💥Design Brief #116: Inclusive Visual Identity, Importance of Models, Design System in a Startup, Micro-Metrics vs. Macro Metrics, User Flow - the New Wireframe

Welcome to the 116th edition of Design Brief – our weekly selection of news and tips from the design world.

Your Face Here

When joining the company Jennifer Hom, a Design Manager of Product Illustration at Airbnb, noticed a certain lack of representation of users in the product; something that doesn’t reflect Airbnb’s great commitment to inclusivity. “Normal” is diverse - says Hom - my goal is to move the needle of representation in the tech community that must consider the fabric of who makes up their companies, and how that identity is presented to the world. In the article Hom provides a solid guideline for a more inclusive visual identity of a brand, which improves user experience. Read more

Why in Many Cases Micro-Metrics Are More Important Than Macro Metrics

If you validate all experiments by macro metrics (conversions, average check, signups, searches, etc.), then you can miss valuable insights. Not every change in your product can be described by a "big" metric that shows the success of your business. This article is based on the author’s experience. Looking deeper into the metrics helps you better understand your users and may affect repeating purchases, user loyalty, and much more. Read more  

The Message Is in the Model

By reading this article you can learn how models and diagrams help designers communicate the unseen. There are a number of tools that product teams can use to bring clarity to an idea and align everyone’s understanding of it. They range in complexity from sketches, through user flows and diagrams, to functional prototypes. Even though creating models may seem time-consuming, it’s important to remember that aligning everyone’s thinking early on will almost always save you time in the long run. Read more

Yes, Your Startup Is Ready for a Design System

The idea of a “design system” has taken on mythic proportions in the product world, and systemizing your product development process can be free form and grow with your company. It’s never too early to start thinking about your product in this way, but when it’s too late, it’s really too late. The author of the article, Jacob Johannesen, goes over his learnings from designing systematically for a quickly growing startup for a little over a year — and the mistakes and victories along the way. Read more

User Flow Is the New Wireframe

Wireframes and user flows both have different levels of ‘resolution’ and fidelity of the finished product. But they also have a lot in common - when used at the right time in projects they can both increase the speed of iterations and improve communication across the product team. The article is an illustrated guide on the different ‘resolutions’ of user flows, and when to use them. Read more