ From the Canvs Research & Editorial Desk
Design isn’t just about following rules or crunching numbers; it’s about understanding people and their needs. Intuition plays a crucial role in this process. It’s not merely a gut feeling; it’s a skill that sharpens with experience and can elevate your work from good to great.
This week the Canvs R&E team has spent some time pondering this concept, let’s dive into some details.
Embracing Intuition As a Designer
As you gain experience, your intuition becomes more reliable, acting as a partner to logic. Trusting your intuition allows you to make quicker and more informed decisions, especially in fast-paced environments where creativity needs to flow.
In this piece, we talk about why intuition is one of the most important arrow in a designer’s quiver.
### Key takeaways from this read:
#### 1. Data and intuition: The perfect partnership for exceptional design
In design, it’s easy to think of data and intuition as opposing forces. On one side, you have hard numbers and metrics. On the other, you have gut instincts and creative impulses. But the truth is, the best design decisions are often made when these two elements work together.
#### 2. The unspoken user needs: How intuition identifies what data misses
Think of it this way: data shows you the “what,” while intuition helps you understand the “why.” While data provides insight into user behavior — what buttons they click, where they drop off, how long they stay on a page — it doesn’t explain the motivations behind those actions. Why did a user hesitate before completing a purchase? Why did they abandon their cart? These are questions data alone can’t fully answer.
#### 3. Turning intuition into a reliable design tool
Intuition grows from pattern recognition — the knack for spotting trends and behaviors in user interactions. The more projects you tackle, the better you get at noticing those subtle cues that indicate what users want. And it’s not just about completing projects. Testing your ideas and reflecting on what worked (or didn’t) sharpens your instincts.
📚 What we were reading this week
Apple No Longer in Talks to Join OpenAI Investment Round
Company behind ChatGPT is aiming to raise around $6.5 billion in funding set to close next week.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Saving NASA’s Floundering Artemis Program
To get somewhere, Artemis must avoid going nowhere.
DirecTV Agrees to Buy Satellite Rival Dish (and Its Debt) for One Dollar
DirecTV announced Monday it’s buying rival Dish Network, ending multiple decades of on-and-off talks about the satellite services merging.
Encrypted Apps Can Protect Your Privacy — Unless You Use Them Like Eric Adams
An Eric Adams staffer excused herself from an FBI interview to go to the bathroom, allegedly to delete encrypted messaging apps.
Ancient traditions meet modern technology.
Hurricane Helene Will Send Shockwaves Through the Semiconductor Industry
Downpours at Spruce Pine, North Carolina, have taken the biggest known deposit of high-purity quartz offline, leaving the global tech supply chain potentially starved of an ingredient vital for making microchips.
Some highlights from the past month of D&T
Stakes Rising In The US-China AI Race
We Might All Be Better Off Without Social Media
Prisoners to be asked to rate experience in police cells
And that's the lot! Thanks for checking out what we had to share with you this week, we shall catch up with you next Wednesday. Incase you aren't subscribed to the newsletter, you could subscribe here.
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