Shaping a Product's Soul

Great products have a point of view, a way of doing things. Consistency is their thing. You learn to do something once; you learn it forever.

They have a clear sense of identity. You could even tell how they would behave in almost any scenario because you know how it reacts and behaves.

These products are persuasive, but not in a shady way. The user accepts its language because it makes all sense.

But how does it born?

Although the structure is there today, the product's inception was probably messy. As its creators added more and more scenarios, order began to emerge. They listened carefuly what seemed to be confusing whispers, but in reality, those were patterns that needed help to emerge.

A conversation takes place. The product learns to answers to things like:

• How do you communicate that something can be closed?

• Tell me how to recognize the things that a user can interact with

• What are the signs for something that went wrong?

• How do you sort things?

• What changes when scroll happens?

It's more than a design system. It's the way the product communicates, behaves, and interacts to serve people. When done well, it makes it easy for anyone to describe its personality, as it would have a soul.