Play of the Week newsletter by Chris​ ​ ​​​​

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Newsletter issue: #172
Read time: 1m 34s

10 years ago, the design industry had a collective meltdowns over “UX processes”.

Everyone and their mum was preaching about how messy processes needed fixing.

UX consultants were selling the UX perfect process.

It’s 2025 and I’m calling BS.

THERE. IS. NO. PERFECT. DESIGN. PROCESS.
(See below)

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Why? Because:

• Every project is uniquely strange
• Every team has its own weird quirks
• Every product serves a different use case
• Every client brings their own flavour of chaos

And that’s perfectly fine!

I learned this the hard way. In 2020, I left my job right in the middle of pandemic (yeah I know, silly me) because I was drowning in “process perfection” that wasn’t delivering results.

My team had beautiful Figma files. Perfect documentation. Immaculate roadmaps.

And absolutely miserable users.

The product was hard to use and churn was through the roof.

You: "But Chris, don’t we need SOME kind of process?"
Me: *sips coffee dramatically* "Yes, but not the one being sold to you on LinkedIn."

What actually matters is this: The best design process is the one that ships products people love.

That might look messy. It might not fit in a Medium article. It definitely needs to be explained when talking to a client.

But it’s true.

Here’s what actually matters:

1. Talk to real humans (not just stakeholders)
2. Collect problems like Pokémon (gotta catch ‘em all!)
3. Do just enough research (not a PhD dissertation)
4. Get wild with ideation (the crazier the better)
5. ​Prototype quickly (ugly is fine)
6. Launch before you’re ready (yep, really)
7. ​Test with actual users (sorry, your mum doesn’t count)
8. Iterate constantly (first pancake always sucks)

Remember when Kylie Jenner tweeted “sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?”, after their 2018 redesign?

Kylie Jenner @KylieJenner sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me... ugh this is so sad. 5:50 AM • Feb 22, 2018 52610 Retweets 278234 Likes Read 3931 replies

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That single tweet wiped $1.3 BILLION from their market value.

Why? They had a “perfect process” that ignored users.

Meanwhile, Instagram started as a completely different app called Burbn. They threw out their entire roadmap when they realized people only cared about photo sharing.

Look how that turned out.

Over a decade working in UX across 7 countries, I’ve learned the messier the process, the better the story, the better the product.

Embrace the chaos. It’s real. And you often learn more.

Avoid these 5 design process traps:

🔥 NEW

The goings ons

Happenings & shenanigans in the (design) world and beyond

Notion announces Notion 3.0 with your very own AI agent. One that can create calendars, draft scripts, write emails, organize data, build content libraries, and the coolest thing... you can personalize it. Read the full release doc.

Best city for Design Jobs? SF, NY, then Remote (US). Analysis from 5,000 jobs. You moving? Or just going Remote and never looking back?

Felix Lee @felixleezd After tracking 5K design jobs, we found the best city for designers. The one thing I noticed about every top designers is how they find where opportunities are ready. Top cities for designers (2025): > 🇺🇸 SF Bay Area: 781 > 🇺🇸 New York City: 429 > 🇺🇸 Remote (US): 419 > 🇮🇳 11:4 PM • Sep 23, 2025 1 Retweets 5 Likes Read 1 replies

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This week’s livestream is How To Convert With Content Design. We'll talk about everything Content Design 1) creating a winning brand identities, 2) content that attract the right people, and 3) generating leads with content (as a designer). Join us on LinkedIn or YouTube.

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I’m speaking at FUSECON 2025 tomorrow in Malaysia! 🇲🇾 The largest UX event in SE Asia. Tickets are sold out. Pretty nervous. Hope I don't puke on stage. Wish me luck!

That's it for today. Speak soon 💛 ​ ​ — Chris

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