Building our organization’s design system seemed like a straightforward task until we tried to implement it. As our org continued to grow, the need for a design system seemed obvious. With more developers and designers joining the organization it seemed like the right time to codify how we design digital products. The heightened onus on our design deliverables was exciting. However, we quickly learned that theory-crafting design systems is easy but actually implementing and gaining org-wide traction is challenging.

Web3, in the name of user sovereignty, has constructed platforms that unwittingly extend the now-ubiquitous machinery of surveillance capitalism into the on-chain economy. Ethereum and other public blockchains provide data and metadata that, with the help of AI, make nearly all activity on these networks traceable and identifiable.

Until recently, real estate management was stuck in the Stone Age. Physical copies of investment reports, antiquated spreadsheets, and long chains of command made obtaining and compiling property data endlessly time consuming. When Propfolio came onto the scene in 2017, their founders saw beyond the industry’s status quo. As three former commercial real estate professionals, Peter Bird, Tom Cartlidge and Angus Abbott knew the intimate details of their trade, and exactly what they needed to create to improve it. They saw the future of real estate: property data at your fingertips, personalized portfolio analysis at the push of a button and transparency at every turn. They imagined a virtual space that encompassed all of these features, as well as the ability to recognize key risks, while streamlining and strengthening day-to-day management processes. In short, they wanted real estate management to be intelligent, accessible, and simple. Since their founding, Propfolio has generated considerable enthusiasm, receiving their first investment from Pi Labs in 2018, and being selected just last year to join ten other startups in The Arcadis City of 2030 Accelerator powered by Techstars. Propfolio’s dynamic drive and exceptional product has made our work with them at Decent Labs a natural partnership. Since February of this year, our joint efforts have been engaged in retaining the original spirit of Propfolio while working to push boundaries within a rapid design and development process.

Recently, I found myself feeling overwhelmed. With deadlines looming, I had design challenges from all angles starting to pile up. I was spending a lot of time pushing pixels in Figma, but I felt like I was spinning my wheels and not gaining any traction. I needed to slow down and take a step back. We love Figma here at Decent Labs but I needed a break from digital. I was all but forgetting one of the best tools in any designer’s toolbox: pen and paper.

For most designers, getting the opportunity to create a brand identity from scratch is a coveted prize that offers boundless potential to flex their creative muscles, generate a lot of cohesive work, and walk away with a product that will support their client for years to come. In the first part of our series on branding we looked at the foundations for effectively building a brand from the ground up. Creating a strong visual identity is a huge part of branding, requiring the most time and labor of any part of the process. This is what gives customers emotional connection and top-of-mind awareness to the brand.

Many people belong to that special class of “hustlers”, the hard working bunch known to put 110% effort into everything. Busy, swamped, underwater; whatever word you’d like to use, we glorify those who dedicate themselves above and beyond to their work. Ironically, many of the busiest of us aren’t the most productive, wasting endless cycles moving in too many directions. Matt Trice (Lead UI/UX Designer) is the converse archetype — he glides effortlessly through a seemingly endless list of tasks, often under appreciated, always with the professional calm reserved to the masters of their craft.