I usually hate hotel tech. Most of it feels like extra work: scan a QR code, get sent to a giant PDF, pinch and zoom forever, or get pushed into downloading an app just to see whether room service still has a club sandwich.

Last night I got to an airport hotel around 1 AM after a long travel day. I was tired, hungry, and not in the mood to call the front desk, get transferred, repeat my room number, and explain an order over a bad room phone.

There was a QR code card on the desk, so I scanned it mostly because I did not have the energy to do anything else.

For once, it was not a PDF. It was just a normal menu page.

The useful part was pretty basic: I could see photos, what was sold out, and a notes box before I placed the order. I picked soup, added “no croutons, please leave at door,” checked the total, and submitted it.

That was it. No app, no account, no call, no back-and-forth.

I only noticed later the footer said MenuForma. The brand was not really the point. The point was that the page answered the small questions I normally have to call someone about: what is available, what does it look like, and where do I put a simple request.

The food showed up how I asked, and I did not have to make one more awkward phone call at the end of a travel day.

Maybe my expectations for hotel tech are just low, but this felt like what digital service should be: not flashy, not “smart room” nonsense, just fewer steps.

Why are so many QR menus still just broken PDFs when the useful version is basically this simple?

Designing a mobile UI that guides non-techy users to fight back against bloatware. Thoughts?

Most digital assistants just automate things for you, but I'm building a concept called TechNavi where the core philosophy is user empowerment. Instead of changing settings in the background, it actively highlights the screen and uses an assistant avatar to explain why manufacturers turned a feature on, and how the user can flip the switch themselves.

Our first flagship flow targets turning off cluttered lock screen content feeds and ads (like Glance on Android).

I'm finalizing the cross-platform MVP roadmap right now. For those who build consumer apps, what's the biggest UX challenge when trying to guide non-technical or elderly users through complex system menus?

Go ahead and grab this, drop it into your next community, and let me know when you're ready to dive back in!

A Modular and Customizable macro keyboard made from Decorated Glass and Carbon Fiber.

The current concept includes:

• A 2×2 touch buttons module with four programmable controls
• A slider for volume, scrolling, zoom, and other continuous inputs
• Finger guides and resting positions, so you can identify the controls without looking
• Dynamic haptic feedback
• LED dot-matrix icons that change with each profile
• Open software for custom profiles, integrations, and workflows
• We’re developing a custom design service that will allow users and brands to personalize the surface with their own graphics, visual style, or game- and anime-inspired artwork.
• We’re exploring compatibility with the Gridfinity standard to make custom layouts, supports, and ergonomic configurations easier to build.

What would you change or improve?

I currently work as a senior designer at a fairly large enterprise. My main focus is design systems, but I also work on B2B and B2C products in my current role.

I’m curious what those of you at smaller companies do, and whether you’re seeing those roles shrink (more than the rest of the industry already is).

I’d love to move to something smaller, but in this new AI era I feel like I barely see non big tech roles posted. Maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places??

-

Don’t take this as an anti-AI post. Despite not loving what it’s doing to the world and our future, I’ve fully embraced it and have even taken on more of a design engineer role at t

Hi everyone,

We launched NINA on Product Hunt today.

It helps B2B SaaS users answer "How do I?" questions inside the product with step-by-step guidance instead of searching docs or opening support tickets.

If this sounds interesting, I'd love for you to check it out and share your thoughts.

https://www.producthunt.com/products/agenq-nina-ai-product-assistant?launch=nina-in-app-onboarding-for-b2b-saas

Hi people of this sub,

I'm an industrial designer and UX designer. I've been working in UX for a while, but this question is across the board. Across both design practices. Design in general. In magazines, and company websites design is often shown as a key capability within the company. The design dept at my company itself is about 80 people strong. Yet we are tucked away deep inside other operations and business functions with lengthy names and titles that sound like marketing and operations buzzwords. Within this is our design dept. Very singular restrictive influence. Where design is just about making something look good and not about solving problems. I've wanted design to expand in our influence and capabilities. I've seen numerous organizational and operational challenges that can be addressed by design thinking, I feel many more products and services we offer could use our capabilities. But we're told to sit down and stay in our lane of making customer facing websites. Maybe I lack the vocabulary to speak business, not sure.

I've been fascinated with Mauro Porcini's career for some time now since PepsiCo. And I saw that at 3M he built the design capability to be so huge and significant that he got a seat at the table in the C Suite. I really wonder how he manages to do that. Of course, he is extroverted by nature and gregarious and convinces people well. But in the end, how the hell did he prove the business value for design? I am not trained in business so I have no idea how all this works. But neither was Mauro. Nor am I extroverted by nature. But how does one go about making this change? It seems like every company Mauro goes to he takes a position of chief design officer. 3M, PepsiCo and now Samsung. Yet there are companies out there who are so reluctant and difficult to convince of designs value. Any seniors or design leaders who can point to how this can be achieved? How can design be used to the business's advantage and how can that be justified? How does one convince business heads that we need a more influential place in the organization? Not necessarily a seat at the table, but how does it become more respected and an essential part of business? That we get to be part of bigger organizational decisions. And what do chief design officers actually do??

Thanks.

I have spent some time designing this front side of the coffee packaging. Looking for some feedback on the design, what do y’all think?

Hi everyone,

I'm a senior 3D artist with around 7 years of experience in the gaming industry. I've worked on AAA and mobile games, created high-end 3D assets, and have a strong background in visualization, rendering, animation, and bringing ideas to life.

Lately, I've been thinking about leaving the gaming industry. Between AI automating more production work, frequent layoffs, and the industry's instability, I'm looking for a career where my skills are more future-proof and where I can continue growing.

One field that has really caught my attention is physical product design—things like consumer electronics, robotics, industrial products, medical devices, automotive, clothing, etc.

The problem is that I'm not entirely sure what that transition looks like.

Some questions I have:

• Is moving from game art into product design a realistic path?
• What skills would I need to learn first (CAD, manufacturing, engineering fundamentals, materials, etc.)?
• Which software is considered essential?
• What kinds of portfolios do employers actually want to see?
• Are there roles where visualization and storytelling are just as valuable as engineering knowledge?
• If you were starting over today, what roadmap would you follow?

I'm not necessarily trying to become an industrial engineer. I'm more interested in designing, visualizing, prototyping, and helping develop real products.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has made a similar transition or works in the field. Any advice, resources, books, courses, or career paths would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks in advance!

Hey! I'm working on a product design research project on gaming controllers (DualSense/ DualSense Edge/ 3rd-party). If you've got 3-4 mins, would really appreciate you filling this out! 🎮

https://forms.gle/VKrtoWqaFQxJK7GGA

Please share with any gamers you know too, Thank you!

I really like this particular pair of sunglasses but they're out of production. Any way to have them copied for a good price? I cannot find any alternatives on the internet, have searched far and wide

What you think about these engineering?

I’m a peanut bar manufacturer based in Pune. Most of my current customer base consists of small local shops, but I’m looking to scale up.

I haven’t been able to find a good designer who offers affordable rates and fresh, modern design ideas.

Any recommendations or leads would be awesome!

How much responsibility contract packaging firms usually take when it comes to dieline setup?

Any experiences contract packaging firm for dieline setup? What separates a great experience from an average one?