--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The products we design are going to be…" description: "\"The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by people individually or ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/henry-dreyfuss-53394_activate_the-products-we-design-are-going-to-be-r_196923.jpg" --- # The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat… ![“The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by people individually or en masse. If the point of contact between the product and the people becomes a point of friction, then the industrial designer has failed. If, on…” quote by Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/henry-dreyfuss-53394_activate_the-products-we-design-are-going-to-be-r_196923.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/henry-dreyfuss-53394_activate_the-products-we-design-are-going-to-be-r_196923.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/henry-dreyfuss-53394_activate_the-products-we-design-are-going-to-be-r_196923.jpg) > “The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by people individually or en masse. If the point of contact between the product and the people becomes a point of friction, then the industrial designer has failed. If, on the other hand, people are made safer, more comfortable, more eager to purchase, more efficient-or just plain happier-the industrial designer has succeeded.” [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Industrial design succeeds when it removes friction, enhancing safety, comfort, and joy for users. **In simple terms:** Design works when it feels effortless and pleasant. Key Takeaway Design for ease and delight. Themes design user experience comfort Mood practical inspirational Type functional optimistic When to use this quote - product development - user testing - mass market rollout Key Concepts ergonomics human-centered design efficiency Questions to Reflect On - What frictions exist in your product? - How can you measure user happiness? A Different Perspective Ignoring user friction can cause failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Eagerness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eagerness/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Friction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friction/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [If the point of contact between the product and people becomes a point of friction, then the designer has failed. If, on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/if-the-point-of-contact-between-the-product-and-people-becomes-a/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [I do believe that most startups who develop applications and digital products design 'towards the middle.' By this, I mean they design their products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-bryant/i-do-believe-that-most-startups-who-develop-applications-and-digital/) [Kimberly Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-bryant/) > [Ultimately, we are deluding ourselves if we think that the products that we design are the ‘things’ that we sell, rather than the individual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-buxton/ultimately-we-are-deluding-ourselves-if-we-think-that-the-products/) [Bill Buxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-buxton/) > [Some people said, 'Oh you're going to become a fine artist now and do exhibits and stuff.' 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It was going to be architecture, but I would've had to quit acting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/i-ve-always-known-i-wanted-to-be-in-design-somehow-it-was-going-to-be/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [I think there's always something about design that is going to be very difficult for more than a small fraction of people to really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khoi-vinh/i-think-there-s-always-something-about-design-that-is-going-to-be/) [Khoi Vinh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khoi-vinh/) > [I never claimed to be a computer engineer, but I did train as an industrial designer, and I am a consumer marketer, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sculley/i-never-claimed-to-be-a-computer-engineer-but-i-did-train-as-an/) [John Sculley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sculley/) > [I don't call myself an 'industrial designer,' because I'm other things. Industrial designers want to make novel things. Novelty is a concept of commerce,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/i-don-t-call-myself-an-industrial-designer-because-i-m-other-things/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) > [I ended up going to do a matches program at the state for industrial design. And from there, I got hired at IDEO to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvind-gupta/i-ended-up-going-to-do-a-matches-program-at-the-state-for-industrial/) [Arvind Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvind-gupta/) > [The words graphic designer, architect, or industrial designer stick in my throat, giving me a sense of limitation, of specialisation within the specialty, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-lustig/the-words-graphic-designer-architect-or-industrial-designer-stick-in/) Alvin Lustig > [As an industrial designer, you design the thing by yourself, and then it goes away from you, whereas fashion is in constant relation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raf-simons/as-an-industrial-designer-you-design-the-thing-by-yourself-and-then/) [Raf Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raf-simons/) > [“…no industrial designer worth his salt, or our attention, has been trained to work exclusively on any particular product, unless by accident. What he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/no-industrial-designer-worth-his-salt-or-our-attention-has-been/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I do very little industrial design. I'm asked a lot, but I certainly don't see myself as an industrial designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chipperfield/i-do-very-little-industrial-design-i-m-asked-a-lot-but-i-certainly/) [David Chipperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chipperfield/) > [Over the past 20 years, I have noticed that the most flexible, dynamic, inquisitive minds among my students have been industrial design majors. Industrial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/over-the-past-20-years-i-have-noticed-that-the-most-flexible-dynamic/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) ## More by Henry Dreyfuss > [Design is a process - an intimate collaboration between engineers, designers, and clients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/design-is-a-process-an-intimate-collaboration-between-engineers/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [To look ahead one must learn to look back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/to-look-ahead-one-must-learn-to-look-back/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [If the point of contact between the product and people becomes a point of friction, then the designer has failed. If, on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/if-the-point-of-contact-between-the-product-and-people-becomes-a/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [The cost of a model is more than compensated for by future savings. It not only presents an accurate picture of the product for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/the-cost-of-a-model-is-more-than-compensated-for-by-future-savings-it/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [On the other hand, if people are made safer, more efficient, more comfortable – or just plain happier – by contact with the product,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/on-the-other-hand-if-people-are-made-safer-more-efficient-more/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) [Explore all 6 Henry Dreyfuss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) ## More Activate quotes > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [With liquid zeolite, we have returned to the basic healing approach for all chronic diseases, which is to free up and activate the vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-cousens/with-liquid-zeolite-we-have-returned-to-the-basic-healing-approach/) [Gabriel Cousens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-cousens/) > [Cliché activates the comfortable mental laziness, we sort of revert to the domain of the already-familiar, what we have already imagined so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/clich-activates-the-comfortable-mental-laziness-we-sort-of-revert-to/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Brains distinguish between an Us and a Them in a fraction of a second. Subliminal processing of a Them activates the amygdala and insular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/brains-distinguish-between-an-us-and-a-them-in-a-fraction-of-a-second/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [The fact that the scrub literally comes out into your hand as a powder and then activates with water is a really cool thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/the-fact-that-the-scrub-literally-comes-out-into-your-hand-as-a/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [The Charge will change your life. Our brains are hard wired to meet specific human drives, and learning to harness and activate those drives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-amen/the-charge-will-change-your-life-our-brains-are-hard-wired-to-meet/) [Daniel Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-amen/) > [Like electricity, the Light is everywhere, but one must know how to activate it. I have come for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-meera/like-electricity-the-light-is-everywhere-but-one-must-know-how-to/) [Mother Meera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-meera/) > [When you regularly take continuous action toward your most important goals, you activate the Momentum Principle of success. This principle says that although it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/when-you-regularly-take-continuous-action-toward-your-most-important/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [If you pay 50 million for something, you probably pay another 50 to 100 million to activate it. And the more you spend, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/if-you-pay-50-million-for-something-you-probably-pay-another-50-to/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [Chosen are those artists who penetrate to the region of that secret place where primeval power nurtures all evolution. There, where the powerhouse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/chosen-are-those-artists-who-penetrate-to-the-region-of-that-secret/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Using the energy in a scene can really cut the fat off of something and streamline it. It can make it work for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/using-the-energy-in-a-scene-can-really-cut-the-fat-off-of-something/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [The Universe is a unity, an interacting and genetically-related community of beings bound together in an inseparable relationship in space and time... The human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-universe-is-a-unity-an-interacting-and-genetically-related/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [You simply cannot understand psychedelic drugs, which activate the brain, unless you understand something about computers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-simply-cannot-understand-psychedelic-drugs-which-activate-the/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Either you vegetate and look out a window, or activate and try to effect change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/either-you-vegetate-and-look-out-a-window-or-activate-and-try-to/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [When you believe, it activates God's power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/when-you-believe-it-activates-god-s-power/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) Browse all 92 Activate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by people individually or en masse. 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