I’m scaling back my design agency to build my own shit after working with 100+ startups and designing 150+ products. A few thoughts & hot takes (on how to be a good designer):
1/ Copy everything. Not steal - copy to learn. I recreated entire apps pixel by pixel. It's tedious as hell but your brain absorbs what actually works. Most designers skip this and wonder why their work sucks.
2/ To make an app feel premium, focus on: • Fast load times • Beautiful empty states • Zero jank when swiping • Responsive, human support Not 18 features or a dark mode toggle.
3/ UI takes 10x longer to master than UX. You can learn research & user flows in months. But visual design? That's years of reps.
4/ Only God-tier designers get micro-interactions right. Most just slap on random animations because “it looks cool.” In that case, it’s better not to have them at all. Here’s a simple way to do them properly: Timing: instant trigger Duration: 300-600ms Transformation: not
5/ Learn from the best: Apple Pay: subtle haptics Airbnb: space + typography hierarchy Superhuman: micro-speed animations Don’t copy visuals, but the principles.
6/ The difference between amateur and pro UI design: → Amateur: designs for aesthetics → Pro: designs for state changes Loading, empty, success, error - that’s where real UX happens.
7/ Stop doing wireframes for everything. Do a quick ugly sketch on paper to get your brain out, then jump straight into high-fidelity. The low-fi wireframe phase is mostly just wasting time.
9/ Most UI problems are just spacing problems. If your design feels “off” - don’t change colors, change rhythm. - Double your padding - Reduce font variety - Align to a 4px or 8px grid Clean spacing IS good design.
10/ I judge products by one screen: the empty state. If it’s thoughtful, the rest usually is too. Empty states are your real onboarding. Teach, reward, or prompt, but never leave them blank.
11/ When you design flows, always ask: “Where will the user feel stupid?” Then redesign that step until it’s impossible to fail. That’s 80% of UX.
12/ Jakob's Law is simple: Users spend 99% of their time on OTHER sites. So your "innovative" navigation that breaks all conventions is not creative bro but just confusing. I tell founders this all the time - steal what works, innovate on what matters.
13/ Every UI should pass this test: 1. Can a distracted user complete the key flow in 30 seconds? 2. Can a tired user recover from an error without rage-quitting? 3. Can your grandma find the login button? If not, it’s just confusing, not "minimalistic."
14/ Users only judge your entire app by 2 moments - the most intense part (peak) and how it ends. That's the Peak-End Rule. Your 50 mediocre screens are already forgotten. But nail that onboarding celebration and they'll love you forever.
15/ Biggest lie in design: "Mobile-first" Truth: Design for the platform where users PAY. B2B SaaS: Desktop first Dating app: Mobile only Fintech: Both, perfectly synced Follow the money, instead of blindly following the methodology.
16/ Reduce Cognitive Load: When there's too much going on, users won't be able to focus on what's actually important.
17/ Don't start an agency if you haven't managed people yet. Join a company first. See what good management looks like. Then start your own thing. After years of running one, I'm now scaling it down and going all in on my recipe app @Nonna_app.
Btw - I'm building my own app now: @Nonna_app An app that suggests meals based on what's in your fridge. Because I'm tired of buying shit for one recipe and never using it again. Join the waitlist:
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