Be a designer in the start-up world

Being a designer in a technology start-up can be stressful. When a new venture starts with a brilliant idea, it's up to you to guide them through a design process that turns a plan into a much loved product. You need to communicate with stakeholders, collaborate with developers, and solve problems, usually many times a day, just to turn that brilliant idea into something useful people actually need. This talk will share some practical ideas and processes I've developed and battle-tested with clients to make the design process as stress-free as possible.

Transcript

1. Be a designer in a startup world. Emanuela Damiani 2 november 2015, Codemotion Berlin
2. NICE TO MEET YOU! I’m Emanuela Damiani, an Italian designer who lives in Berlin&loves cats.
5. WHAT WE DO AT HITFOX ad-tech big data fin-tech
6. WHAT WE DO AT HITFOX build 
 product & team
7. ME THE FOX A casual day at HitFox
8. Be a designer in a startup world.
9. The talk • In a startup the designer is alone.
10. The talk • In a startup the designer is alone. • In a startup things are moving fast.
11. The talk • In a startup the designer is alone. • In a startup things are moving fast. • In a startup design is not just the designer’s responsibility.
12. In a startup the designer is alone.
13. No mentor in a startup.
14. Juniors.
15. Juniors. Cheap and easy to offend.
16. Worst scenario.
17. the marketing team
18. the dev team
19. As a weird 
 other type.
20. Real life story
23. just 
 make it pretty.
24. Just 
 make it pretty.
25. Where is the Sketch file?
28. –Dieter Rams “We designers, we don’t work in a vacuum. We need business people. We are not the fine artists we are often confused with.”
29. Be 
 a Design Educator.
30. Teach design 
 to non-design people.
31. Scenary, getscenary.com
32. Build a 
 collaborative relationship.
33. Interactions 
 are opportunities.
34. In a startup things are moving fast.
37. You've Got Mail. You’re going to work late tonight!
38. Meet 
 the new founder.
39. Real life story
42. “The best you can do is direct it from side to side, but you’re going to have to be zen about everything else.”
43. Flow with 
 the river
44. Be 
 flexible.
45. Do 
 compromise.
46. Iterate, 
 iterate, iterate.
47. Welcome back, 2007
48. Julie Zhuo’s graph of the design process for experienced designers. WHAT NON-DESIGNERS THINGS IS DESIGN WORK THE IMPORTANT (AND HARDEST) PART
49. In a startup design is not just the designer’s responsibility.
50. Design 
 is essential.
51. “Our new product is out!” THE USER
52. Good designers 
 are not enough.
53. Real life story
55. “You want designers speaking to the whole company about why design is important, what design is working on, and how to work with the design org. This can go a long way to making you a much more effective part of the company.” –Matt MacQueen, Director of Design and Research at coursera.org
56. Design 
 helps the business.
57. Don’t be 
 a stereotype.
58. Be 
 inclusive.
59. Chocolate for feedback!
60. Shape 
 the company culture.
61. Be a designer in a startup world.
62. Conclusion • In a startup the designer is alone. • In a startup things are moving fast. • In a startup design is not just the designer’s responsibility.
63. Conclusion In a startup the designer is alone.
64. Conclusion Be 
 a Design Educator.
65. Conclusion In a startup things are moving fast.
66. Conclusion Embrace 
 the change. Everything is going to be ok.
67. Conclusion the designer’s responsibility. In a startup design is not just
68. Conclusion Build 
 a design culture.
69. Communicate 
 and be stress free.
70. Thank you! Emanuela Damiani @brassy on twitter (and most of the social)