Startup Designers – what do they do, and why is it important?

May 23rd, 2014

Blog_01_StartupDesignerIt’s difficult to ignore that designers have a massive role to play in the evolution of the web and the next generation of web products. Designers have co-founded startups like Kickstarter and Airbnb, and it was a designer who made the smartphone experience as memorable as it is today. It makes sense to get designers involved from the beginning if you’re building the next big thing in apps and platforms.

 

At 88mph we are two designers, 1 graphic and 1 front-end. We take care of the design of several startups, make them look good and help them build their first products. We see lots of poorly designed products, which is normally a reflection of deeper issues, and can spot problems in product – market fit early. Igor Hobotov and I, having worked on over 20 startups, operate more and more independently. To do that we also are forced to consider the business side and overall product communication, but this is far from a common trait in designers.

 

Designers are generally classified in one type of category. As either a Print Designer, Web Designer, Front-end Designer, Interaction Designer, etc. Most of the time, one isn’t forced to look over the hedge and attempt to see the whole picture. If they reach their barrier of expertise, the product is mostly passed on to another person who specialises in that field. This type of designer is naturally seen by most founders as a pure service provider and not as a partner, much less a co-founder. This is what happens when you get a task and approach it without asking questions. Being a startup founder means taking risks.

 

Startup Designers are not merely people who make things pretty, they drive the product vision, construct the emotions that will try and convince customers to buy products, and if something doesn’t work, they try something else. It’s their job to know the customer, and research the market. Even more important, as a Startup Designer who wants to stand out and make a change to the world, you have to design the best solution, and that requires deep understanding of the business side as well.

 

Why do we care whether startups have a Startup Designer on the team? Well the trend is smaller digital real estate, shorter attention spans, and more fierce competition. Startups that take a more human-centred, design-driven approach to building products and services – taking inspiration from interactions with real people, translating it into pixels that resonate with their audience – will also find user engagement and growth quicker. The earlier startup founders can bring in design, the more they can reap the benefits. It’s a lot harder to bring in design when a product or service has already been developed.

 

Elements of visual design like colors, typography, layout and graphics play an important role in the overall impact of a digital product experience. But mockups and friendly UI elements are just one component of a well-designed product. Look at startups who are doing well, they took design seriously and incorporated it from the beginning – design-driven companies like AirBnB or Pinterest. Deceptively simple products like Google.com didn’t just happen, they were deliberately created.

 

This kind of optimal user experience requires empathy with customers and their world view, which is what a Startup Designer must be able to deliver to be valuable at the earliest stages of the business.

 

The startup teams we want to invest in have a team, which can build, execute and grow in a very short time span. A Startup Designer is a vital part of that, especially for consumer internet startups. There is a flood of new products being launched every day. To stand out in that crowd demands simple, functional, and emotional design to win over the audience. Empowering Startup Designers in a founder role can bring a better understanding of what people actually want and would pay for.

 

When creating something fundamentally new, you are effectually trying to change people’s behaviour and, like the adage, if you want to change the mind, you need to first touch the heart. Great design does this.

 

Barbara Darchinger
Head of Design 88mph

More posts

  • 88mph’s portfolio company goes public

    September 3rd, 2020

    88mph portfolio company, Mdundo is listed on the Nasdaq First Growth Market in Denmark

  • 88mph invests in Ahoy

    88mph invests in Ahoy

    February 15th, 2017

    88mph has invested in a travel business that helps expansion teams, small businesses, and frequent travellers book and manage their flights.

  • 88mph is taking a break from investing in startups

    88mph is taking a break from investing in startups

    June 10th, 2015

    88mph have invested in 36 companies during 2011 – 2014 in Kenya and South Africa and have fully invested our funds. In the next 18-24 months, we will focus on working with the companies we have all ready funded to get some good return for our investors and founders. So, if you are a startup looking…

  • Exciting news from 88mph 2013 alumni startup, ApexPeak

    Exciting news from 88mph 2013 alumni startup, ApexPeak

    January 30th, 2015

    When Gakim Solomons brought ApexPeak to us 2 years ago, he wanted to build a smarter system that could provide SME’s with short-term capital. He explained the system the banks were using, which was needlessly inefficient and expensive, leaving many businesses under-serviced, and incapable of growing their businesses.

  • Who are the DealWeek investors?

    Who are the DealWeek investors?

    January 22nd, 2015

    As we’ve gathered quite a range of founder-investors to join us for a week of evaluating and investing in startups, we thought you might like to know who they are, what they have done, and what types of startups they are looking to put their hard-earned cash into.

  • Why we are doing things a little different in 2015

    Why we are doing things a little different in 2015

    January 7th, 2015

    We may lose some of benefits of the longer accelerator model, but given all the upsides we’ve mentioned here, we believe it’s worth a shot. So here goes the first test.

  • Introducing 88mph DealWeek Cape Town 2015

    Introducing 88mph DealWeek Cape Town 2015

    January 5th, 2015

    DealWeek is a 1-week sprint for 88mph and entrepreneurs turned investors to advise and invest in the most promising startups, where those selected to participate can receive between $25k and $250k.

  • 23m USD export finance deal with ApexPeak

    23m USD export finance deal with ApexPeak

    September 18th, 2014

    South African citrus fruit grower Karu Exporters, a subsidiary of the Bonaire Group, closed a US$23 million export finance deal with ApexPeak in August 2014.

  • Ekaya Press Release – September 2014

    Ekaya Press Release – September 2014

    September 17th, 2014

    They have been a little quiet for the last 2 months while they’ve been hard at work behind the scenes. Today they’re finally able to start sharing the fruits of that labor with you.

  • BookNow is hiring

    BookNow is hiring

    September 10th, 2014

    It’s been an exciting one year for BookNow, they are growing as per their laid down targets, and they are now approaching the next phase in their growth strategy.   In the next 3 months or so they are seeking to fill two C-level positions: Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Finance Officer. They are searching for kick ass individuals, who will…

  • The launch of 440 – a joint venture between 88mph and L5Lab

    The launch of 440 – a joint venture between 88mph and L5Lab

    March 2nd, 2014

    88mph has teamed up with L5 Lab to bring early-stage investing to Nigeria. Having run 5 rounds of funding and now into our 4th accelerator program, we are scaling the model to Africa’s biggest, and possibly most challenging, market. Why did we choose to bring our model to Nigeria? Well, anyone who has been to…

  • How Do We Pick Our Startups?

    How Do We Pick Our Startups?

    January 27th, 2014

    Right now we are sending out acceptance offers for the Cape Town 2014 program, as well as the rejection notes to those who didn’t make it through. To beat you to it… Here’s the inside scoop as most of you will try and contact us to find out why you didn’t make it. 1st off,…

  • Thinking Of Applying For The Cape Town 2014 Program?

    Thinking Of Applying For The Cape Town 2014 Program?

    December 3rd, 2013

    Do you have a mobile/web business idea that needs funding? Thinking of applying to our 2014 accelerator program in Cape Town? We’re having an open evening for potential applicants who want to know some of the finer detail. If that’s you, please come along. Thursday 5th Dec Here at our office in Woodstock, Cape Town…

  • Can you build a business for just 25k USD?

    Can you build a business for just 25k USD?

    November 25th, 2013

    In 2011, 88mph made our first investments in Africa in connection with an investment event. The format was to invest in minimum one startup – only 48 hours after meeting them for the first time.  We had received 60-70 applications online, and cut that down to the 10 who would come to this 48-hour event.…

  • The Cape Town Accelerator Program

    The Cape Town Accelerator Program

    November 14th, 2013

    What is an Accelerator Program? or Seed Fund? When does it start? How does it work…? So many questions… but before we start, make sure you’ve read the Home Page thoroughly, watched the video and read these FAQs. Then ask yourself:   Do I have a scalable mobile or web business idea that can service Africa?…

  • Nairobi startup, Gamsole, hits it big on Windows phone

    Nairobi startup, Gamsole, hits it big on Windows phone

    October 30th, 2013

    Gamsole from the 2012 class in Nairobi hits it big with a #1 position on Free Games on windows marketplace. Gamsole has firmly established itself as the #1 African game studio with millions of games downloaded for windows phone and now a latest achievement of reaching the top of the pop list on the marketplace.…

  • Google’s David Drummond Visits 88mph

    Google’s David Drummond Visits 88mph

    October 22nd, 2013

    Last week 88mph Cape Town was fortunate enough to host Google’s David Drummond. (Just Google him. No irony intended ;) For someone of his stature to visit South Africa, and to take an interest in Africa in general, is quite something. He could have sent any one of his 50,000 employees. Instead he came down…

  • Forget passion & f**k goals. Find a process instead.

    Forget passion & f**k goals. Find a process instead.

    October 15th, 2013

    The creator of Dilbert tosses out accepted ideas on how to reach success and introduces some of his own.  

  • Congrats to 88mph alumni Apex Peak.

    Congrats to 88mph alumni Apex Peak.

    September 26th, 2013

    Apex Peak, one of the startups to get funding from 88mph through our first Cape Town program, have just officially announced the follow-on rounds they’ve secured since 88mph’s demo day earlier this year. The Apex Peak platform offers an alternative way for businesses to get access to short term financing. There is a huge demand…

  • Samsung Partnership: Startups Get Chance to End up on Millions of Phones

    July 18th, 2013

    As a startup accelerator, we want to attract the best talent there is. Simple as that. By joining us, startups get investment, access to a built-in team of pro’s with uber skillz from coding to biz dev, a network of investors to call on for follow-on funding and marketing muscle. Most recently we’ve increased our…

@88mph.ac

Instagram has returned invalid data.

Follow Us