Why Working with Friends Made Me a Better Designer.
A retrospective of my time working with friends at Funsize.
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” -Henry Ford
Humble Beginnings
In September of 2013, I remember getting a call from Anthony Armendariz about an opportunity to work with a local client that wanted design work done for their mobile product. At the time, Anthony and his wife, Natalie Armendariz, were just starting a small and humble mobile product design company called Funsize in Austin, Texas. The stars couldn’t have aligned more perfectly. Mobile product design was something that I wanted to pursue and get better at, and I knew that I had friends who were going to teach and guide me along the way.
At the beginning, Natalie and Anthony made it clear that they weren’t looking to hire any full-time employees but were considering long-term contractors. Their goal wasn’t to grow much larger than the two of them plus two talented designers, Rick Messer and Andre Jurgensen. So what did I do? — I went with my gut feeling and took the leap of faith to work as a freelance product designer with a small group of friends who just wanted to work with each other, who shared the same values in work and life balance, and who had the passion to produce their best work every single day.
Let’s hop into a time machine and fast forward 3 amazing years. (Just imagine you’re in that scene in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” steam boat and Willy starts singing that song while there’s a huge video montage of all the amazing things Funsize has been able to do as a team.)
Boom —You’re now looking at an improved, more efficient, and stronger Funsize, which is now a 12-person driven company. It’s still crafting amazing design and experience strategy work for a few product companies you might know such as: Groupon, OpenTable, PayPal, Honeywell and EA Games. Not to mention the amazing local and international startups such as: Ōura Ring, DroneSense, Pare Booking, Pingboard, MakeCreate, Detour, and so many more.
Set Strong Values and the Culture Will Manifest Itself.
Over the past three years, I’ve been asked about what it’s like working at Funsize. Here’s my response to that question almost every time:
“It’s the culture that makes work fun and effortless. Coming into work knowing that I’ll be jamming out on design problems with my best friends is the reason why I look forward to coming into work on Mondays.”
At the beginning, when Funsize decided to become a full-blown company, there was a Google doc that was floating around with a list of values that the team felt resonated with them. The values that we share is a way for everyone to be on the same page. It helps everyone understand the “why” we continue to do what we do from a long-term point of view to a day-to-day basis. Here’s a few things I’ve learned along the way:
1. Strive For Meaningful Work
No one has time to work on things they don’t love. In a world of the “Airbnb for this” and the “Uber for that,” you absolutely have to ask yourself whether or not you’re solving the right problem. No matter what your role is, you should always care about the work you do, ask yourself why you’re doing it, and who you’re doing it for.
2. Collaboration & Transparency
I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to designing alone after working with such a passionate group of people. During Funsize’s first 6 months, we were all working remote. For someone who was used to coming into an office, it was definitely an adjustment figuring out how to work from home.
During this phase, it helped me realize that clear communication and collaboration play an essential part in making any project and team successful. Everyone is there to have your back, and they aren’t afraid to give you constructive feedback when you need it the most. A team will constantly push you to become a strong and well-rounded designer.
“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team. “ -John C. Maxwell
3. Be Empathetic
In the fast paced world of digital product design, there is no room for egos. This means you can’t go into a client meeting assuming that you already know everything about them. You absolutely have to be considerate to the people who hire you to solve problems for their users or clients. You can’t give someone your best work if you’re not making an effort to understand their point of view and their current emotional state.
You also have to make sure you keep that same mindset with your co-workers. These are the people that you spend the majority of your time with day-in and day-out. Being a part of a team means that you look out for each other whether it’s dealing with a tough client or celebrating each other’s small wins. Sometimes you have to put away your own feelings and see yourself in someone else’s shoes to fully understand the best way to help them solve a problem they’re facing.
“Consider the consequences of building a ramp instead of a staircase. Anyone can get up a ramp. But not everyone can get up a set of stairs. As a design community I think we should be building more ramps.” — mrsmrs.
4. You Have to Balance Work & Life
This hits close to home for me. Growing up in a Vietnamese-immigrant family taught me a lot about what it means to work hard and to build something from nothing. When I was 10, my parents decided that they wanted to own and run a quick-serve seafood restaurant in Groves, Texas. They bought the building for $30,000 and turned it into a local landmark that has been running for the last 15 years. At a young age, I learned quickly that working hard and staying focused can make you successful in anything that you do. I love and cherish every moment that I spent working with my parent at the restaurant as a kid. I was just more concerned for their well-being that I want them to take more time off for themselves instead of working themselves to the bone.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with friends who all share similar stories and experiences. At Funsize, we’re all hard-working individuals. But, at the same, we all seek time to get inspired and motivated by scheduling time for ourselves outside of the work environment. You have to find ways to separate yourself from your work so that you can have a fresh perspective when you get back to it. For me, it’s the only way for my mind to not go completely insane whether that be traveling to another country, taking a hike, riding a bike, trekking a mountain, or even taking the time to read a good book. You’ll thank yourself in the long run for picking up a hobby that fuels your inspiration and motivation.
My good friend Joel Beukelman, Host of Balance Podcast, says it better:
“In order to do quality work, we need to be creating from a place of inspiration and passion. This can only happen if we allow ourselves to step away from work. We have been taught that the harder you work the more you get… and we disagree. You might be getting more, but it won’t be quality. We believe in hard work, but only quality work that is fueled by experiences and perspectives outside of our craft.”- Joel Beukelman
5. Adapting to Change
A few years ago, Anthony gave an insightful keynote at Chicago Camps on a topic that I personally struggled with. It was about adapting to change, and I feel like everyone should embrace this way of thinking.
“Face it, the industry is constantly changing and so should we. Let’s learn to embrace change and use it to intentionally position ourselves for constant reinvention and how to fashion the skills and environments necessary for creating meaningful products in the modern age and beyond.” — Anthony Armendariz — Head of Design at Funsize
If you had a chance to watch the video of him talking about this subject, it’s truly inspiring. Working with the Funsize team has made me more aware of the ever changing wind in the product design world. With all the tools that make you more efficient and new technologies that are constantly improving by the hour, you can’t be moping around hoping that all of it is going to stop so you can catch up. You have to constantly reinvent yourself in order to stay relevant in your industry.
Wilson Miner puts its eloquently,
“The ones that survive are the ones that adapt to the environment; evolve, mutate, respond. Sometimes our imaginations don’t stretch far ahead, we don’t look behind us for inspiration. When we design for the world of screens, we have a long time ahead of us, and a long history older than the web, or software, or computers” — Wilson Minor, “When We Build”
Funsize Graduation Day
With a heavy heart, I’m sad to say “goodbye” to a beautiful place that I’ve considered “Home” for the past 3 years. The experiences and relationships I’ve been fortunate enough to gain in this short time frame have truly changed my life. I am forever grateful to my Funsize Family for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of a team that creates a culture of positivity for others and for providing constant encouragement to continue to learn and grow. As part of this growth, I am about to embark on the next step of my journey as a Senior Product Designer at Trendkite. Today, I’m graduating with the abilities to strive for meaningful work, be empathetic to my co-workers and users, collaborate and be transparent with my communication, finding the right work-life balance, and adapting to the ever-changing world. My goal is to spread this culture (even though it can’t be replicated) and mentality to the next step that I’m taking so that other people can experience at least a hint of what I was able to have at Funsize.
I’d like to say a special thanks to my family: Rick Messer, Danielle Moser, Andre Jurgensen, Edgar Briseno, Anthony Armendariz, Natalie Armendariz, Aaron O’Hearn, Johnnie Hamm, and Jim Jordan for being the reason why I came into work every day. You guys are truly the most talented and most humble bunch of people on this planet.
Kloveyoubye,
Phi Hoang
For more about me, you can find me on Dribbble or read my grammatically incorrect Tweets or Creep through my camera roll on Instagram.
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