Ask HN: Why do so many startups invest so little in design?
8 comments
It's expensive for the very early stages. Sometimes it also messes with validation.
The biggest problems are so big that customers are willing to pay for an ugly, hacky interface because it's better than what they have.
If the selling point is that something is nicer looking than the competition, it's possible that it's the wrong problem to solve.
UX design can pay off, but usually UX kicks in around the stage where the users need a tutorial. In the very early stages, the features are often too crude and lacking to benefit from UX.
The biggest problems are so big that customers are willing to pay for an ugly, hacky interface because it's better than what they have.
If the selling point is that something is nicer looking than the competition, it's possible that it's the wrong problem to solve.
UX design can pay off, but usually UX kicks in around the stage where the users need a tutorial. In the very early stages, the features are often too crude and lacking to benefit from UX.
I used to think this but I’m not so sure now. Some people are simply unable to look past extremely ugly interfaces. Some people feel less able to trust applications or web sites that lack good design. I think the answer to the original question is cost. Design can cost more than the coder.
Yeah, after writing that I realized that design is a lot more expensive. You can still get a decent coder who doesn't care about his work, but you can't get a decent designer who doesn't care.
It's important that the designers really understand the user journey, and that's not really something you can buy for just $5,000.
It's important that the designers really understand the user journey, and that's not really something you can buy for just $5,000.
Because design is still a luxury skill set. We need it to become a slight more available in the market.
What’s your story? Sounds like you have firsthand experience.
I have seen this first hand many times. Many startups won't spend a dime on design. A $5k design budget is unthinkable. They are being pennywise and pound foolish IMO.
What makes you think they do?
So yea, as long as you are solving a real problem for your users and making their life easy, they don't care. A different example: Craigslist. Still the same as ever.
Hardly a company or product fails just because of bad design. That is why too much investment on design upfront is not worth it.