The Framework I Use Before Designing Any Product

Most designers start with a blank canvas. I start with a list of uncomfortable questions that usually kill the first idea. I remember sitting in a windowless conference room watching a video of a woman trying to use a product I had just spent three months designing. The interface was beautiful. We had used a calming palette of soft blues and warm grays. The typography was meticulously scaled. Every button had a subtle hover state that felt expensive and deliberate. We had optimized the flow to reduce the nu