Figma - How your side projects can change the world as we know it
The speaker describes how frustration with the cumbersome process of selling items online led to the creation of a new design pattern. Initially, selling toys on platforms like Craigslist required multiple steps, including taking photos, uploading them, and filling out forms. To streamline this, the speaker designed a compact form interface for iPhones, which included a floating label that moves as users type. This innovation gained unexpected popularity, receiving hundreds of thousands of views and becoming the most popular design shot of the day. A year later, Google incorporated the floating label into its Material Design system, validating its effectiveness. Today, this design pattern is used by major companies like Apple, Shopify, and PayPal, demonstrating how small side projects can have significant global impacts.
Key Points:
- Frustration with online selling led to a new design innovation.
- The floating label pattern simplifies form filling on mobile devices.
- The design gained popularity and was adopted by Google in Material Design.
- Major companies like Apple and PayPal now use this pattern.
- Small projects can lead to widespread impact and innovation.
Details:
1. 📸 Frustration Sparks Innovation
- The speaker and his wife struggled with managing and selling a large number of toys, highlighting inefficiencies in the pre-Facebook Marketplace era.
- The selling process was cumbersome, requiring multiple steps such as taking pictures, uploading them to a computer, and posting them online, which was both repetitive and time-consuming.
- This frustration with the inefficient selling process sparked the idea for a more streamlined solution, indicating the potential for innovation driven by personal challenges.
2. 📱 Designing the Floating Label Concept
- The designer faced the challenge of integrating a form into the limited space of an iPhone screen while keeping the keyboard visible.
- To address this, a 'floating label' concept was introduced, which animates upwards when the user begins typing, effectively saving screen space.
- The designer's personal investment in the project is highlighted by their humorous suggestion of sending donations if users appreciate the feature, indicating a strong commitment to its success.
3. 🚀 Unexpected Success and Adoption
- The project, initially not intended for profit, gained unexpected popularity with hundreds of thousands of views.
- The floating label pattern received widespread engagement, becoming the most popular shot of the day with significant commentary and sharing.
- A year after the project's inception, Google integrated the floating labels into their first version of the material design system, indicating broad adoption and validation.
4. 🌍 Influence on Modern Design
- The design approach, initially a small experiment, is now adopted by major platforms like Apple, Shopify, and PayPal, showing its widespread impact.
- Highlights the importance of innovation in design, showing how new ideas can lead to significant changes in user experience across various industries.
- Specific design elements influenced include user interface simplicity and enhanced user engagement strategies.
- Case studies: Apple's adoption led to a more intuitive user interface; Shopify improved customer interaction with streamlined processes.
- The approach has redefined user interaction norms, emphasizing minimalistic design and functionality.