Product design for tech startups | Fractional Head of Design | UX, Product Design, Branding, Websites, Positioning.
I see it all the time—teams spending way too much time tweaking designs that are already fine. Instead of talking to users. They’re caught up in making everything look perfect. Truth is if your product doesn’t actually solve user problems, polish is not going to fix that. Start solving real user problems. Not design problems. It’s better to get your product out there, learn, and improve as you go. Focus on usefulness first—then worry about making it pretty.
Designers must remember that the companies we work for hired us to help them solve business problems. Part of solving business problems includes solving design, customer, and user problems, but they aren't the end goal in and of themselves. It will also include effective communication, collaboration, conflict management, flexibility, storytelling, and teamwork. Understanding the reason that companies hire employees is to achieve their business goals. All the work at the company ultimately flows up to that. Here are some of the ways the company will measure the success of its employees: - increasing revenue - decreasing costs - decreasing churn - decreasing the acquisition cost for a customer - decreasing the acquisition cost for an employee - increasing customer loyalty - increasing the lifetime value of a customer As designers, it's important to understand how our jobs and work tie into the company's business goals. If we can directly tie the work we do to outcomes that deliver results that align with the company's business goals, it strengthens the position and value Design as a practice has at the company.
Shifting focus from process perfection to delivery speed balances productivity. Teams must prioritize outputs over obsessing about minor process details.
Some of the best advice I've seen is to get early drafts in front of a client or audience early, and make the revision process a dialogue. The worst thing you can do is try and make everything perfect before seeking feedback, only to find out you were off the mark.
The reverse style designer spends more time polishing the design than the functionality. If functionality is fixed first, then the designer can focus on making the design look good.
True. We need to make sure it works without looking pretty (Usable/Useful). Once that's done, Making it pretty is just another step.
So true! Solving user problems should always come first. A polished design means nothing if the product doesn’t deliver real value.
But the kerning is off!
Senior Product Designer | Human Psychology | UX Strategy | UX/UI Designer | Design Systems | SaaS, B2B
2wHow do you ensure your team strikes a balance between functionality and aesthetics when developing a product?