I lead product for ecommerce channel at HUL, building applications that drive planning and deployment of content, promotion and brand investment for performance marketing across platforms and categories. Having built these products from the ground up, I’ve gathered a few key principles/lessons that have helped me along the way.

1) Modularity: Modular design has been one of the foundational principles in every product I’ve built and led. As ecommerce continues to evolve—alongside organizational structures, strategies, and priorities—modularity becomes essential. Modular systems are easier to repair, scale, and upgrade. However, they are significantly more complex and costly to design. In my opinion, no system starts out fully modular. It is an outcome of iterative process as the product evolves. For example, While the content for ecommerce websites/apps remained a single point input in our content workflow application (Canvas), the output was tailored to reflect the nuances of each platform (ex Amazon, Nykaa, Blinkit, etc)—be it format, sequence, or naming. This modularity in output meant minimal user friction in input stage.

2) Performance Load - A key consideration in product design is the performance load - mental and physical effort required to complete a task. Effective design should aim to minimize both:

- Mental Load: Reduce the mental effort by limiting excessive information and automating repetitive or low-value tasks. Simple interfaces, contextual guidance, and smart defaults can significantly ease decision-making.

- Physical Load: Minimize the physical effort by streamlining workflows and reducing the number of steps needed to complete an action. Fewer clicks and intuitive navigation can enhance efficiency.

However, performance isn’t the only factor influencing user preference. People often favour designs based on habits, personal biases, or aesthetic appeal—even when alternatives offer better efficiency. In case of dark vs light mode - some users prefer one over the other for aesthetic or comfort reasons, regardless of readability or battery efficiency.

3) Confirmation and Constraints – These two become key points while designing any product to minimize errors. A good design is about anticipating user actions in different scenarios and ensuring it is simple without making the user feel foolish or overwhelmed while using it. Confirmations ask users to confirm whether an action was deliberate - especially when the action is critical or irreversible. They are also used to signal that a task has been successfully completed like a toast message that says "Document successfully uploaded" Remember to not overuse confirmations or else it becomes a victim of inattentional blindness.

Example – “Would you like to cancel the request? Yes / No.”

On the other hand constraints limit actions to simplify use and prevent error. You can use physical constraints like not allowing to pay before you add to cart, logical constraints like disabling options that aren’t applicable based on user context or psychological ones like using red to indicate cancel or reject to guide intuitive behaviour.

4) Satisficing– One of my managers told me "Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good." and this has been a key lesson for me.

Most product tasks and feature builds operate under tight timelines and high complexity. In such scenarios, I’ve often leaned toward satisficing—building solutions that are good enough to meet the need—rather than chasing optimal or perfect outcomes.

Perfect solutions often come at a high cost, especially in dynamic environments. By the time a “perfect” solution is built, the context may have shifted, making it less relevant or requiring rework. Instead, solving the problem with a satisficing approach allows for faster delivery, quicker feedback, and adaptability.

Once the initial solution is in place, it can be iteratively optimized—refined over time to improve performance and align with evolving requirements. This approach not only respects time constraints but also embraces agility.

5) Cost Benefit – Though excessively jargonized, cost-benefit remains a fundamental principle in product design—and a critical checkpoint in every feature discussion. If the cost of a design (including physical, emotional, and cognitive effort) outweighs its benefit, the design needs to be relooked.

Every feature added should be evaluated not just for its utility, but for its impact on complexity on the already existing version. It’s a misconception that more features increase the product value. They may introduce friction, dilute focus, and create design creep.

The goal is not to build more, but to build meaningfully.

• Prioritize features that directly address user needs. Design should serve the user and not overwhelm them.

• Justify the cost of development with clear, measurable benefits.

• Resist the temptation to chase more at the expense of clarity.

Designing a good product requires empathy to understand the user's needs, foresight to anticipate how it will be used (or not used), and resilience to persist through numerous bugs and setbacks. What are your guiding principles or lessons learnt?

All illustrations are made on Procreate.