📰 3 Design Articles
Rethinking the MVP: Building a Competitive Product
- Author Tuomas Artman considers the best route to build an MVP, or minimum viable product, and shares his insights, strategies, and guidelines he’s learned throughout his time as co-founder of software development tool, Linear.
- One critical component is the ability to select the correct users in order to accrue meaningful feedback: it's less about the quantity, and more about the quality in terms of relevance, when cultivating information you can then implement in a next version.
- “In today’s landscape, you’re likely competing against many other products. To win, you have to build a product that provides more value to your users than your competition does. To be able to do this with limited resources, you must scope down your audience as much as possible to make competing easier, and aim to solve the problems of specific people.”
YouTube Adds New Labeling Tool for GenAI Created Content
- In an effort to build continued trust with users across their streaming platform, YouTube announced more stringent guidelines around the use of AI in videos, requiring content creators to self-disclose when something has been altered using GenAI.
- The largest concern lies with manipulation of real people and places to skew information incorrectly, particularly around avenues such as health, reporting, or world events—disclosure still lies with creators, for now.
- “While we want to give our community time to adjust to the new process and features, in the future we’ll look at enforcement measures for creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information.”
Cherish to Flourish: Building Better Client Relationships
- Looking for ways to strengthen client relationships? This insightful guideline gives practical examples towards facilitating success, from the importance of active listening to small but personal touches, all of which build rapport and cultivate clients who will keep coming back.
- Exceeding expectations is highlighted as one of the most important methods towards standing above the competition: thinking ahead and offering expert advice beyond the immediate scope of a project can showcase your value, help to build trust, and keep a client excited about what you bring to the table.
- “Yes, it's fun and potentially rewarding to hunt for new clients. However… loyal clients not only provide a steady stream of revenue, but they also become your advocates, singing your praises to their networks.”
💜 Portfolio Inspiration
Jenny Ngo, a UX Academy graduate, has a portfolio with a wonderfully fun feel. Bringing her passion for fitness to her work, Jenny created an app to motivate weightlifters—you can pick a pet cartoon character to build strength with you as you go! She also brings an approach of active listening and an iterative mindset to working with a client for a cat adoption website redesign.
Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.
💡 Interesting Stuff...
Design is the body language of your marketing. Don’t slouch. — Mark King (musician)
🧪 From the Lab
Advanced Courses Open for Enrollment
Two courses for experienced designers are currently open for enrollment:
Advanced Figma: In this 4-week course, you’ll master the strategies and workflows used by the best, most experienced product designers – bringing your efficiency with Figma to the next level. We’re currently offering a $100 discount on enrollments to our first cohort, launching April 15th.
Data-Driven Design: Increase your impact as a designer and gain confidence using product metrics in your design process in this 6-week course. Our next cohort launches on May 3rd.
Both courses feature a combination of self-paced lessons, hands-on projects, and weekly peer group sessions led by one of our expert mentors.
Upcoming Community Events
Our slate of free community events continues with several exciting offerings upcoming:
- Mar. 22: Working and Living Abroad as an International Designer
- Mar. 26: The Power of Team Rituals
- Apr. 2: Du Good: How UXers Change Communities and Create Opportunities
You can find the full event calendar on our registration page to see what’s coming up next. Miss one our previous events? Browse our archives of recordings.
Start Your Journey to a Fulfilling Creative Career
Enrollment for our April 8th cohort of UX Academy Foundations is now open. Learn foundational design skills, get hands-on experience working in tools like Figma, and learn how to integrate AI into your workflow. You’ll also receive 1:1 mentorship and a $500 tuition credit towards our career-switching bootcamp, UX Academy.
Reserve your seat now and only pay when the cohort begins.
Earn $ Telling People About Designlab
Know a friend or colleague who would benefit from Designlab’s courses and programs? Have a social media channel or blog related to design?
If you said ‘yes’ to either question, sharing Designlab with your network is now more rewarding than ever! Earn for each new student you send our way.
%20(1)-min.png)
