Start from the top
I often find myself reflecting on Airbnb—their design evolution, culture, and how they’ve recently embraced skeuomorphic iconography as part of their visual language. In contrast, during older days I struggled to get my own team to update a simple color gradient—because “it won’t create any revenue impact.”
So, what does it mean for a company to be an Apple or an Airbnb of the world? They start from the top. Design is deeply integrated into the company’s DNA. They gave a seat to the design at the table from day one. This meant design wasn't just about polish—it was seen as strategic, human-centered and core to product thinking. Leaders display exhilarating obsession towards aesthetics, simplicity, and human experience.
“Start from the top” means two things: leadership that champions design, and a design process that begins with the big picture—the story, the feeling, the first impression. From there, every pixel, every interaction, reinforces that vision.
Starting to design from the top and outwards where no detail is overlooked and the brand and the product tells a story. Design is not siloed instead is a part of the bigger strategy. When engaging with entire funnels looking through the user’s pov, we start identifying patterns for drops and things customers engage with. It may be because the narrative didn’t fit well or the cohesiveness to drive user experience lacked some glue. As Alex Scliefer from Airbnb mentioned in his article:
“Here's the simple truth: you can't innovate on products without first innovating the way you build them.”
— Alex Schleifer
All the companies are competing against time and racing to beat the time to market. While it is no doubt, but moving faster shouldn't mean cutting corners. The goal is to ship smart, fast, and with focus. This is where designers can help to identify a smart MVP in order to ship best reduced version of the product. It bridges marketing and product UX so it feels like one brand. Design can be a major accelerant in beating time to market—not just by “making things pretty faster,” but by de-risking decisions, aligning teams early, and enabling faster iteration.
Today, design is beyond the craft. While other teams may discuss strategy in lengthy documents, we have the unique ability to visualise and bring that direction to life in a way that truly engages everyone. Design must therefore find ways to break silos and work cross functionally with other functions in order to step into the closed doors. Instead of obsessing over only the UI, start obsessing over collaborations, feedbacks, supporting visions, talking to everyone who may seem like you don’t really cross over with.
Start with those conversations, to start right from the beginning