Jane Portman – Design for Founders: 4 Shortcuts for Getting Great Design in Record Time – MicroConf Europe 2014

The MicroConf Europe 2014 Hub Page has notes on all the talks and additional information.

Website: UIBreakfast.com / ClientOnboard.com
Twitter: @uibreakfast
Slides: here

• worked for a year on oDesk – increasd rate to $50/h
• Marketing hack for non-english people: get yourself an easy “english” name. “Jane Portman” isn’t her real name

What is great design?

• What is great design?
  • It looks pleasant
  • It’s easy to use
  • It communicates quality
• There is no silver bullet – it takes time
• You will need a good designer
  • focus on quality over quantity to keep costs low
  • good designers do not take much bandwidth
• design & copywriting go hand in hand
• Where to find good designers
  • dribbble.com
  • Folyo.me
  • letsworkshop.com/connect
• Once you have a designer:
  • I need a landing page
  • Better: I need a design solution for my business
  • Elements:
    • logo
    • Branding elements (illustrations & )
  • Turnaround time: 1 week – ride the wave of excitement

Shortcut #2: Templates

• Design is always crafted by hand – Templates are only way to cheat hours
• Warning: “Non-designer with a template is like a baby with a box of matches”
• Store & re-use things, keep an asset library

Shortcut #3: Start with yourself

• Get a crash course
  • Bootstrapping Design
  • Design for Hackers
  • Pixel Perfect Precision (free)
• Understanding design helps you to work better with the designer
• Designers & Developers: Make love, not war!

Shortcut #4: Keep it simple

• Look for simple solutions (easy to build, easy to use, etc)
• Do NOT re-invent the wheel (Thunderbird title bar on Windows, I’m looking at you…)
• Do not worry, you can always iterate – just start with something
• You are the founder: Abuse Enjoy your power
  • have fun
  • business is lifestyle decision

Questions & Answers

• Cost difference between “landing page” and “business package”?
  • good if designer charges in days
  • being invited into “shaping business strategy” is exciting for designer –> more buy-in
  • good designers prefer to do a package, landing pages are “boring”
• Start with templates. Where to get templates?
  • woothemes
  • invisionapp
• “Good design client never argues about button shape/size” – great tip. How to be a better design client?
  • Ask for early prototype, iterations. Don’t allow for 2 weeks on first iteration
• Give examples of paid test projects:
  • landing pages
• a list of websites the client likes is a prerequisite before starting the work
• What prices ranges for a medium-range / top-range designer?
  • There is no top designer
  • fixed price tends to produce scope creep

-Christoph