Specialization in Digital Product Design: From Research to Growth

I like to draw inspiration from unusual places and weave these influences into my creative DNA. In this lesson, I will teach you about my sources of inspiration from the worlds of art, design, film, philosophy, and technology.

Influences | Rus Yusupov

Influences | Media.Monks

In this lesson, we will present the influences that have directed our work, showcasing those who have inspired us as designers.

Influences | Irene Prieto y María Granadino

We will share with you some of our influences, from a very personal point of view, in addition, we will explain how they have marked our trajectory. We'll show you some of our favorite books and tell you why we think they're relevant to this course.

Influences | Charly Rubio

In this lesson, I will tell you about the books that inspired me and influenced my way of thinking and working in digital marketing.

Module 2

Rethink the way you approach design with Estudio Racimo, exploring how observing and analyzing human behavior can transform your creative process. Learn how to turn deep user insights into innovative and meaningful products or services.

15 lessons (2h 56m)

What is ethnography?

In this lesson we will show you what ethnography is and its relation to the process of designing a service or product.

13m

Qualitative v / s quantitative research

In this lesson, we will teach you the difference between qualitative and quantitative research methodology, and we will give you advice so you know when to choose one or the other, depending on the objective of the study.

How to segment?

In this lesson, we will tell you how to segment the target audience of a service or product, to achieve a successful ethnographic investigation.

Observation and record types

In this lesson, we will understand the ethnographic search tools necessary to go on the field, and thus obtain relevant information for a given investigation.

In this lesson, we will teach you about one of the search tools; the interview, and we will share with you the main considerations that you should know when doing it.

The in-depth interview

In this lesson, we will analyze the particular dynamics that are generated when three or more people come together to talk about a particular topic, and how their thoughts, desires and habits come to light.

Minigroups or Triads

In this lesson, you will see how useful it is to obtain testimonials from people who are physically in those spaces related to the research carried out.

Safari (part 1)

In this lesson, you will see how useful it is to obtain testimonials from people who are physically in those spaces related to the research carried out.

Safari (part 2)

Analysis of the information collected

In this lesson, we will share with you the main considerations you should have to perform the analysis of your research.

Synthesis tool: Person scenarios and attribute map

In this lesson, we will teach you what the synthesis tool Scenarios Person is, and what you will see, has a fundamental role in the design of a product or service.

Objective, initial set-up and context

In this lesson, we will begin to work on the project that we will develop in this course; customer characteristics, product and needs.

Search tools

In this lesson, we will show you how to use the search tools in the final project of the course.

Person Findings and Scenarios (part 1)

In this lesson, we will define the Person Scenarios synthesis tool, based on the analysis we carry out of the information collected.

Person Findings and Scenarios (part 2)

In this lesson, we will define the Person Scenarios synthesis tool, based on the analysis we carry out of the information collected.

13m

Designing from the Person Scenarios

In this lesson, we will show you the conceptual prototypes that we will design from the chosen Person Scenarios.

Figuring out what your app will and won't do is the hardest part of the creative process. In this lesson, you'll learn how to generate new ideas quickly.

Module 3

Step into the world of app design with Rus Yusupov, cofounder of Vine and creator of HQ Trivia. Guided by his experience, you’ll discover how to merge innovation, user insight, and design principles to develop apps that captivate, inspire, and expand human potential.

15 lessons (1h 54m)

Concept Development

Network Effects and Audience

This lesson is about what makes an app go viral! I will discuss how apps, like Vine, get better the more that people use them. This is known as the network effect.

Killer Product Features

In this lesson, I will pose (and answer) the question: How can you think like an inventor? You will learn the secret to unlocking your app's killer feature.

Monetizing Your App

Deciding how your app will make money is a great way to plan ahead before you start designing. In this lesson, you'll learn how to approach monetization and develop the business model for your app.

Design Principles

To begin with, I will lay out a collection of design principles that are fundamental to my practice of product design.

As designers, we have a responsibility to understand and consider how the products we design steer users' psychology. Let's explore this further in this lesson!

Psychology

Copywriting

Copywriting is more than just words. It helps users understand how your app works by communicating meaning. In this lesson, I will share a few simple techniques for crafting great copy for your app.

Prototyping and Constant Iteration

In this lesson, you will learn about the value of prototyping and how being in "perpetual beta" can improve your product over time.

Choosing a Platform

iOS or Android? Website or SMS service? In this lesson, you will learn how choosing what platform your app will be built on impacts the audiences you'll reach.

Developing a Product Architecture

Most great digital products and apps can be illustrated in a few key screens. I will teach you how to distil your concept into a simple product architecture.

19m

Designing in Figma 1

Finally, the fun part! Designing your app prototype can be done in Figma or any other design tool. I will share my approach to mock up the prototype quickly in Figma.

13m

Designing in Figma 2

In the second part of this lesson, I will continue to map out the design of my project. How will the artist and guesser experience the app once they're playing the game?

Logos, App Icons, Branding, and Naming

The name and icon make up the face of your app. In this lesson, I will explain what makes for a good logo and app icon and why designers shouldn't focus too much on these things when developing a prototype.

Pitching your app is an important skill at every stage of the design process. I will show you how to craft your message so it resonates with different audiences and compels them to act.

Pitching Your Design

Working with Engineers

Engineers make apps real. Some of the best innovations of our time have arisen from collaborations between designers and engineers. Here you'll learn the best practices for collaborating with engineers.

Module 4

With Media.Monks Design as your guide, discover how holistic thinking can transform the way you approach digital products. From research and strategy to design systems and leadership, you’ll learn to consider every layer of a project and create experiences that go far beyond the screen.

17 lessons (3h 7m)

Introducing the Holistic Design Concept

What is the holistic approach? This is when the design process of digital products and platforms considers the cultural context and the environmental impact when implementing solutions. In this lesson, we will share our core tips and tricks for creating a successful product design proposal that features a holistic mindset.

Strategic Thinking

Next, we will introduce the strategic thinking mindset. This will help you to set up solid foundations for the planning of your design proposal.

In this lesson, we will dive into a particular framework within the strategic plan, tapping into what systemic design is all about.

Systemic Design 1

We will now walk you through some real-world examples to illustrate the systemic design process, like Airbnb, Ikea, and more.

Systemic Design 2

Strategic Research and Tools 1

To conclude this unit, let's take look at some of the key research tools you will need for the discovery phase. As part of this process, you will learn how to apply strategic thinking to your project.

20m

Strategic Research and Tools 2

Now, it's time to talk about audiences and mindsets! In the second part of this lesson, you will find out how research tools truly become user-centered.

Introduction to the Design Concept

In this lesson, we will discuss what concept design is. What do you need to keep in consideration to design a concept that goes beyond pure functionality, applying a holistic design approach? We will wrap up by documenting the foundations that will help you move into the architecture of the solution.

The Architecture of the Solution

In this lesson, you will learn what the architecture of a design solution is and how you can build a solid one for the project. Let's dive in!

Visual Research, the Mood Board, and Style Tests

We will now discuss how to know what you're designing is right by first conducting visual research. This will help you to create a solution that is beautiful and purpose-driven. We will guide you through the collaboration with your client to sense-check their preferences before designing.

In this lesson, you will learn about style experimentation—where should you begin when defining your visual language? In this phase, we usually conduct rapid style tests and other exercises which will ultimately help to define the tone of the product. We will teach you the different methods that we use to get our clients on board with our vision, before moving further into the visual design process.

Style Experimentation

It's time to move the design from the concept to the experience. In this lesson, we will discuss why it's important to define the general experience at this point in the process, before going through some artifacts and deliverables that will allow you to document and share your vision for the UX of your project.

Designing the Experience

Establishing the Visual Design

In the lesson, we will use our wireframes and style explorations to create the final visual style for the product. Before moving into production, you will learn to showcase motion thinking and lock the design direction.

16m

Creating a Style Guide

Let's look at the style guide! You will learn what it is and how to create one for your project. We will then dive into typography, the color palette, and spacing. To finish, we will cover some of the basic principles of accessibility for user interface design.

Designing for Scalability

The next theme under review will be atomic design methodology and how this ties into a scalable design system. This will be followed by a deep dive into the Media.Monks website and how to create a homepage template.

In this lesson, we will look into how to create your custom workflow to divide your work into clear steps. We will also explore some of the time management tools that can be helpful in this process.

Designing Your Workflow

Non-technical Skills

It's time to look beyond the design. We will talk about mindsets, tools, how to reflect on your process, and the importance of soft skills.

User Testing on Prototypes

In this lesson, we will dive into the basic concepts of user testing in order to complete the next phase, which focuses on obtaining validation to optimize your design prototype.

You will know what a digital product is, you will see some examples of products, in addition, we will talk about the life cycle of a product.

Module 5

Curious about what a product manager really does? Join María Granadino and Irene Prieto to explore lean product management, from identifying pain points to developing an MVP. Along the way, you’ll discover how strategic thinking can turn ideas into user-centered digital solutions.

12 lessons (2h 18m)

Digital Products

Overall product development process

You will see the global process of product development and we will clarify the union of agile with Lean and Design Thinking.

The role of the Product Manager

We will talk about the role of the Product Manager. We will tell you what a product team is like and what a stakeholder is. Then we will talk about the different types of Product Manager and their functions.

Mission, vision and strategy

You will see the mission, vision and strategy. The basis for the creation of digital products, since they will help you understand at all times why you do what you do and if you are on the right track. You will know the characteristics to create a good vision, what is the product strategy and how it is related to the vision, you will also see the strategies of the best-known companies. In addition, for the practical part you will learn a template that will make it easier for you to create your vision, and the Product Canvas tool for you to create your own strategy.

You need to know the problems well before creating solutions, and for that we will teach you how to use Product Discovery or Research. You will see different quantitative and qualitative Discovery techniques to collect all possible information and to be able to know first of all the market, business and trends as the benchmark of the competition, and workshops with stakeholders. We will talk about the trend matrix. In addition, to get to know the users, you will learn different Research techniques in which you will work together with the UX team. Finally, we will explain how to organize and map all the information in a War Room to later analyze the information with the Customer Journey Map and Opportunity Decision Tree, so you can get the relevant insights and market opportunity that you will focus on with your product.

Discovery

17m

Objectives, roadmap and prioritization 1

You will know what the well-known OKRs are in digital companies such as Google or Spotify. I will explain how to know and create your own roadmap to organize the objectives and work for the next six months.

Objectives, roadmap and prioritization 2

During this second part of the lesson, we will talk about prioritization and show you how to do it with two techniques. This will help you ground and make the product strategy tangible to give way to day-to-day work with your Product Team.

Experimentation and validation

In this lesson, you will see the importance of experimentation and why Discovery is not enough when making execution decisions. Then you will learn about different experimentation methods, what is an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and how to run an experiment.

We will give you an overview of the most used terms when working in agile. We will also tell you about the most famous agile frameworks in the creation of digital products: Scrum and Kanban. In addition, we will show you how we like to work. To finish, we will talk to you and delve into the creation of user stories and you will see an example of a backlog.

Agile methodologies

You will understand the importance of measuring for a Product Manager. You will know the data-driven and data-informed approaches, in addition, we will give you a review of different types of metrics. You will see how to use the framework that is used in Google, to start measuring from scratch. Finally, we will explain how we launch a digital product and You will see how to make a checklist of tasks to perform when you launch your product.

Throwing and Measuring

Skills needed to be a Product Manager

We will tell you what are the main skills that are sought in Product Manager profiles. From hard skills to soft skills, we will also tell you everything you need to reinforce to become a Product Manager. To conclude, we will share some tips so that you can put them into practice and improve them.

Communication and stakeholder management

As Product Managers we are constantly talking to other teams and people with very different profiles, in addition, we continuously make presentations and facilitate workshops. One of the most important parts of your day to day life will be stakeholder management. Therefore, it is essential to have good communication and expectations management skills. The best way to align teams for a product is by doing a Kick-Off session. This session has many steps to take into account, so you will see them in this lesson and you will be able to practice it in your Miro template.