# Field notes on product design

A notebook for looking closer

# Good objects.Better questions.

Ten field notes on the decisions behind everyday products. Each one pairs a specific design question with a sketch and objects from the collection.

01 / Refill systems

## A refill system is designed at the second purchase

The permanent case gets the photograph. Compatibility, replenishment, and the empty-state experience determine whether it stays in use.

02 / Solid & waterless

## Solid products need a drying plan

Replacing a bottle with a bar removes one container—and introduces a storage problem between uses.

03 / Compact objects

## Flat bottles solve a bag-shaped problem

Capacity is only one dimension of portability. The unused spaces around an object can matter just as much.

04 / Concentrates

## Concentrates move a step to the user

When a product ships without its final dilution, mixing instructions become part of its physical design.

05 / Reuse

## Reusable products have a return trip

The first use is half the story. Carrying, cleaning, drying, and remembering create the next use.

06 / Screen-free

## Screen-free controls still need an interface

Removing a display shifts work to objects, labels, sound, and memory. Those choices deserve the same scrutiny as an app.

07 / Transformation

## Transforming products are judged between states

The tote and the backpack are easy to photograph. The transition is where the design earns its place.

08 / Modularity

## Modular products need a compatibility map

A growing collection of parts is useful only if people can tell what connects—and what will still connect later.

09 / Materials

## A material story needs an exit route

An unusual input material and a workable end-of-life route are different claims. A good product page separates them.

10 / Design critique

## Is the new shape doing useful work?

A simple test for product novelty: identify the behavior that changes, then identify the burden that comes with it.

These essays offer design analysis, not product reviews or buying rankings. Each article explains its evidence limits and links to the catalog records and brand references behind it.