Beyond the Build

Beyond the Build

How Design-Led Companies Win - and Everyone Else Plays Catch-Up

Design isn’t about shipping prettier UIs. It’s about reorienting the business around experience.

James Colgan's avatar
James Colgan
Jul 26, 2025
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Most companies claim that design matters, but unfortunately, few act like it. We can see it in the products they ship and those we use every day. As a product person, it is hard to engage with any subpar user experience and not feel frustration, annoyance, or even anger. (It drives my wife crazy.)

What I learned at Slack is that design isn’t the cherry…

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