Why every product we build starts with a board of real directions to react to, and how that board becomes the spec.
Most design feedback is a reaction. People find it hard to describe what they want and easy to point at what they like. So we never start with a blank brief; we start with a board.
Three directions, built from real references
Each board collects screenshots from products the audience already uses, notes what to take and what to leave, then proposes a few clear directions. Every direction is drawn as real screens at real sizes, on a desktop and a phone, not as mood images.
- A direction has a name, a palette, a typeface and a reason to exist.
- Every screen uses real content from the product, never lorem ipsum.
- The board ends with a recommendation, so there is always a starting point.
The decision becomes the spec
Once a direction is picked, the board is updated to say so. That decision section is what the build follows: colours, type, layouts and the rules for using them. It lives in the repository next to the code, so anyone can see why something looks the way it does.
It is much cheaper to change a board than to change a product.
This site went through the same process: three directions in our own brand, a choice, then the build you are reading now.