A product manager's favourite physical products
Inspired by my favourite product management interview question
Anyone that I have interviewed has the misfortune of being asked my absolute favourite interview question:
What is your favourite physical product?
What makes it well designed and why?
Most interviewees will open their mouths before clarifying “wait, physical product?” I can see the slight panic in their eyes as they scan around their own room to find a physical product to talk about. Soon enough, their eyes light up again as they find something they’re excited to talk about.
One of the reasons I love this question so much is because I get to learn so much about different industries and peoples’ interests. I have learnt about:
The effectiveness of pull-up bars for home workouts (especially during lockdown)
How Mercedes has a superior interior design than BMWs (hopefully I get to compare them one day myself)
The target market and use cases of different BBQs, specifically Weber and Jumbuck
But isn’t this so interesting? Most of us are great at analysing the features and experiences of the digital products we use every day. Yet, we may not analyse the physical products we use as much.
In this post, I celebrate and discuss my favourite physical products and the little considerations that make them so good.
Midori Traveler’s Notebook
At first glance, this just looks like a nice leather notebook.
Open it and you will realise that there’s so much more. The Traveler’s notebook is a leather cover, bounded by elastics where you can insert many notebooks with different paper and purposes. For example, mine has 3 small notebooks: a grid-based one for daily to-dos and notes, a watercolour one and a kraft one I do for daily sketching.
Research further and you realise this notebook is a complete, customisable system for stationery snobs like me. You can buy so many accessories and notebook inserts to fit your needs: a pen holder, folder inserts to store travel documents, card holders and more.
I could go on forever about my favourite differentiated features of this notebook, but here is a couple:
All-in-one system. As someone that requires different paper to plan, paint and doodle, I love that I can achieve all that in one, portable notebook. The easy insert system allows me to swap books in and out for different purposes, depending on what I need that period.
The size of the notebook inserts. Have you ever seen a notebook that’s sized so …vertically? I’ll be honest — at first, this was a bit of a turn-off for me. Yet, I have never been so successful with filling so many different notebooks (I have filled up about 8). It is actually the perfect size for daily note-taking. If you think about it, most of your to-dos or notes are only a few words long and don’t need the horizontal length that most A5 or A6 notebooks give.
Lasts a lifetime. The quality of this notebook, the leather and elastic, is second to none. Most notebooks don't age gracefully. Paperback and fabric-cover notebooks fray on the edges and Moleskine’s elastic die within months. I’ve used my Traveler’s for almost 5 years now; I haven’t had to replace any part of it. And even if I do, it’s so easy to replace and repair.
I know I just raved about it, but it’s not for everyone. Firstly, it’s expensive — getting the cover and 2-3 notebooks will cost around $100 in total. Secondly, the sizing makes it a bit awkward for things like art. The notebook also doesn't open flat, meaning you often need paper clips to hold it down. For proper art, I go straight to my Mossery notebook.
But, if you like something that is super customisable, portable and lasts you for a lifetime — then the Midori Traveler’s Notebook is perfect.
Wüstorf Knife
Before this knife entered my life, I genuinely could not tell the difference between a good or bad knife. My partner and I cycled through IKEA knives, hand-me-down Chinese cleavers (which are awesome too) or $40 knives from Scan-pan. They did the job. 🤷🏻♀️
But the first time the edge of this knife sliced through a tomato… holy mother-forking shirt balls.
Everything I knew about knives and cutting vegetables went straight out the door.
Look, I am not a knife nerd. This knife set was a housewarming gift from my brothers for purchasing my first property (which makes it all the more special). It was the first time I heard of the brand, Wüstorf, so I had no expectations at all. I also don’t know how it fares against other high-end knives.
Regardless, it’s my favourite tool in the kitchen. It has dramatically changed something that used to be a chore to something quite enjoyable experience. Yes, I now love cutting vegetables. What makes this knife so good?
It’s so sharp, it will literally cut anything in the way you desire. This could also be a safety concern if you’re not careful (I have sliced my finger a couple of times).
It’s light and easy to handle. The grip is super comfortable and won’t move as long as you hold it properly.
And that’s it. In a product category where there’s not much further innovation to be had, all you really need is quality.
Monitor Arm
One of the top things that has unexpectedly improved my quality of life is my monitor arm. It gave me two main benefits:
Increased desk space. This allowed me replace of my chunky monitor stand on my lil’ 120cm wide IKEA desk, opening up a whole section on my desk.
Manoeuvrability. A monitor arm allows you to easy adjust height or move it around, especially if you’re using it as a second screen.
However, there are a few things you need to consider before purchasing one:
Make sure your monitor is compatible with the arm. Consider things like the type of backing and the weight of your monitor. My partner bought one for his own monitor before realising
Desk damage. Most arms require you to clamp onto your desk, so if your desk is fragile like my crappy IKEA one, then this probably isn’t ideal.
While the monitor arm has its flaws, it’s perfect for anyone that wants more desk space but don’t have enough room to actually buy a bigger desk.
Honourable Mentions
Other amazing physical products that didn’t make it into this blog post:
Dyson Stick Vacuum. Similar to my Wustorf knife, this has completely reduced barriers related to a mundane task like vacuuming.
Our lockdown splurge. A (comparatively) affordable, sleek and compact coffee machine that does amazing espresso shots.
Kinto Cast Cups. One of the first gifts I ever gave my husband. We absolutely adore how delicate (yet durable) and beautiful these cups are.
Lululemon Utilitech Cargo Pocket Pants. My absolute favourite pants. I love the look, pockets, colour and most importantly, how comfortable these pants are. 😍
What are your favourite physical products?
This is where you share with me and other readers on what your favourite products are and don’t forget to tell us why.
Is it because it’s gifted by someone special? Or did it make you enjoy an experience you never thought you would? Or does it simply just have a unique design that speaks to you? Leave a comment and let me know. 💜
Love this question! Hard for me to answer as I live online .. can I say laptop or phone ? 😂