Shopify's emphasis on user-centred design and its Polaris design system has had a significant impact on its business. By focusing on user needs and creating a consistent interface, Shopify has improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to higher conversion rates for merchants. The use of a design system has also reduced development times, allowing Shopify to stay ahead of competitors and maintain its position as an industry leader. Collaboration between design and development teams has improved efficiency and led to more effective products. Overall, Shopify's commitment to empathy and user-centred design has helped build a loyal customer base and cement its competitive advantage.
In this episode, Esther Yip, Product Designer at Shopify, discusses her journey as a designer. Having worked with startups, government organizations and non-profits, Esther shares how to design products that solve problems for all the different stakeholders.
Esther works in the Marketplaces team of Shopify, which focuses on helping merchants sell on multiple platforms. The focus at the moment is to make Shopify make the mission-control platform for selling through multiple platforms while maintaining a streamlined process for pre and post-purchase experience for merchants. The team works closely with a trifecta team, consisting of designers, developers, and product managers, to ensure efficient product development.
Lessons for Product Design Teams:
How to develop a design system using the principles of empathy and user-centred design?
Conduct research: Start by understanding your users' needs, pain points, and behaviours. This will provide valuable insights into what your users need from your product.
Develop guidelines: Use your research to develop guidelines for your design system, such as typography, colour palette, iconography, and layout.
Test and refine: As you develop your design system, test it with real users to identify areas for improvement.
Collaborate: Involve designers, developers, and other stakeholders in the development process to ensure everyone is aligned on the goals of creating a user-centred design system.
Implement and iterate: Once your design system is developed, implement it across your organization and continue to iterate and refine it based on user feedback and evolving design trends.
Message from Esther:
Esther believes in the value of design as a facilitative force for good. Coming from a background in social design, systems engineering and analytics, her design philosophy is grounded in humility and trust-building, and fuelled by a strategic understanding of the systems that surround us. Her previous work experiences include GovTech Singapore, IBM Interactive Experience, Alibaba, as well as being an independent UX consultant for startups. Wherever she goes, she strives towards building a more caring and inclusive world through the lens of design.
Connect with Esther Yin:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estherjyip/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/estherjyip
Website: https://estherjyip.com/
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