Unicorns at Work: a Conversation with Amanda Linden, Director of Product Design at Facebook

It’s widely agreed that a great user experience exists at the intersection between usability and desirablity. An app that taps into a user’s emotion is one that’s returned to again and again. Startup culture, generally youthful and creative, has resulted in a marketplace of apps that let their freak flag fly, that aren’t afraid to take risks and have fun. Look no further than Snapchat’s bevy or bizarre filters or Twitter’s “fail whale” for examples of this.

But what if you’re designing an app intended to be used for serious business, such as in the workplace? Is there room for playfulness and emotion? We chatted with Amanda Linden, currently Director of Product Design at Facebook, where we learned why it can be even more important in these cases to embrace your company culture and let it shine through.

Mythical Moments

“ I’m always shocked and dismayed at how people avoid making enterprise software emotional.” Amanda tells Alan Nowogrodski, founder of MUX, over a call from her office in Menlo Park. “When you check your email, you simply face the drudgery of email. You know that there’s just going to be more coming. There’s no moment where the application pauses and tells you, ‘no more emails, man — kudos!’ ”

Before joining Facebook, Amanda was leading the rebrand for productivity app Asana when she witnessed the impact of delight in an otherwise studious, task-oriented application.

“An engineer had hacked together something that you could turn on in settings, which no one knew about.” Amanda recalls. “Randomly, a unicorn would fly across the screen!”

The flying unicorn was never intended to become part of the product, but it was a hit with customers.

Amanda laughs. “Somebody leaked the unicorn on Twitter and Asana fans talked about it! At one point it was the most positively mentioned thing on there. It became a marketing tool.”

But why a unicorn, of all things? What did that have to do with productivity?

“It’s ridiculous, there is no reason for it at all in the product experience.” Amanda admits. “But when you have a tool that is essentially a never ending list, having moments of celebration and accomplishment becomes quite important.”

Your Culture is Your Brand

When Amanda first joined Asana, the application was effective, but lacked the personality she felt buzzing through the office itself.

“ There was lot of wackiness at the company, a lot of humor, a lot of silliness…but you wouldn’t see any of that in the product experience whatsoever.”

This observation spurred a rebrand that was highly self-reflective. By posing the existential questions “who are we?” and “what is our mission?”, Asana positioned themselves as an organization where flying unicorns weren’t just a novelty, but a path forward.

“We ended up creating a set of brand principles that were purposeful, empowering, approachable, and quirky.” Amanda reflects. “And then, it was like — we’re not just going to have unicorns. We’re going to have yetis; we’re going to have narwhals!”

“Importantly,” Amanda adds, “You can’t fake your brand. It’s in your culture, your DNA. Make sure your product tells the story of your culture.”

A Tab Bar is Not Your Brand

But what about designing for mobile, where iOS and Material Design guidelines seem to promote a landscape of usable, yet homogenous, app experiences? Is a product doomed to forgo personality for platform consistency?

Amanda is quick to point out that a brand transcends the style of tab bars and button. “That’s not your brand.” She explains. “Your brand is every perception that a person feels about your product. ”

Amanda has advice for companies that are in the process of soul-searching: “You really should start at the core of who you are as a company. What is our mission? What are the features you can build that would best ladder up to that vision?”

“You can’t fake your brand. It’s in your culture, your DNA. Make sure your product tells the story of your culture.”

So, how can designers apply this perspective to their day to day work? Amanda’s advice – never discount the importance of a reprieve from drudgery. Recognize your company’s culture and infuse it into your product. Celebrate the wins. Chances are, you’ll make someone’s day a little better.

“It turns out that people are actually still people at work.” Amanda tells us before returning to leading her team at Facebook. “They still have a desire to have fun.”

Kiley Meehan is a Product Design Manager at FreshBooks and writer for the MUX Awards.