It’s been over a year since I started a business with my buddies, and it’s been a blast. I want to share this experience and discuss my role as a designer in a startup.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer; a designer’s role depends on more than just design. If you’re confident and have strong ideas, you might lead product direction. Or, if you’re a stickler for pixel-perfect details, you can find your niche. It’s about proactively finding your place in a changing environment.

Getting Started

Our main product is a parking app, so most of my work revolved around its design. Initially, we were mostly part-time, cobbling together the prototype on weekends. No wireframes, no detailed specs – just core functionality. My job was to quickly create basic UI mockups for discussion and development. We had teammates focused on product positioning, and we were all aligned.

“Quickly” actually took a while; it was my first mobile project. I’d only done web design, with some mobile dabbling on my personal site. The first version had fewer than 10 screens, but it was still daunting. Dealing with Android’s resolutions and the iOS 6 to iOS 7 style shift was a steep learning curve. It was a new world, and I had to shed my web experience and start fresh.

In the early stages, when everything is stretched thin, you naturally do what you do best: focus on visuals and interaction, and help turn the startup idea into a reality.

Integration

Once the core product launched, the main roles were set. We realized the manpower shortage was even bigger than expected. There was a ton of tedious but crucial work: promotional materials, third-party API applications, app store listings, etc. And things not directly product-related: company registration, office space, interviews. It was tough to assign these tasks. If I could do it better than others, I did it.

Developers always had more work, and business development was limited by external factors. Designers often have more free time at this stage. I couldn’t just relax. I became a multi-tasker, filling the team’s gaps. The startup was a steel frame; I was the cement.

When developers struggled with UI implementation, I learned their principles, weighed priorities, and made adjustments with them. I made detailed UI annotations. I found a tool to link UI mockups with click-throughs, clarifying the business logic. Marketing was just starting, and having a professional designer boosted results. Banners, Weibo templates, company and product websites – I’d quickly create them. I also thoroughly tested each version, providing detailed bug reports. If I wasn’t the best person to solve a problem, I’d note it for the team to prioritize. Speed was key. Early on, getting these supporting tasks done matters more than perfection.

This stage is messy and fast-paced. The goal is to adapt, integrate, and connect scattered tasks.

Review and Consolidation

As the team progressed, the product entered a stable iteration cycle. Marketing and business development improved. Design workload stabilized, and it was always less than other roles. Everyone’s work was specialized; I couldn’t help much.

I saw this as a chance to pause, review, connect the dots, and think strategically. The significance of the previous stage’s tasks became clear: our design lacked a soul. We lacked standards. The product, materials, and modules were disconnected. The external image was inconsistent, mostly improvised. It looked okay, but it was white noise, not a melody.

So I dove into iOS and Android guidelines, comparing design styles and studying leading products. I felt like starting over, but changes must be gradual.

I created the company’s VI system and applied it to all external materials. I extracted a color scheme and visual style, refined them, and wrote guidelines. App components were unified, with platform-specific differences. Standing on the shoulders of giants is wise.

Everything can have standards: visuals, interaction, animation, sound, data display, units… I wrote them down and kept adding. It’s a long-term project.

Beyond tangible standards, we needed to establish abstract ones. What impression do we want to create? What emotions should we evoke? I’m still pondering this. While this can be established early, it’s unstable. Business and product changes affect it. It takes time, iterations, and refinement for it to emerge. That’s the design’s soul; you can’t force it.

Refinement and Exploration

With standards and guidelines, design became simpler, and results improved. Standards drive consistency, and consistency refines standards. This should be done early. When the team grows, its impact is even greater.

I had more time, perfect for fixing legacy issues! Newbie mistakes and edge cases needed addressing. One basic mistake: tiny click areas in our early Android version, violating the 48dp standard. These problems were in core functions, so fixing them was urgent. I also revamped the product website with new technologies.

By now, the team had good chemistry. My teammates' abilities drove the product. I couldn’t fall behind. I needed to improve through learning and apply it immediately. I learned more that year than in the previous three combined: mobile development, responsive design, HTML5 animation, AE motion graphics, browser APIs, even drawing. Most importantly, my design skills improved.

Keep exploring, venturing beyond design, injecting fresh ideas. Think of yourself as a one-person Google X – a job to get designers' hearts racing.

Conclusion

Starting a business is exciting, but tough. If you’re prepared to start or join a startup, you’re not just a designer, but an entrepreneur – a problem-solver. Your responsibilities include anything you’re good at that helps the team. It depends on your expertise, personality, and thinking. You’re part of the team, driving it forward.