Dive Club 🤿 Episode Summary: "Don’t Trust the Design Process 💡"

Host: Ridd
Guest(s): Gabe Valdivia, Dennis (Founder of Amy), Nicholas Klein (Lead Designer at Figma), Michael Wandemeyer (Metalab), Jenny Wen
Release Date: December 16, 2024

Introduction

In the episode titled "Don’t Trust the Design Process 💡," host Ridd delves deep into the intricacies of the design workflow, challenging conventional methodologies and advocating for a more flexible, speed-oriented approach. Through insightful conversations with leading designers and industry experts, the episode explores how redefining the design process can lead to more authentic and effective outcomes.

Redefining Fidelity in the Design Process

Gabe Valdivia initiates the discussion by addressing a common designer's dilemma: the guilt associated with bypassing traditional steps to jump directly into high-fidelity designs.

“For a long time, I felt guilty when I jumped straight to high fidelity, like I was being a bad designer by skipping a necessary part of the process.”
— Gabe Valdivia [00:00]

Dennis, the founder of Amy, counters this by emphasizing the importance of speed over strictly adhering to fidelity levels. He argues that sharing updates frequently is crucial, even if it means presenting lower-fidelity artifacts initially.

“You should be able to share an update on the work every day, every other day, definitely every week. So if it takes you two weeks to come back with a prototype that's too slow, like, you should have shared napkin sketch.”
— Dennis [00:11]

Gabe resonates with Dennis's perspective, highlighting the refreshing shift from fidelity being tied to the design process to being anchored in speed.

“It's so common to hear designers talk about fidelity levels based on where they're at in the design process. That's why it's so refreshing to hear Gabe anchor on speed.”
— Gabe Valdivia [00:23]

Speed vs. Quality in Prototyping

Dennis further elaborates on the balance between speed and fidelity, advocating for higher fidelity creations only when one has achieved sufficient speed in their workflow.

“You can give yourself the luxury of creating a higher fidelity prototype or artifact if you have become fast enough to do that. If not, then give me a wireframe, right?”
— Dennis [00:32]

He underscores the necessity of frequent interactions and iterations to keep stakeholders engaged and informed.

“I need to be reacting to something often and bringing people along with me often. Otherwise, I'm not ready to focus on origami prototypes.”
— Dennis [00:32]

Gabe introduces Dennis's collaboration with design engineer Stefan, illustrating how prototyping can be both high and low fidelity based on the time and resources available.

“This can be a gray box prototype, like a gray box mockup, Just layout. Where do things go? It can be a little bit more high fidelity... whatever you can get done in half a day.”
— Gabe Valdivia [01:07]

Stakeholder Engagement and Reactions

A pivotal point raised is how the fidelity of prototypes influences stakeholder perceptions and feedback. Higher fidelity prototypes can sometimes divert attention to non-essential details, while lower fidelity ones might lead to underestimating potential issues.

“I like this idea from Gavin Nelson where he talks about his experience designing the linear mobile app. Even in the early stages... the higher fidelity prototype is exponentially more useful.”
— Gabe Valdivia [02:07]

Gabe emphasizes the importance of prototypes that can elicit genuine reactions, facilitating meaningful iterations and improvements.

Defining Fidelity in Prototyping

Nicholas Klein, leading the design of prototyping features in Figma, provides a nuanced perspective on fidelity. He differentiates between "story" fidelities, which are akin to presentations with predefined interaction paths, and "multipath" fidelities, which allow for user-driven interactions and unpredictable feedback.

“If you know the story of what you want to tell... it's closer to you building a presentation than to building a quote unquote prototype.”
— Nicholas Klein [03:02]

He further explains the necessity of multipath fidelities in capturing authentic user behaviors and preferences.

“You need to somehow find a way that this thing feels real... you need a multipath level of fidelity.”
— Nicholas Klein [03:02]

Expert Perspectives: Industry Leaders' Insights

Michael Wandemeyer from Metalab shares his team's approach to initiating projects, emphasizing the freedom to explore high-fidelity designs without being constrained by strict requirements. This openness fosters innovative thinking and challenges preconceived notions of feasibility.

“They give designers ultimate freedom... just envision in high fidelity the most natural way to express yourself concepts for what the product might be.”
— Michael Wandemeyer [06:38]

He notes that such freedom often leads to groundbreaking ideas that transcend conservative or pragmatic solutions.

Challenging Traditional Design Processes

Jenny Wen, who played a pivotal role in building FigJam, discusses her team's iterative approach involving close collaboration with engineers. She highlights the importance of viewing engineering as an integral part of the design iteration process rather than separate or disposable.

“We see engineering as a part of the process of iterating and refining... it's not a waste of time. It sort of moves the project forward and it's a part of the design process now.”
— Jenny Wen [07:21]

Gabe references Jenny's impactful article, "Don't Trust the Design Process," summarizing her arguments against rigid adherence to traditional design methodologies. Jenny critiques the overemphasis on procedural artifacts over actual design outcomes, advocating for a more fluid and intuitive approach.

“We spent so much time trying to decode our users in so many ways... We became servants to the process, following it step by step, every single time.”
— Jenny Wen (Excerpt from her article [07:52])

She concludes by championing a messy, flexible process that prioritizes creativity and genuine user-centric outcomes over strict procedural adherence.

“It's messy and I wouldn't have it any other way.”
— Jenny Wen (Excerpt from her article [07:52])

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

The episode underscores a critical shift in the design landscape: moving away from rigid, process-driven methodologies towards a more dynamic, speed-oriented approach that values genuine interaction and iterative feedback. By redefining fidelity as a function of speed and embracing flexibility, designers can produce more authentic and effective solutions that truly resonate with users.

Ridd wraps up the episode by reiterating the importance of challenging traditional processes and encourages designers to adopt more intuitive and adaptable workflows to unlock their full creative potential.

Notable Quotes

• Gabe Valdivia [00:00]: “For a long time, I felt guilty when I jumped straight to high fidelity, like I was being a bad designer by skipping a necessary part of the process.”

• Dennis [00:11]: “You should be able to share an update on the work every day, every other day, definitely every week...”

• Nicholas Klein [03:02]: “...you need to somehow find a way that this thing feels real...”

• Jenny Wen [07:52]: “We became servants to the process, following it step by step, every single time.”

Final Takeaway

"Don’t Trust the Design Process 💡" challenges designers to rethink their workflows, prioritize speed and adaptability, and focus on creating genuine, user-centric designs over adhering strictly to traditional processes. By embracing flexibility and redefining key aspects like fidelity, designers can foster innovation and produce more impactful work.

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