Design for Founders — MicroConf Europe 2014

Taking care of design matters is a common challenge for any entrepreneur. It's important to have good design, but being obsessive about it can easily slow you down and affect the bottom line. This talk will outline four shortcuts that can cut your costs and save you time when working on a new design, backed with 10 years of experience as a creative director and UI/UX consultant.

Transcript

1. Design for Founders 4 Shortcuts for Getting Great Design in Record Time
2. My name is Jane Portman @uibreakfast
3. Speaking of great design. Here’s what I’ve been doing the last few years...
4. ...great design in record time!
5. What is great design? It looks pleasant. It’s easy to use. It communicates quality!
6. There is no silver bullet. Great design will cost you time and money.
7. Shortcut #1 Save on quantity, not quality.
8. You’ll need a good designer. Good = Smart + Responsible
9. Dribbble  dribbble.com Folyo  folyo.me Workshop  letsworkshop.com/connect
10. I need a landing page.
11. I need a landing page. I need a design solution for my business.
12. Case Study Disco by Copy Hackers
13. Long-form sales page sneak peek 
14. Web app UI preview 
15. What’s included? A logo Branding elements (illustrations & color scheme) Web app UI Web typography
16. It’s not just a landing page. It’s a design solution. That’s what you need.
17. Turnaround time? 1 week.
18. Shortcut #2 Templates are gold.
19. Design is always crafted by hand. Templates are the only way to cheat hours!
20.  Warning! Non-designer with a template is like a baby with a box of matches.
21. Ask your designer to... Select a template Customize it Provide instructions for further use
22. Store & re-use things. Keep a library of assets.
23. Shortcut #3 Start with yourself.
24. Get a crash course in design. Invite your team, too.
25. Bootstrapping Design  bootstrappingdesign.com Design for Hackers  designforhackers.com Pixel Perfect Precision (free)  ustwo.com/ppp
26. Designers & developers! Make love not war.
27. Shortcut #4 Keep it simple!
28. Look for simple solutions. They’re easy to build, too.
29. Don’t worry, we’re in the business of iteration. Just start with something.
30. You are the Founder. Enjoy your power.
31. Case Study Planscope by Brennan Dunn
32. Long-form sales page sneak peek 
33. Pricing page preview 
34. Timeframe for each design session? 1 day.
35. Have we ever discussed button shapes? No.
36. Thank you. Enjoy the ride!
37. Free course on managing designers  uibreakfast.com/coefficiency Questions or comments? jane@uibreakfast.com