Marketing psychology speaker Johnson, who is the host of the branding and human nature blogs, explained to Bored Panda that understanding customers' real needs without relying on mere guesswork is an age-old problem with no silver bullets. At the end of the day, product designers need to embrace a holistic approach to move past assumptions.

"Firstly, direct engagement with users is crucial. Conducting surveys, interviews, and usability tests can reveal insights into customers' preferences, pain points, and behaviors. This approach allows designers to empathize with users, gaining a deeper understanding of their needs and desires," Johnson told Bored Panda via email.

"Secondly, analyzing data from various sources can provide valuable insights. This includes user feedback, analytics, and market research. By combining qualitative and quantitative data, designers can identify patterns and trends, informing their design decisions."

He continued: "Lastly, collaboration with cross-functional teams, including marketers, engineers, and customer service representatives, can provide diverse perspectives and ensure that designs meet both customer needs and business goals." According to Johnson, these strategies will allow designers to come up with solutions that will resonate with their customers on a deeper level.

"While there's no guarantee that a product will be successful once it reaches the market, these steps can ensure that the product has the best possible chance of success," he said.

Johnson explained to Bored Panda that anticipating the future needs of customers requires a blend of foresight, creativity, and a deep understanding of human behavior. "Designers and companies can start by closely monitoring trends in technology, society, and culture. By staying abreast of emerging technologies and societal shifts, they can predict how these changes might impact customer needs," he said.

"Additionally, fostering a culture of innovation within the organization is crucial. Encouraging employees to think creatively and explore new ideas can lead to innovative solutions that anticipate future needs. This can be facilitated through brainstorming sessions, hackathons, or by dedicating resources to research and development," Johnson had some practical advice for company leaders to keep in mind.

On top of that, the marketing psychology speaker suggested opting for a customer-centric focus to keep designs relevant and impactful. "Collaborating with customers and gathering feedback in a continuous loop can provide valuable insights into evolving needs and preferences."

Johnson noted that anticipating future needs comes down to having a proactive and adaptive mindset. "By combining strategic foresight with a willingness to experiment and iterate, designers and companies can stay ahead of the curve and deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of their customers."

This sort of approach is market-driven, where companies try to understand and anticipate the needs of their target market. However, this isn't the only methodology, Johnson said. Another approach is being a market-driving force.

"Here, the company doesn't listen to what the customer wants, but rather, it TELLS them what they should want. Brands who take this approach are often found in the luxury market (especially luxury fashion), and in highly innovative companies such as Apple (especially with the iPhone)."

For some more deep-dives into the world of marketing, feel free to read Johnson's posts about the pitfalls of audience capture and the psychology of market-driven music on his blog. "While so many industries are focused on serving the needs of their target market, there's also a significant risk of audience capture, whereby the preferences of the market shape the creators themselves—often profoundly," he told us.

Ideally, quality design should be centered on finding the balance between two things: function and form. To put it very simply, as a designer, you want to create an end product that does what it’s supposed to do and also has great aesthetics. In short, if something works flawlessly and looks great, then you’ve done your job extremely well.

Meanwhile, if you do a better design job than your competitors, then you’ve stood out from the crowd. Cue the endless accolades, profits, and applause! However, focusing on function or form alone can backfire. If you’re honing in on either aspect of design at the expense of the other, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. What you want to aim for is creating a holistic experience for your clients.

If you focus on function alone, then you risk your design getting lost in the crowd. Even if something performs quite well, your potential customers might not want to buy it if it looks ugly or if your competitors created products that are easier on the eyes.

On the other hand, if you go all-in on cool aesthetics, you also risk pushing your customers away and damaging your reputation.

To put it bluntly, things need to do what they’re supposed to do. Yes, beauty has merit. But that’s why we create and buy art. Products lacking functionality should not masquerade as something more. It’s all fine and well that designers understand the importance of beauty.

However, they should avoid putting their artistic vision on a pedestal.

If some aesthetic aspects of the design get in the way of its functionality, it might be time to go back to the drawing board. Similarly, you need to rethink things, as well, if your super-functional product looks worse than what your competitors have put out. Products that aren’t ergonomic or easy to understand and put the customers’ convenience in last place should be reworked.

It’s far easier to market products and design solutions when they solve problems and look great.

When it comes to innovation, however, things get tough. It is difficult enough to genuinely get to grips with what your target customers want and need right now. It’s even harder to anticipate how those wants and needs might change in the near future. It takes a lot of creativity, hard work, and empathy for product designers to accurately guess what the future might hold.

Anticipating future needs so you know how to adapt your designs comes down to doing a lot of research and then extrapolating from that. First of all, you want to see what your biggest competitors in the market are getting right.

A vital part of business and design is being aware of what your contemporaries are doing, as well as what market trends are in vogue.

Second, you want to directly engage with your customer base. There’s nothing like directly asking someone how you can improve their experience. However, you can’t take everything you hear at face value.

Sometimes, people aren’t even aware of how their lives can be improved. So you need to find ways of figuring out their deeper needs (e.g. saving time, being safer, having more convenience) and how you can meet them.