Design differs from art because it must always be functional and rational. We're working persistently to solve problems for the business and our users. These principles are considerations and guidelines that help us make appropriate decisions.

#1. Context is king

We design products and services for three major user personas – engineering teams, content creators, and businesses. They all have varied set of expectations and understanding of our product. In order to cater to their needs, it's always important to ask who we're designing for and how it would help them solve their problem.

#2. Keep it simple

When tasked with a problem, default to simplicity. We don't want to reinvent the wheel where it isn't required but we will always strive to make better pots. Stick to the basics, provide ease of use and respect our customers' time and money.

#3. Clarity through consistency

Work in systems, follow best practices and guidelines. Provide a familiar experience to the user, don't make them think. Aim to create a simple, functional, inclusive and honest design.

#4. Take ownership

Take ownership of your work. Be involved in the end-to-end experience from planning to production. Your job as a designer is never done until the feature or project is alive.

#5. Bias for action

We encourage action over speculation. Move fast and fix things as you go. Most actions can be reversed and do not need extensive study; take calculated risks.

#Our design method

Over time, with practice and experience, we've learned a few things that work for us when designing. These are the core fundamentals of the way we design at Hygraph.

1. Share early, share often

Great design happens in collaboration. Share your ideas and sketches with the team before they're done. Allow them to collaborate with you, provide feedback, and move forward together, faster. Ideally, you shouldn't spend more than a day without sharing anything with the team. This also helps with alignment and building a common understanding.

2. Be transparent and invite feedback

Work in the open, share your work in the public channels and create an environment where anyone can share feedback with you. This not only helps in collaboration but also makes your work visible.

3. Don't assume, ask questions

Curiosity never killed the cat. Ask questions with an open mind and avoid making assumptions. Stay curious and keep learning.

4. Iterate, iterate, iterate

A digital product is never done. We can always make improvements. Take small bets, test them with real users and execute on your learnings. This is a great way to reduce risks and build momentum.