

Designing For Start-Ups: How To Deliver The Message Across - trbecker
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/02/24/designing-appropriately-for-a-startups-audience/

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nbashaw
_In short, agile, user-centered design tends to ignore the aesthetic,
intangible, ambient qualities that good experiences are all about._

This is an interesting statement. It sheds light on the fact that different
internet sub-cultures value different things. I think your stereotypical
"startup guy" will not think twice about throwing up a prosaic, uninspiring
website. If it communicates the value proposition to the prospective customer,
then it's done it's job.

But if you look at great brands (Nike, Apple, Coke to a lesser extent) - they
create an emotional experience that makes you care about something. They
appeal to values. It's not about utility, it's about identity. The more you
can get people to identify with your brand, the more you can drive demand. At
the base level, what is demand other than an emotional drive?

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rushabh
Startups != great brands. Most startups have products that are not finished,
means they suck for the most part. Hence it's more important to get the
message right and have a product that works. The examples that you gave have
websites that take a lot of energy and resources. Both are in short supply in
startups and much more needed on the product side.

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sudonim
It totally depends on the make-up of the team. Flow, a product from Metalab
<http://getflow.com/> is in closed beta, but is an extremely polished looking
app. They're a design oriented firm so it's unsurprising that visually it's at
a much higher standard than if a team of 2 engineers put out a similar
product.

