What is Product Gym?

Product design is a muscle. You need to hit the product gym regularly to grow it.

What the heck is a Product Gym?

It's where you go into hardcore training to build functional elegance in your design aesthetic.

In other words, it's where you make design abs.

There are various exercises to undertake.

Minimalism dumb bells.

Typography treadmill.

Color palette cardio.

Skeuomorphic stability ball.

Elegance elliptical.

Now, everyone goes to their own preferred gym with a particular routine.

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Here was mine starting out:

1. 3 times a week, go to beta list.

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2. Browse through the marketplace & find an app that I find interesting.

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3. Go to the app's website. Sign up. Understand the value and analyze the design.

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4. Study & critique their:

- typography choice

- navigation structure

- call to actions

- notifications layout

- form controls

- design patterns/flows

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5. Pick 1 page and attempt to wireframe an alternative.

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Notes:

1. Having a product gym buddy helps. Do this activity in pairs & exchange notes.

2. Don't do it everyday to avoid burnout. Your creative brain needs to recover.

3. Consistency is key.

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