tbd_designer

Product Designer · UX Designer · Helping startups build user-first digital products · Airtable & Softr Builder

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Check out my latest article: How to Hire a Figma Designer in Nigeria - A Complete Checklist for Startup Teams

https://t.co/2xD5ug6v3I via @LinkedIn

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Check out my latest article: How to Brief a Product Designer: A Guide for Non-Technical Founders in Nigeria https://t.co/XuTWu2Inda via @LinkedIn

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Solution: one context sentence per KYC step. "We need your BVN to protect your account."

Completion: +34% in month 1.

None of that comes from opening Figma first.

The problem statement is not the preamble. It is the work.

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

The one thing I do before opening Figma and why most designers skip it

Before opening Figma: I write a problem statement. One sentence.

"[User] struggles to [action] because [obstacle], which means they [consequence]."

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Real example
Brief: "Users drop off at sign-up. Fix it."

Without a statement, I'd shorten forms and add progress bars.

With the statement "Crypto users stop mid-KYC because they fear the app is a scam. Not friction. TRUST."

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Q5: What are you NOT building?
Constraints save more time than anything else.

Save this. Send it to a founder who needs it.

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

A founder spent ₦650,000 on a designer, hated all 6 revisions, and is starting over.

Their brief: "Build something clean and modern for our fintech app."

That's not a brief. That's an invitation to guess.

Here's the 5-question format that fixes this 🧵

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Q4: What apps does your user already love?
Reference products > mood boards. Every time.

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

https://t.co/z9QWkWcHgs

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

6 months in, a startup was spending 3 hours per new feature to recreate the same button. Not a design problem. A system problem.

New article: What Is a Design System and Does Your Startup Need One?

Covers what it is, what it costs, and exactly when you need one.

Link below

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

THE RESULT

A product your dev team can build, and your users can actually use.

Which step do most teams skip?

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

A founder redesigned their app 4 times in 12 months.

Beautiful product. Zero user conversations before designing.

Here's the 3-step MVP process I use to prevent exactly that 🧵

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Step 3: High-Fidelity + Handoff

Build in Figma with a component system.
Design ALL states: success, error, empty, loading.
Deliver a handoff guide, not just a file.

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

Here are the 5 signs I look for. Swipe to see if yours qualifies 👉

If any of these match your product, drop a comment, and I'll tell you which type of redesign you actually need.

#ProductDesign #UXDesign #StartupGrowth #NigeriaStartups

[tbd_designer @damilare_gideon]

I reviewed 3 startup products last quarter, and all three founders said the same thing: "We just need it to look better." None of them needed a visual refresh.
All three needed a redesign for completely different reasons.