Adrien Griveau - Lessons from the founding designer at Linear
Sep 21, 2023
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Learn from Adrien Griveau, the founding designer at Linear, about collaboration with engineering, traits sought in design candidates, customer feedback, design systems, QA process, prioritizing craft and quality, improving skills, and the impact of Linear on design.
Collaborating with engineers is crucial for designers to effectively communicate their design vision and create a product that engineers love to use.
Linear's design process focuses on providing a professional UI/UX experience, matching the mindset of engineers and team members who use the tool.
Designers should showcase live products they have built to demonstrate their ability to create functional and visually appealing designs that are relevant and beneficial to users.
Deep dives
The Importance of Collaboration with Engineers
Designers at linear understand the importance of collaborating with engineers to bring their innovative ideas to life. Building a strong relationship with engineers allows designers to effectively communicate their design vision and push boundaries. The goal is to create a product that engineers love to use, making the development process smooth and efficient.
The Evolution of Design at linear
Linear's design process has evolved over time, focusing on providing a more professional and efficient UI/UX experience. They moved away from the colorful and cartoonish visual language often used in SaaS products and aimed to match the mindset of engineers and other team members who use the tool. Keyboard shortcuts became a first-class citizen, designed to enhance productivity and create a fast and efficient workflow. Collaboration and feedback from team members, including engineers and marketers, play a crucial role in shaping the design direction of linear.
The Value of Being a Maker and Collaborator
Being a maker involves not just excelling in your core skills as a designer, but also actively engaging in other areas such as copywriting, marketing, and even learning basic coding. By creating and launching your own projects, you gain a deeper understanding of the challenges involved in running a product and are more equipped to collaborate effectively with engineers and marketers. Collaboration, communication, and the ability to work as a team are crucial skills for success as a designer, especially in early-stage companies like linear.
Importance of Showing Live Products
In this podcast episode, the importance of showcasing live products is emphasized. The speaker highlights the need for designers to demonstrate actual products they have built and that people love, rather than solely focusing on clean design files or design systems. By presenting live products, designers can prove their ability to create functional and visually appealing designs that are relevant and beneficial to users.
Prioritizing Quality and Iteration
The podcast episode discusses the significance of prioritizing product quality and continuous iteration. It is highlighted that it is essential for designers and engineers to regularly review and compare the product in production with the design files, ensuring that the design is well-implemented and all edge cases are considered. The emphasis is on the role of the designer to ensure that the design decisions made are properly reflected in the final product and that the user experience is optimized. The episode also emphasizes the importance of fixing visual bugs promptly and involving the whole team in quality assurance to deliver a high-quality product.
It’s impossible to overstate the impact that Linear has had on the design world. So you can imagine how excited I was to have the opportunity to learn from their founding designer, Adrien Griveau 🙌
This Deep Dive is an all-access pass to design at Linear including Adrien’s approach to collaborating with the engineering team, the traits that Linear looks for in design candidates and a behind-the-scenes of Linear’s product process.
Enjoy :)
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