Why Design Principles, and why now?
Over the past few years, our design team at Versett has grown a great deal. Along with that growth, the types of products and projects we’re working on have increased in complexity and variety. We’ve also moved from a design team under one roof to one distributed across multiple locations and timezones.
As a result of this growth and change, it became evident that we needed to find a means to rally around a common vision and definition of what great design is. Creating a shared framework of principles made sense as the perfect way for us to push our design practice forward, and also provide a cohesive set ideals for all designers to strive for. We wanted to have a shared foundation from which all design problems could be approached, irrespective of product or industry.
Who has done it well?
Before diving in, we researched how other companies had approached defining their principles. One of the most helpful resources we came across was Julie Zhou’s post “A Matter of Principle” — a must-read for any team or designer thinking about developing design principles. The subhead of her article, “Surfacing core truths in every design”, really resonated with us and provided a guiding perspective.
Additionally, Design Principles FTW was an amazing resource, as it’s an aggregate of design principles from a large number of organizations. We found this helpful because it allowed us to identify organizations that resembled our own. One really powerful thing that immediately jumped out was that no two sets of principles were identical. The nuances in each painted a unique picture of the company, their culture, and the products they build.
Our Process
Once we had a more robust understanding of how other companies had determined their principles, we created a process that would allow our team to contribute to developing our own, cross-office.
- Our design team read A Matter of Principle by Julie Zhou
- Each designer was asked to compile their personal design values or philosophies.
- We gathered our entire design team on a Zoom call to share and discuss our individual lists.
- We captured everyones lists in a shared document, and started grouping them by common themes.
- The resulting list was then refined and presented back to the team for final review.
- We then shared the final design principles with the broader organization at our weekly all-hands.
To get everyone thinking about how they currently use a value system in their own work, we started by providing a small homework assignment. Next, readings were shared to illustrate what design principles are and how they should function. Each designer was asked to bring a list of their values or principles from their own processes. Each team member’s list was shared and reviewed at our weekly design team meeting. Everyone’s contributions were captured in a Freehand that we screen-shared. As similar themes began to surface, we discussed them and created clusters of related ideas. Then, each thematic cluster was given a title that encompassed its intention.
Given that not all aspects of design are equally important, we thoroughly vetted each of these main themes and started prioritizing. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs served as a guide to help prioritize our preliminary list of principles. With the collective input and thinking of the team, we further refined the list and edited the principles to be more succinct. The final set was presented back to the group for review before sharing with the broader organization.
Our Principles
The resulting list is a cohesive and actionable set of principles that provides a shared understanding of what makes great design. In addition, the principles serve as a tool for reviewing designs and identifying opportunities to continually improve our output.
Human
We focus on creating solutions that thoroughly consider the people whom they are meant to serve. We are intentional about how we work together to create those solutions. We validate the success of a design through research and testing. Human-centered designs are accessible, empathetic, ethical, helpful, simple, and friendly.
Responsible
We design products that are ethical and in pursuit of improving the lives and experiences of the people who use them and the communities in which they are used. The idea or design is technologically feasible, economically viable, and morally sound.
Flexible
We take a macro view of the project to ensure that our product or design will be able to change and adapt as needed. We consider how and if a product should evolve in step with industry or consumer evolution. We use modular and component-based practices to allow our products to be built, optimized, and adapted more rapidly.
Methodical
We continuously evaluate and iterate on our processes, allowing us to improve and optimize these systems and their results. We deliver high-quality work efficiently and with intention.
Aesthetic
We create remarkable, expressive designs, without sacrificing simplicity or focus. Our designs are appropriate within their respective contexts and fit the brands and ecosystems in which they live. We design products that speak to and emotionally connect with users through the appropriate use of visual communication.
Designing Beyond the Horizon
As an organization, one of our core missions is to create a culture of learning and growth. To do so, we develop and implement frameworks that allow designers and non-designers of varied skill levels to easily come on board, acclimate, and elevate their skills. Regardless of their starting point, Versett’s goal is to provide the tools for each team member to do the best work of their careers. By codifying our Design Principles and establishing a shared viewpoint on design, we’ve put a stake in the ground. From here we can optimize for greater outcomes, working towards a shared vision and common goals.
Sharing the principles with the broader team beyond the design discipline proved extremely valuable in affirming that our direction and values were aligned with the organization as a whole. As a studio focused on delivering digital products for our clients and partners, design and product thinking are intrinsic to all practice areas at Versett. Sharing our design philosophies helped to further integrate design into our approach to product development.
Resources
Below are some of the resources we found helpful in developing our principles. We hope you’ll find them helpful, too.
A Matter of Principle
by Julie Zhou
Julie Zhou on the Inside Intercom Podcast
Julie Zhuo chats with Intercom…about what makes great product design, establishing early design principles, team building, and much more.
Design Principles FTW
The most comprehensive collection of Design Principles on the Internet.
Principles of Product Design
DesignBetter by InVision
Material Design
Google’s Material Design system is built on top of some foundational core principles which drive all aspects of it.
Does your organization have a defined set of guiding design principles? How did you work to develop them? How has codifying your design principles influenced how you work? Leave a comment below!
✌️ Versett is a product design and engineering consultancy. If you like this post, you’d love working with us. See where you’d fit in at versett.com
