Design and the Mobile Startup: Toronto Edition is the third in a series of discussions about how great mobile products emerge from the chaos and uncertainty that is startup culture. After over a decade of working in-house and as a consultant to multi-national corporations and Fortune 500 companies, Studio Akko was formed as a small design group intended to have the agility and flexibility of process to design for startups as well as larger organizations. Working on ground-breaking products, while exciting, offers unique challenges for interaction designers who are used to a systematic approach with clearly defined goals and requirements. The series first appeared at SXSW to a packed room with design leaders from foursquare, Instagram and Foodspotting touching on ad-hoc research, the role of community managers in design and multidisciplinary collaboration. At NYC’s Internet Week, the conversation continued with designers from Etsy, GroupMe and Stamped, discussing the relationship between MVP’s (Minimum Viable Products), branding, and designing for ultra-simplicity. This third installment will be divided into two parts: first, a presentation of emerging principles and second, an opportunity for audience members to share their perspectives based on their own experiences. Expect lively discussion and insight of interest to anyone that wants to better understand how interaction principles and processes are applied and adapted to work within the unique constraints and chaotic nature of designing first generation product.
