Daily feedback loops, ongoing iterations, and at the same time asynchronous processes where possible.
Whether it’s the design from scratch or the redesign of an existing product, we always structure the design campaigns as a four-phase process on a high level.
A series of pre-design activities to get onboarded into the product context, understand the problems to be solved, conduct the research phase, and come up with the needed product insights before we start moving a pixel.
Depending on the complexity of the product, design campaign specifics, and what you already have as the starting point for us.
Once we have the solid ground for the design start, we kick off the Ideation phase. It’s a process of jamming the initial UI/UX concepts of how the forthcoming or redesigned product will work and look.
More iterations – more time to be spent here. However, the average timeframe for this phase is around 6 days.
Now, we cover all user flows, screens, states, and components according to the approved concept and discovery outputs. Keeping the process iterative helps us to accommodate new insights coming along the way.
All depends on the scope. Becomes much clearer after the first requirements elicitation session (book one, it’s free)
Ongoing design system updates, design to development hand-off, design QA, and ad hoc change requests. Once the major design campaign is finalized, we will still be nearby for ongoing assistance.
After covering the scope, we can become your permanent product design team or help onboard an in-house designer for ongoing tasks.
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The exact activities within each phase depend on your business goals and the current state of the product development
If you have already completed your research + product ideation and have clear, reasonable product specifications documentation that you believe in, we only need to conduct an onboarding and requirements elicitation session before jumping into the design activities.
However, if you are still in the early stages and need help determining the product's functionality, we will set up a proper discovery phase to ensure a solid understanding of the product, its specifications, and criteria before moving any pixels.
These activities may include (but are not mandatory, it all depends) user interviews, customer journey mapping, service blueprints, JTBD workshops, competitor analysis, information architecture, and user flow mapping. After these, we dive into the wireframing activities, then the UI/UX concept phase, and then the iterative design supported by the design system setup.
If you already have a working product that needs to be redesigned, we first need to understand the reasons for this decision. We would need to see some user feedback, current UX bottlenecks you are aware of, metrics to be improved, and the mid and long term growth plans.
To address these, we conduct UI/UX audits, stakeholder interviews, customer support ticket analysis, and/or user interviews, as well as competitor analysis. Your current product analytics would also be extremely useful.
Following this, we generate new ideas to address the UI/UX gaps identified during these activities. Typically, we create a new information architecture, explore alternative navigational approaches, and then develop a few concepts to test through user testing. After that we start wireframing, then the final UI/UX concept, and then move into an iterative design process.
The fastest one. You quickly brief us on what you expect to get using references, open-format descriptions, assumption-based user stories, etc. We take this and start iterating right away. Usually, this scenario involves coming up with a tangible prototype to validate the initial idea.
That means no research, no user interviews, and no detailed, polished interfaces. No design system either. We mostly move based on our assumptions and best practices to save time and come up with some tangible POC in the shortest timeframe possible.
Within a maximum of one month, sometimes even faster (depending on the scope), you get a clickable prototype to show to potential investors, users, or anyone else you want. We’ve had cases where pre-seed companies secured their next rounds with our prototypes, after which the solid, well-thought-out product development process began.
In this process, we begin with onboarding to identify the near-term product design objectives, understand the product, its existing design legacy, competition, user feedback, global product plans, and what can be adjusted or improved on the fly and what cannot.
As we design new features, we will also offer a range of improvement suggestions — starting with tactical UX enhancements for what you already have, design system updates, and even general design process improvements.
We understand the pace of product development in startups is fast, so you decide what to prioritize and what to postpone. The main objective is an ongoing interface design that contributes to the product development plans you already follow, and once there is some room for revamping or process improvement – we will make sure we suggest those activities.
What we do in the moments of uncertainty?
Suggesting and testing the suggestions 🙂
We believe in close integration like we are almost your in-house team. Single Slack channel, everyday delivery, and feedback approach, ad hoc calls if needed.
We may either fit into your way of working with product specs or suggest ours. For instance, check out this specs template if you don’t have one.
Testing prototypes with Maze for quick insights, or making Protopie prototypes for onsite user testing or internal user testing. Approaches may vary here.
Figma for design work, Protopie or Maze or Figma for prototyping, Mobbin for references, Notion for documentation, Clickup or Linear for project management (if needed), ChatGPT or Claude or good old global internet for everything else;
It depends on the specifics of the project, but we typically have two key roles. We don't have project managers or business analysts, as we focus on collaborating directly with product teams and hands-on founders for product decisions. We believe you are better suited to shaping your product vision than any business analyst could.
Drop us a line and we take it from there
It’s much better to discuss once than read this long read multiple times
A hands-on product design professional. The everyday point of communication, delivery, iterations, and improvements.
The design process leader. Contributes as needed to strategic activities, supervises the workshops, and facilitates the processes.
Also, if needed
The one who crafts brand identities or ongoing graphic assets
Any kind of motion picture is on him – 3D motion, flat animations, explainer videos, features launch videos, etc
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