5 design tips for startups

Building up a startup takes a lot of hard work. Of course, you’ll find startup resources by Pakwired, but you still need to work your ass off to get started. In this post you will find some advice on how to approach the design aspect of building a startup.

1. Don’t overlook design

There is a good reason why many startups are launched by designers nowadays: design is crucial to the success of your startups. Potential customers have developped a more critical eye when it comes to the visuals of your startup, and they’ll overlook you as not professional if you overlook design. So get a good designer if you have no designer in your team.

Although Tumblr was founded by designers, it created a successful design culture.

2. Keep it simple

While overlooking design is bad, overdesigning is just as bad. The KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle is famous among designers, it should be among business owners too.

Steve Jobs understood this better than no other CEO, and he did an amazing job at keeping his company’s designs simple. He obviously wasn’t designing, but he prevented bloated designs to happen by giving directions for the company.

Also, if you look at the evolution of the car companies logos, you will notice that pretty much every one of them removes stuff and simplify their logos as they grow.

3. Be responsive

Some companies go as far as creating their online presence for mobile first. That’s not necessary, at least in most cases it isn’t. However, you should make sure that your website looks well on all devices. If you don’t understand why, just take a look around you in the street and see all the idiots sticking their noses in their cell phones, they are on the internet most of the time.

4. Web design is 95% typography

This. Oliver Reichenstein is one of the top information architects, he knows what’s up with web design and typography. Startup owners, please don’t mess up your site with poor use of typography and unnecessary elements. If your visitors can’t read your site, they will not buy your products. Period.

5. Pay attention to details

The devil hides in the details. You may know this about some other fields, it is true for design too. While you’ll get away with good design, you’ll only get praised for great design.