The design process is a journey of problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity. It starts with identifying a need and ends with a fully functional, user-focused solution ready for the real world. Let me take you through how we work step by step to create designs that make an impact.
Where it starts: finding the need
Every design begins with a need. These needs usually come from:
From business leaders or teams.
Missing features or areas where we can improve existing ones.
Occasionally, we hold workshops with developers, designers, and stakeholders. Together, we brainstorm and pitch creative ideas, often rating them based on their value to the business and users.
Planning and prioritizing
Once we identify the need, the next step is planning. Using tools like Jira, we create tickets to define the task and its priority. During sprint planning, the design manager and product director decide which tasks will go into the upcoming two-week sprint.
At the sprint kick-off, designers receive their assignments and align on which tasks should be completed during the sprint and which might continue into the next one.
Starting with research
Before diving into design, we focus on understanding the problem fully:
Designers carefully read the task description to understand the requirements.
They schedule a meeting with the product manager and stakeholders to clarify any details.
We look at how others solve similar problems, noting what works well and what doesn’t.
If data is available, it helps guide our decisions and elevate the design.
Bringing ideas to life
With the research done, it’s time to start designing. This phase includes:
Designers create rough layouts and screens to explore directions.
We use elements from our design system, creating new ones only if necessary.
The design manager reviews the initial concepts, and we work together to refine them.
We value a culture of collaboration, where feedback helps us improve and ensures the final design is consistent and user-friendly.
Prototyping and testing
To make designs feel real, we create prototypes. This allows stakeholders and users to interact with the design before development.
If needed, we conduct user testing through platforms like UserTesting.com, collecting feedback to make further improvements.
Documenting the details
Once the design is finalized, we prepare detailed documentation. This includes:
How components behave (e.g., open, close, animations).
Variations for specific cases.
Responsive layouts and interaction examples.
This documentation helps developers, product managers, and QA teams understand every aspect of the design, ensuring smooth and accurate implementation.
Reviewing and launching
Our review process has two stages:
Conducted early design review alongside development, this allows us to address issues during the development cycle.
Once the feature is in the staging environment, we test it again to ensure everything is working as intended.
Feedback from these reviews is logged in FigJam, and any urgent issues are resolved before launch. If something minor can wait, we plan fixes for future updates.
Wrapping it up
Design is about more than just making things look good—it’s about solving problems, creating experiences that users love, and driving business growth. By following a structured process, collaborating openly, and refining with feedback, we ensure that every project we work on not only enhances the user experience but also supports the business in increasing revenue and achieving its strategic goals.