As a solo builder, you can't afford to perfect every UI element. Instead, identify the 20% of components that drive 80% of user interaction and obsess over their details. For the rest, use libraries and minimal systems to ensure consistency without getting bogged down.
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When building his own site, MDS doesn't aim for pixel-perfect Figma files. He gets the design to 85% completion, establishing the core direction, and then moves to code to finalize details like hover states and animations where the interactive "feel" is paramount.
For a solo founder moving fast, a comprehensive Figma UI kit is often a waste of time. Instead, use Figma at two extremes: for very rough structural exploration (even wireframing with screenshots) and for creating specific graphic assets (gradients, icons). Build the details directly in code.
Allocate 50% of your roadmap to core functionality ('low delight'), 40% to features blending function and emotion ('deep delight'), and 10% to purely joyful features ('surface delight'). This model ensures you deliver core value while strategically investing in a superior user experience.
Design is often mistaken for aesthetics, like choosing a border radius. Its real function is architectural: defining the simplest possible system with the fewest core concepts to achieve the most for users. Notion's success, for example, comes from being built on just blocks, pages, and databases, not from surface-level UI choices.
Not all parts of an application require the same level of design polish. Founders must develop an "editorial eye" to invest heavily in the core user experience (a 9/10) while accepting "good enough" for less critical areas like settings pages (a 5/10).
Inspired by architect Christopher Alexander, a designer's role shifts from building the final "house" to creating the "pattern language." This means designing a system of reusable patterns and principles that empowers users to construct their own solutions tailored to their unique needs.
To build a successful product, prioritize roadmap capacity using the "50/40/10" rule: 50% for "low delight" (essential functionality), 40% for "deep delight" (blending function and emotion), and only 10% for "surface delight" (aesthetic touches). This structure ensures a solid base while strategically investing in differentiation.
Instead of building UI elements from scratch, adopt modern libraries like Tailwind's Catalyst or Shad CN. They provide pre-built, accessible components, allowing founders to focus engineering efforts on unique features rather than reinventing solved problems like keyboard navigation in dropdowns.
The founders avoid creating a rigid, atomized design system because the product is still iterating too quickly. They accept a "messy" component library and technical debt as a trade-off for speed. Formalizing a design system only makes sense once the product's UI has stabilized.
Being the sole implementer forces a designer to think more systematically. Instead of designing two bespoke UIs for similar tasks, the implementation overhead encourages creating a single, reusable component that works in both contexts. This leads to a more coherent and maintainable product by necessity.