What Design at a Startup Actually Looks Like

Screenshot 2015-11-03 12.46.45

We recently recorded a design review at YesGraph. We share these discussions internally with the team to help build shared context for a project. The result is an interesting snapshot of what design actually looks like at a startup. We decided to share an example, and if people enjoy it, we can continue to openly share how we build YesGraph.

The review was done while our designer, Guillermo Torres, was working from home. This makes it a good example of how remote teams can collaborate. We used Screenflow to record a Google Hangout, shared with Dropbox internally, and then published on YouTube.

There are a few things that stand out. To those that haven’t done design, it might be surprising to see how many details are covered. The kinds of questions that need to be answered are wide ranging, from the prominence of a message to the notifications sent in the background.

During this short discussion, we uncovered a half dozen issues we hadn’t yet considered. Getting these details right is an important part of creating a smooth experience, and it is often only in going through the process that all the edge cases are discovered.

The specific product feature we discussed revolves around upgrading to a paid tier of YesGraph, so there are sensitive issues around trust, transparency, and collaboration.

We’d love to hear what you think in the comments! If people like these, we’ll record and publish more of them.