Xpanse Design Principle: Futuristic

Continuing our Design Principle series, our next principle is set to not just put us on par with our competitors, but make a huge leap forward.

Our competition is not tough to beat. They struggle with basics like browser forward & back buttons functioning properly, or being able to modify search results. While these were solved problems in the 1990’s, simply going one step farther still lands us 20 years behind.

Futuristic

Design for years to come. Keep an eye on the big picture. We’re creating a platform of interconnected products and services. We’re designing an ecosystem.

We need to fully understand our users, their problems and how they have solved those problems so far. However, that sets an anchor point which is a considerable distance from the future. Where appropriate, we find ways to distill down those tasks and decouple them from a UI. It is extremely challenging, and rewarding.

Aligning on outcomes with customers is key. It’s one thing to create a platform vision of the future, it’s another challenge to convey that vision to stakeholders who are experts in today’s solutions. It’s common for customer conversations to focus on how a solution should work. A more fruitful conversation focuses on what outcomes the customer needs. These conversations regularly reveal root issues we can address, and that helps us build a solid platform for the future.

Stylistically futuristic is another challenge. While material design is still popular and in many ways well thought out and useful, it’s been in play since 2014. New designs can often seem immediately old. Enter neomorphism. On the surface it may seem like an easy answer, but if you’ve used it much you have quickly run into its limitations. It took a while, but we think we have the beginnings of a good answer.

Mechanisms propelling us towards Futuristic

“User Centered”, “Customer Focused” and “Customer Obsession” are a few common phrases when it comes to modern design and product development philosophies. In this space, those terms are used but the practices are sparse. Building in mechanisms is vital in making it happen.

User Research is a fundamental component of forward movement. First, you must gain a deep understanding of where your customers are today. You can’t just know what they do and why they do it. To truly disrupt an industry, you need to go beyond surface level understanding. You need to understand why they are in this situation to begin with. Our customers regularly work in a series of silos. Through user research, we gain insights into how those silos were formed, and how we may be able to better serve our customers by using technology in ways that the industry has never utilized before.

Next, a solid design system is key. It’s easy to focus on the short term. We often (though admittedly not often enough) take a step back and evaluate our design efforts as a bigger picture. Working with the design system helps remind us to think of the future, and set ourselves up to win in the long run.

Finally, as a team it’s also important that we are able to quickly release previous beliefs on how our products should work. Even if we just designed something, we are always learning. Regularly, we need to let go of the past to help ourselves, our team, our company and ultimately our customers move into the future.

Xpanse is building the modern OS for the greater mortgage industry that will connect and create value to borrowers, lenders, servicers, and providers. Conquering the last frontier of Fintech #BuiltInSeattle

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