Dan Perrera

For anyone wanting to learn more about how we're working on AI as a design team here at Klaviyo, have a listen to this interview with Alexandra Holness

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Product for Engineers dropped another awesome post recently: How we decide what to build. It’s a beautiful building-in-public look at how PostHog goes about product development. There is so much to learn from this newsletter. I love it. https://lnkd.in/ewNBSpu4

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Not sure how I missed this podcast with Lenny Rachitsky but this episode with Katie Dill is amazing. There's a reason it has 47k views on YouTube. Just furthering my claim that the very best of Lenny's podcasts are not about product development or traditional product management. His best episodes are about design and business. "The use of the word beauty in books that have been digitized by Google has decreased,  like pretty dramatically. And it's aligned with this idea of, "Well,  functionality is king. Functionality is what matters." As if people think about  functionality and beauty as like two opposite things. No, they're not two  opposite things. Functionality is important. And actually beauty enhances functionality  because it does make things easier to use, more approachable, more comp elling to use.  And the other piece of it that is not talked about in business as often is just  the importance of how people feel. Things that are more beautiful, increase trust. You see that  we've put painstaking detail into this, and we care about the details of how something works,  and that gives you assurance that we care about other details that you can't see too." —Katie All I have to say is YES.

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🤝Designing Together: The Power of Trust in Cross-Functional Teams Let’s talk about something often overlooked in the hustle of deadlines, roadmaps, and launches: the human connections that hold our squads together. As product designers, we live at the intersection of user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility. In this space, our product managers and engineers aren’t just “other functions.” They are our partners—the people we rely on to bring ideas to life. Yet, the real challenge is less about tools, processes, or even skillsets, and more about building relationships rooted in honesty, transparency, and trust. Here’s the truth: without these values, even the most brilliant designs can falter. Why? Because product development isn’t a solo act. It’s a collaborative symphony, where alignment, constructive friction, and mutual respect drive success. Honesty: The Foundation Honesty starts with dropping the ego. Be real about what you know, what you don’t, and where you need help. For example, if a design direction feels risky, say so. Likewise, invite your PM and engineers to challenge your assumptions. The best ideas emerge when all perspectives are heard, not when we hold back to avoid discomfort. Transparency: The Glue Transparency isn’t just about sharing updates—it’s about inviting others into the process. Share your messy explorations, involve engineers in user research, and talk openly about constraints. A transparent team is a team that avoids surprises. And when everyone understands the “why” behind decisions, alignment comes naturally. Trust: The Multiplier Trust doesn’t happen overnight—it’s earned through actions. It’s being consistent in your delivery, showing empathy when conflicts arise, and treating criticism as an opportunity rather than an attack. When trust is solid, something powerful happens: debates shift from “proving a point” to “solving a problem.” The Role of Feedback Feedback is where these values are put to the test. Constructive criticism isn’t just about improving a design—it’s about building a better partnership. When a PM critiques your work, they’re helping align it with the strategy. When an engineer pushes back on feasibility, they’re ensuring it’s buildable. Embrace these moments. They’re not threats; they’re gifts. The Big Picture In a squad, the lines between roles blur. Success isn’t about who “owns” the best idea—it’s about delivering the best solution together. When honesty, transparency, and trust become your defaults, your team stops being just a collection of functions. You become a unit, operating with shared purpose and collective accountability. So, product designers: How are you fostering these values in your squads? What’s one thing you’ll do differently this week to strengthen your partnerships? Let’s commit to designing not just great products, but great relationships. That’s where the real magic happens. #Collaboration #ProductDesign #TrustMatters #Teamwork #productdesign

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Thanks for the insightful pitch strategies. When can I get a slot to pitch to you?

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To my fellow design system advocates: Next time you’re pitching, consider this little insightful nugget from James Clear’s Atomic Habits: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” … meaning, if the goal is to build and quickly launch a solid, scalable, and successful application then a comprehensive design system is the engine that accelerates development and ultimately drives that revenue growth. 🤑

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2 years with Nectar! 🤘🔥 My favorite highlights: → Our team’s growth from 23 employees to 90 employees. Product alone grew from 6 of us to 21 strong now 🙌🏼, and we’re a sleek, efficient, resilient team under Brian Cressall and Nate Tingey. → Established Nectar’s Design System and built our component library, significantly improving speed, consistency, and quality of design and implementation. → Completed a massive UI design refresh for the existing product (bless the devs still building it 🫡 ). → Launched Nominations, the largest and most impactful new feature we’ve built at Nectar yet. → Completely scrapped a project, because it was the right thing to do. Grateful to work on a team that’s hyper-focused on our ultimate goals, and is sincerely willing to let sunk costs be irrelevant. → Ideated, designed, and launched our new product Internal Communications in 8 weeks with a small, mighty team 🤯 I’m still amazed we managed it. → $40M Series B funding in April 2024 with PeakSpan Capital. → Saw our efforts, motivation, and passion pay off when Nectar was recognized as the 2nd Fastest Growing Company in Utah County, 1st fastest growing software company in Utah, 8th fastest growing software company in the U.S., and 87th fastest growing company in the U.S. (across all industries). → 300% increase in revenue in Q3 2023 vs Q3 2024 (Q3 was also 50% above our revenue Q2 2024). → Saw every department at Nectar grow in excellence. I’m in awe of the caliber of Engineering, CS, Marketing, Sales, and what they accomplish. → Relished the challenge and variety of asks in the beginning as Nectar’s sole designer, including working on print design (looking at you, 28’ tradebooth) and animations for the first time. That animation announcing Nectar’s new logo a year ago? That was my first animation, and I’m still proud of myself for figuring it out enough to make that 😂. → Spent way too much on Holiday gas station runs (RIP old office). This is a long list, but for the record I cut it in half from what it was 😅. I’m grateful Nate reached out on LinkedIn right at the perfect time when I was looking to switch things up, and that we’ve made a great team ever since. Getting to work closely with our little product design team—Nate, Mason, Tyler, and Maya—and many, many others keeps me growing and keeps me motivated on the daily. Nectar’s mission and way of working resonated with me from the beginning. It’s rewarding to see our company continue to gain momentum and maturity, all while seeing how much room we still have to grow. Very, very grateful to be part of the journey. As we say, it’s still Day 1 at Nectar. 🚀

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Many designers still confuse a component library for a design system, but understanding the difference is critical for creating scalable, cohesive products. In this gabble of words I've explored how major companies like Airbnb and IBM do it right? 🧐 #UXDesign #DesignSystems #ComponentLibrary #ProductDesign #DesignVsDevelopment #Collaboration #Figma #DigitalProductDesign #TechDebate #DesignThinking https://lnkd.in/gGmxyKED

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✨ Single Pane of Glass UX Improvement of the Day ✨ Today’s enhancements: 1. Faceted Filters – New facet controls for quicker, more focused alert filtering. 2. Visual Severity – Replaced the "Severity" column with border colors for instant alert severity cues. A cleaner, more efficient interface. Thoughts? Keep CC: Michael Henning

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Lots of misconceptions about what product-led growth really is. So I sat down with the man himself, Wes Bush to go deep on: - what PLG really means - Who it's for (and who it's not for) - How you can think about implementing a true PLG motion in your business. Even if you're sales-led today, this is a great listen cause it talks to the psychology of a buyer a lot. https://lnkd.in/d4VvJmru

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🎨💸 What's the biggest gap for product designers in tech today? 🎙️ This is one of the many questions Marc and I explored with Josh Brewer (Partner @ Enjoy The Work) in our latest episode of the podcast. Josh's answer was fantastic: most product designers don't spend enough time understanding their product's business model and go-to-market strategy. This can create a disconnect between user experience and business objectives. Designers who can productively balance UX with $$$ will dramatically increase their impact and accelerate their careers as a result. I couldn't agree more. The most impactful designers I know always connect value for users and value for the business. Our conversation also covered other engaging topics, including: • Attracting top talent and fostering a culture of creativity & accountability • Josh's thoughts on "founder mode" • Delivering and receiving feedback in a growth-oriented environment • The role of design in the AI era and its impact on future products • And more! Episode links in the comments 👇

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So late to the post, but ICYMI, we launched some stuff at #Config2024 last week. We've been cooking up a lot on our pillar — going from building Figma's second product (FigJam), to dreaming up its third, Figma Slides. Here's what we announced: Figma Slides: I'm especially proud of the designers on the team: Keeyen Y. Khalil Cader Jakub S Ryan Reid Natasha T. Kylie To. For always asking "what if?" even though slides are a file format as old as time, for dreaming up new ways to interact with AI, for sweating the details on a tool that balances the needs of designers and everyone else alike. Try it out → https://lnkd.in/e_R6Pi_v FigJam Pages: We brought a fan fave Figma feature to FigJam! Big ups to rocky chen ✌️for striving pixel-perfection on this one → figjam.new

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In case anyone is listening… UX basic tips/101 from a recent ticket buying experience Would you proceed if you got this warning? You should feel good during a user experience. You may never know what upsets a user about the experience until you ask and/or see them walk through it. Like spelling mistakes, sometimes you may be blind to the paper-cuts an experience creates. Minor paper cuts could be the difference from making a sale or losing one. Don’t make users feel bad. Do I seem over 100? ➕Follow for more! Names and places have been obscured 😊 #ux #uxbasics #uxtips #uxr #userresearch

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Tom's recent post really resonated with me, and I wanted to share my thoughts. 📣 In 2024, design shouldn't be a nice to have. Design is a crucial element in creating successful products and businesses. 📣 As a designer, my goal is simple: to add value. I focus on solving user problems while aligning with business objectives. It's about creating experiences that work for everyone - users and companies alike. 🔥 If you see design as a strategic asset, I'd love to connect. Let's explore how we can turn good design into great results. 🔥

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Question for my fellow #designsystem pros: When designing elevation tokens, how do you plan for surface colors? Do you create a fixed set of surface tokens, hoping that the number you've designed will cover all cases? Or do you have a formula, like an n+1 approach, to accommodate unexpected levels of stacking? For example, you design 3 surface tokens to handle stacking (say, a card within a card, within a card), each with distinct colors and states. But then you realize you need 4 levels—or 5, or more. How do you handle this? Would love to hear your thoughts!

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🚀 The latest in my "Golden Rules of UX" series tackles Table Controls! 🔍 Are your users overwhelmed by complex data tables in your product? You're not alone! I break down how to make tables user-friendly with just three key 🔑 controls: 1️⃣ Search: For when users know exactly what they're looking for 2️⃣ Filter: To help users uncover insights through structured data reduction 3️⃣ Sort: For prioritizing data and identifying patterns Remember: Great UX solves problems. Tables should optimize for answers, not just display data. Swipe through for visual examples and UX tips on creating tables that enhance user experience and drive outcomes! #UXDesign hashtag #UserInterface hashtag #UIConcepts hashtag #ProductDesign

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Great advice for both sides of the equation.

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O-M-G. Learn how to craft some seriously refined 3D letters using Affinity in the next Creative Session. Especially for those Designers that have recently downloaded Affinity and still running it through it's paces. You'll pick up essential Affinity illustration skills and tricks in seconds. https://lnkd.in/gYvsrdme #affinity #illustrators #canva

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Shoutout to the Vev team! 🎉 We've rolled out variables – a major step in simplifying your design workflows and scaling designs with Vev. This is just the beginning of many exciting updates, helping you go from idea to live site faster than ever. Learn more here 👇

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