DESIGN FOR STARTUPERS 
#KYIVFTW 
DEC 1st, 2014 
VITALY M. GOLOMB | @VITALYG
+Investor
cccstartups.com 
@cccstartups
“Art is like masturbation. It is selfish and 
introverted and done for you and you alone... 
...Design is like sex. There is someone else 
involved, their needs are just as important 
as your own, and if everything goes right, 
both parties are happy in the end.” 
Colin Wright 
@colinismyname
DESIGN ≠ ART
Dieter Rams 
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN GURU
Dieter Rams 
TEN PRINCIPLES 
OF GOOD DESIGN
#1 
IS INNOVATIVE 
TAKES ADVANTAGE OF 
NEW TECHNOLOGY
#2 
MAKES A PRODUCT 
MORE USEFUL 
USE DICTATES FORM
#3 
IS AESTHETIC 
ONLY WELL-EXECUTED 
OBJECTS CAN BE BEAUTIFUL
#4 
MAKES A PRODUCT 
UNDERSTANDABLE 
MAKES A PRODUCT TALK
#5 
IS UNOBTRUSIVE 
NEUTRAL, OPEN TO 
USER SELF-EXPRESSION
#6 
IS HONEST 
DOESN’T MAKE PROMISES 
THAT CANNOT BE MET
#7 
IS LONG LASTING 
FASHIONABLE DESIGN 
DATES QUICKLY
#8 
IS THOROUGH 
LEAVES NOTHING TO CHANGE, 
DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL
#9 
IS ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY 
USES ONLY WHAT IS NEEDED
#10 
IS AS LITTLE DESIGN AS POSSIBLE 
SIMPLE AND PURE
AND NOW SOME 
BAD DESIGN...
CONSISTENT
PORSCHE 911 
50 YEARS - 7 GENERATIONS
how important 
is perception?
trust us with your 
banking logins
60-80% markup on 
dirt, oil, wax, and fragrance
so how much is 
“design” worth?
+100-350%
+200-400%
+100-500%
+800-1000%
+200-5600%
“Design is not just 
what it looks like. 
Design is how it works.” 
Steve Jobs
YOUR APPLICATION 
INTERFACE 
LOGIC 
DATA 
HOW USERS SEE IT 
INTERFACE 
MAGIC 
99% OF THE WORLD DOES NOT UNDERSTAND 
THE MAGIC OF PROGRAMMING
“As far as the customer is 
concerned, the interface 
is the product.” 
Jef Raskin 
Creator of Apple Macintosh
design disciplines
GRAPHIC DESIGN 
BRANDING 
ILLUSTRATION 
TYPOGRAPHY 
IMAGE MANIPULATION
user experience 
GRAPHIC DESIGN 
PSYCHOLOGY 
KNOWLEDGE OF MEDIUM 
SENSE INTENT
VISUAL BY: ENVIS PRECISELY 
BASED ON: THE DISCIPLINES OF USER EXPERIENCE BY DAN SAFFER
ui/visual 
SUBSET OF UX & 
GRAPHIC DESIGN 
DESIGN PRINCIPALS 
FOR GIVEN OS 
SURFACE FUNCTIONALITY
front-end developer 
DESIGN EYE 
EXECUTE UX/UI 
BRIDGE TO ENGINEERING
marketing 
COPY WRITING 
SALES 
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
GRAPHIC DESIGN USER EXPERIENCE UI/VISUAL FRONT-END DEV. MARKETING
“Good design is obvious. 
Great design is transparent.” 
Joe Sparano 
@joesparano
user-centric design
NO SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT HAS 
EVER COME OUT OF A FOCUS GROUP
"If I had asked people what 
they wanted, they would 
have said ‘faster horses’." 
Henry Ford
design success 
formula...
Vision 
+ 
Feedback from customers/users 
+ 
Culture (consistency & expectations) 
+ 
Techniques 
Jared Spool 
@jmspool
Unintentional
Unintentional self genius 
activity-focused
design driven 
Development
design goes first
PROBLEM 
DEFINITION 
WIREFRAMES 
+ PROTOTYPES 
ARCHITECTURE 
USER 
INTERFACE 
DESIGN 
FRONT-END 
DEVELOPMENT 
APPLICATION 
DEVELOPMENT 
CUSTOMER 
FEEDBACK 
MARKETING 
RINSE & REPEAT
“Design is intelligence made visible.” 
Don Newgren 
Artist
define the problem and let 
designers do their jobs
working with 
designers
what do 
designers need?
hint: 
it’s not more money
Interesting Problems
Creative Environment
A Seat at The Table
how would you like your design? 
pick two
FAST CHEAP 
GREAT 
FREE 
UGLY, 
RUSHED, AND 
CARELESS 
NEVER ON TIME 
DOES NOT 
EXIST 
YOU GET 
WHAT YOU 
PAY FOR 
DOES NOT 
EXIST 
TRASH 
DOES NOT 
EXIST
main ingredient: team
BUSINESS 
with domain expertise 
DESIGN ENGINEERING 
balanced startup team
design is core
want the slides? 
follow @vitalyg
one more thing…
COMING IN 2015 
download 
1ST CHAPTER 
free now 
www.founderco.com 
@vitalyg

Design for Startups #KyivFTW