Understanding Users: Simple vs. Complex
I'll start with a simple question: "What do you want to show the user?" Now compare it to this one: "What does the user want to see?"
The first question imposes our will onto the user — it reflects what we care about. The second centers the user's desires — what they care about.
The challenge is moving from the first to the second.
But how do we get there? We begin by anchoring ourselves in the users goal as it relates to the product we are building. That alone unlocks a deeper layer of inquiry:
- What is the purpose of the product?
- What is the goal of the user?
- Why should the user care?
When question 1 = question 2, we have found alignment. And that alignment is the root of intuitive design and meaningful product behavior.
A Physical Thought Experiment: The Bowl
To understand this better, lets leave the digital world for a second and talk about something simple, a physical product: a bowl.
In most use cases our first instinct as designers is to ask: How do we make it look good? What would make it sell?. And sure, aesthetics and marketability are important — but they're not where design begins. Design begins with a question.
If we apply this question — What does the user want to see? — to a bowl, things get interesting. We open up a whole spectrum of use cases and contexts, most of which are invisible to the designer at first glance.
What’s the user’s goal?
- Is it for holding cereal?
- Serving soup?
- Mixing ingredients?
- Displaying fruit?
Look deeper into these questions and you'd notice that these are sub-goals, you can actually use something else to display fruits and serve soup, etc.
And beyond purpose, what about material? - Wood vs. plastic vs. glass vs. aluminium? Each material offers a different feel, weight, temperature, and even sound.
By simply asking what the user wants to do, we unlock meaningful distinctions: Why a chef might prefer a metal bowl, while a minimalist prefers matte ceramic. Why a child might need a bowl that won’t break. Why someone eating alone might care more about warmth than presentation.
All of this — without ever touching color, UI, or branding.
From Purpose to Product
When we understand the user’s goal, we start designing from the inside out.
That gives us clarity on:
- What to build
- How to build it
- Why it should exist
- Why anyone should care
Suddenly, we’re not just adding polish — we’re making decisions with weight.
So at its core, design isn’t just aesthetics. Good design is the result of countless micro-decisions, driven by a bi-directional relationship between the product and the person using it. Design isn’t just how it looks. It’s how well it listens.