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Comment by nbzso | Hacker News Reader

Example: This is a company with 13 million funding, without budget to spend on design:

While the team is still less than ~20 ppl, we likely won't have a full-time designer. With the ubiquity of tools like Figma and design libraries like Material Design, we actually think this is okay. You're welcome to hire an agency to help with things like colors, fonts, illustrations, and to audit our component library.

Agency? To help? May be more like "some freelancers and stock design templates". Good Lord. And then you have audacity to complain that "there is no design".

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I'm not quite sure what position and tone the parent comment is aiming for. Is this an example of the GP's concern that you are agreeing with? Or an example of why you think graphic design really is overrated because here's a company with millions in funding that doesn't care about design?

You're welcome to hire an agency to help with things like colors, fonts, illustrations, and to audit our component library.

I suspect someone like the GP could help with the other 90% of what graphic design is about, too, and the attitude implied here (whether it's your or the company's, again I'm not sure) is probably exactly what the GP is disappointed with.

I represent my company and my professional views. You don't have to agree with me. If I have 13 million investment for new product I will invest in design system and brand differentiation from the start - period. Why? Because of the idea that my product must be unique. But hey, there is material library, why bother at this stage? Just hire someone to "decorate" over and make some "trendy" illustrations. Right?

Just an inside: Last year I have returned 5 offers to redesign "some product" from startups, because they have build it with this way of thinking and redesign implementation is not possible. They must rebuild the whole product from scratch with design focus.

Don't fall in this trap, to think that I have something "personal" and you must imply some wrongdoing. Please.

Hit the nail on this one.

I didn't see the response to your comment as implying wrongdoing.

I was also having difficulty understanding the point you were making.

You've clarified that now though, so thank you.

I wasn't intending to imply any wrongdoing, and I too was having some trouble understanding which side of the argument the comment I replied to was taking. (The comment was also edited after I wrote my reply.)

After the follow-up, I think nbzso is arguing that good design does matter and can't just be retrofitted later, and in that case, we agree.

Edit: Also, I've just realised that both the top comment and the one I replied to were written by the same person, so actually it seems very clear that we're in agreement. Apologies for missing that before.

Thanks for your reply.

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