Design Rituals — a week in a life at Doctolib
Being a Solo Designer
Without a formal design background, starting in a small company as a solo designer was challenging to say the least. Guidance? Forget it. Freedom? Plenty. But you know what they say:
Freedom brings a lot of anxiety.
After my first few months, it became clear: this is a make-or-break experience. I watched youtubes and read mediums of successful designers to get jealous. The drive to have the same level of mastery kicked in and I cried to my company for a proper UI course. Without that jealou… I mean, that drive, god only knows under what stone would I be crawling right now. Self-learning awakened my hunger for more. The autonomy and trust my former team put in me — became a purpose in itself.
And then, after no less than 3 years, I felt it was time to get out from under my comfy umbrella of a design library created solely for myself and a handful of devs. It was time to finally compare what I’ve learnt against a wide sea of designers with years of experience, for whom a wall of post-its is the bread and butter of daily work, for whom collaboration means more than sketching ideas on paper and showing to a PM, where inspiration continuously flows, like a fresh stream of mountain water.
Designing in Stereo: Rituals
I’ll never forget the first time I got to meet all Doctolib designers, spread across Germany and France, gathering everyone’s cursors on a Figma workshop file. The goal of that Friday gathering was to come up with a consistent way the arrow icons are used across the product. I remember thinking: “Alright wow, I guess Doctolib is a place where designers can voice whatever visual itch they suffer from and then address it all together in a sweet unison of UI solutions”. Maybe I’m too sentimental but these arrows will forever be my symbol of collaborative design work:
The workshop ended, I hit Leave meeting to close the window, and felt that immense wave of relief a person feels when they realise they’re just in the right place. I took another look at the board for reassurance:
Whether it’s an arrow issue, feedback session, exchange of product knowledge, design critique, or a sheer need of inspiration — we have a ritual that covers it.
Monday
We start the week with a classic sync — to know what to expect in the upcoming days, how to position oneself within the priority projects and possibly also: who to schedule a meeting with. It’s an opportunity to say hi, see friendly faces of people on the team (not only designers), and cry a little over the too-short weekend together.
Tuesday
Tuesday is usually the most exciting: 💎 nerding about components and 🛠 meeting up for a voluntary design workshop. We typically take one hour to announce all the updates in the design library and voice potential needs or simply share opinions. It’s not only fun but also necessary — for designers to know what’s going on, what components to select for their use cases, where to find them, and what possible further improvements they can contribute to. After that, whoever so wishes, can jump on the next call to present what they’re currently working on, the challenges they’d like to discuss, or simply to be there as support for those who present. A lovely format that makes intrinsic motivation shine.
All that before lunchtime! ✨
Wednesday
Wednesdays are usually dedicated to 🙌🏻 Design All-Hands, which happens once a month. During the presentations, we like to gather somewhere nice together (okay, well, mostly in the office but we have our favourite — nice — spots), have some croissants or cinnamon buns and listen to Arthur and Asier Villagrá laughing at each other.
Thursday
Thursday morning is dedicated to 1:1 meetings with managers. The format of those depends on the manager but there are a few things that might be expected:
- one week it’s a classic get together to see if everything’s alright, ask some organisational questions and so on,
- and another week — a design feedback session, where you discuss design issues, areas for improvement, or advice on how to proceed with whatever’s on your plate.
Friday
On top of that, there are different types of All-Hands for more general topics. Talking about Friday — have I said Tuesday is the most exciting? 🥁 Our so called Jam Sessions beat it. The idea is to block a 3-hour-long slot in the calendar for designers to… focus on designing. Sounds weird but the occasional overload of meetings and syncs to be had during the week with the rest of the team (PMs, UX Researchers, UX Writers, developers) might leave a designer with no time to actually get those pixels moving. That’s why Jams (🍓) can be done solo or stereo: in pairs, in small groups, or even as an entire team — depending on the need. Collaborating or focusing — all, to come up with the best possible solution in as optimal environment as possible.
Why do rituals matter?
There’s so much you can do alone. Think of those moments of lower energy we all can relate to. There’s a chance that by merely discussing an idea with somebody who happens to feel a bit differently that day, you’ll get set right back to your usual creative self. At Doctolib, together with designers on all the teams, we practice collaboration, feedback skills, and a learning mindset. Rituals help us stay focused and have fun designing. And if you’re still not convinced, here’s some thoughts of those concerned:
First thing that comes to mind when thinking about our design rituals: sharing — knowledge, feedback, ideas. But maybe most of all it’s about getting together & having fun building something meaningful 😻
Alice Raynaud, Product Designer
Our design rituals such as jam sessions (pair designing & design critique) are very helpful to take ownership on our projects. The moment where us designers become the voice of our project, practicing how we pitch it, structuring how we think and present design process, and last but not least we practice humility when we open to new ideas and constructive feedback 🙂
Bettina D'ávila Product Design Manager
One of the key things about our rituals is their power to help us grow and nurture our design mindset as a team. Those privileged moments allow us to seek for more simplicity, more logic, more consistency and creativity 🥰
Raphael Lorand, Product Design Manager
I have the feeling that rituals help us practice humility — by giving and receiving feedback tactfully. They help practice team spirit — by providing space for pair design sessions. And finally, rituals support continuous learning — because by observing others do things you don’t know, you can improve faster.
Mathis Freudenberger Product Design
I believe that our rituals help add the missing social component to our remote work scenarios. Despite working from different locations in Germany, Italy and France, they helped us create a true team — and not just a bunch of people who happen to work for the same company.
David Brandau Product Design Manager
Join us!
Do you feel like you could be a valuable participant in our rituals? Feel that intrinsic motivation kicking in? Try our Career page — we’re always on the lookout for talent!
