Balancing Users and Business in Product Design

As designers, it's second nature for us to care deeply about our end users. We advocate for them, empathise with their pain points, and aim to create experiences that genuinely serve their needs. But with time, I’ve realised that it’s just as important to stay equally curious and vigilant about the business side of things too.

The more attention I give to both users and business, the more clarity I find in my work, the more confidence I have in my decisions, and the more aligned I feel with clients and teams. It’s like everything starts pulling in the same direction, and that unity makes a huge difference in both the process and the outcomes.

Here are a few things I focus on to stay close to the business side as a designer:

Understand the vision

Where are we going? What’s the bigger picture — not just for this feature or product, but for the company? Understanding the broader vision helps me design with intention, and align the user experience with long-term goals. It’s so much easier to make decisions when you know the “why” behind what you're doing.

Know the problem — from both sides

We’re trained to look at problems from the user perspective, but we also need to ask: What problem is the business trying to solve here? Often, those two perspectives overlap, but sometimes they don’t — and that’s when our ability to bridge the gap becomes most valuable.

Ask what success looks like

This might be my favourite question to ask in any project: “What does good look like here?” Success can mean so many different things — increased engagement, more conversions, internal efficiency, reduced costs. Understanding the metrics and outcomes the business cares about helps guide my design choices and track their impact.

Be aware of trade-offs

Every decision has a trade-off. Design doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it lives in constraints. Budget, timelines, technical limitations, stakeholder priorities — they all play a role. And that’s totally okay. Recognising those constraints early on helps me design better within them, instead of fighting against them.

Collaborate like a partner

I try to approach collaboration with PMs, devs, and stakeholders not just as a designer handing over features, but as a partner. That means understanding goals, priorities, and challenges from all sides. It also builds trust, which makes the whole process smoother and more creative.

Think beyond shipping screens

Design doesn’t end in Figma. It lives in the real world — in real products, with real people. It’s not just about what we design, but what gets built, launched, and used. I try to stay open-minded, curious, and willing to think outside the box. That’s where the most meaningful ideas often come from.

Designing for users will always be at the heart of what we do — and it should be. But staying connected to the business side is what makes our work sustainable, impactful, and valued.

Final Thoughts

Design is never just pixels on a screen. It's decisions, trade-offs, communication, collaboration, and strategy — all rolled into one. The more we embrace both the user and business perspectives, the more valuable our work becomes.

For me, staying close to the business side has meant being more intentional, more aligned with my team, and ultimately more impactful as a designer. It’s helped me make smarter decisions, communicate ideas more clearly, and create designs that don’t just look good — they work for the people using them and for the businesses building them.

If you’re on this journey too, keep asking those deeper questions. Stay curious, stay open, and trust that understanding the business isn’t a distraction from design — it’s an essential part of it