Startup survey analysis: Great design expectations and prejudice in digital products in 2020
TL;DR
Qubstudio’s survey of 99 startups reveals a profound gap between design expectations and implementation—founders believe design is crucial but implement only the visible tip of design competency.
Key Findings:
- Most startups focus on product usability and look’n’feel only
- Less than 1/3 see design as crucial for business model and marketing
- 60%+ believe brand creation matters, but only 36% had it professionally done
Main Gaps:
- Early-stage focus exclusively on usability, missing strategic opportunities
- Growth-stage companies incorporate marketing and service design
- Mature startups need deeper, more strategic design processes
The Article Goal: To provide you with evidence-based insights from 99 startups showing how holistic design implementation—from user research to strategy—drives product success beyond visual aesthetics.
We at Qubstudio love great design and innovative products. We celebrate startups and their willingness to enhance user experience in their chosen domain. Nonetheless, we frequently observe young products, even with the most fabulous idea, falling through the market cracks and struggling to gain their audience’s attention.
Thus we decided to research what design issues startups face and how it affects their development. We surveyed almost 100 startups (99 to be exact), mainly focused on mobile and web app development, and hope that this study will help unique products to strive on the market, and to fall to oblivion.
Forbes, 500 startups, Y Combinator, McKinsey & Company, Fast Company, Startup Daily, and random people on Medium are all telling founders that the design is crucial for their start-up. They are bombarded with design-first approaches, design thinking methodologies, and sprints.
As a result, more than half of all respondents believe that design can have a positive impact on product conversions, revenue, brand equity, and entry to the new markets.
An absolute majority of the respondents also believe that design plays a critical role in their product as well.
But we were curious – if the majority of startups genuinely believe in the power of design, why then so many products fail to implement design-first methodologies within their development process?
This analysis reveals to us that there is a profound gap between the expectations that product founders put on the design and its functional role in the conventional product creation process.
The main body of surveyed startups consists of growth and early stages of products. Specifically, three companies identified themselves as ideation companies, thirty-three as an early-stage, and thirty-nine as growth startups. None of the surveyed companies identified themselves as mature companies.
Overall, the majority of respondents picked product usability and look’n’feel as the main focus of their design process. Brand development and service design came second and third accordingly.
Those answers reveal that in most startups, design serves the purpose of creating a visually pleasing and generally useful product. Only less than the third of respondents believed that the design is crucial for creating a viable business model, building product architecture, and supporting marketing operations.
Early-stage and growth companies, as the most dominant segments of surveyed companies, could be compared to analyze the correlation between design perception in different product development stages.
For example, out of thirty-three surveyed companies on early-stage, all chose product usability as the main design focus, but only three – product architecture, brand development, and marketing support.
On the contrary, in growth-stage companies, more than half (twenty-nine out of thirty-nine companies) said that their process focuses on product and marketing aims. Twelve companies also mentioned service design as their focus.
Additionally, less than half of all respondents said that they believe that brand development is an important design role in a startup. However, when asked whether the brand creation is essential for a product altogether, more than sixty percent answered positively.
But only thirty-six percent had it professionally done. A third of respondents created their brand solely without the designer’s involvement at all. Likely, those products didn’t develop their brand strategy, only the logotype.
Read more on brand strategy in our article.
Indeed, the visual value of design is essential for product success on the market, but in mature products, the design also plays a vital role in business and product development.
Surprisingly, almost none of the surveyed companies think that UX/UI designers should focus on user experience, even though the experience is in the name of the profession itself.
Read more about how designers can create a UX strategy for your product
in our article.
Assessing the statistical data, we can conclude mature startups are also more developed in their design perception than younger ones, thus needing a more profound design process to strive.
Different product stages call for different approaches to design. Young products may be forced to pivot until they find their market fit, and spending a lot of resources on visual design may be unreasonable.
Though all products, and especially the young ones, benefit enormously from building consistent UX and product strategy, as written in our specialized article. The majority of researched startups believe that there is a need to focus intensely on the evolving tactics but usually perceive it more intuitively rather than strategically.
The inconsistency between the design expectations and the reality of startup creation could be explained by the lack of involvement from a professional mature design team.
Most researched startups have one designer within their team or have no designers at all. Less than a quarter of respondents have more than one designer and even less than that work with a professional design team.
As a result, fifty-eight percent of all respondents are not satisfied with design competency within their team, and only less than half of all respondents are happy with their design situation.
This study showed us that usually, product owners within startups genuinely believe that the design is crucial for their product development. Still, they see and implement only the tip of the design iceberg.
If considering the design process as solely the creation of nice-looking screens, it loses its power to create truly effective and useful products. The design should be implemented holistically into product development, starting from profound user research and strategy development performed by a mature design team.
Overall this research helped us to understand that:
- There is a profound gap between the expectations that product founders put on the design and its functional role in the conventional product creation process.
- Usually, product owners within startups genuinely believe that the design is crucial for their product development. Still, they implement only the tip of the design competency.
- The inconsistency between the design expectations and the reality of startup creation could be explained by the lack of involvement from a professional mature design team.
- Mature startups are also more developed in their design perception than younger ones, thus needing a more profound design process to strive.
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FAQ
What design areas do startups focus on most?
The majority of startups pick product usability and look’n’feel as the main design focus. Brand development comes second, service design third.
Only less than a third believe design is crucial for creating viable business models, building product architecture, or supporting marketing operations. Surprisingly, almost none think UX/UI designers should focus on user experience—even though experience is in the name itself.
What is the gap between design expectations and reality in startups?
Over half of startups believe design positively impacts conversions, revenue, brand equity, and market entry. An absolute majority also believe design plays critical role in their product.
But despite these beliefs, most startups fail to implement design-first methodologies. They see design as creating nice-looking screens rather than a holistic process starting from user research and strategy development by a mature design team.
How important is branding for startups?
More than 60% of startups believe brand creation is essential for a product. Yet only 36% had it professionally done, and a third created their brand solely without designer involvement at all.
These products likely didn’t develop brand strategy—only the logotype. Visual value of design matters for market success, but mature products need design playing vital role in business and product development beyond just visuals.
How does design perception differ between startup stages?
Early-stage and growth-stage companies approach design very differently. All 33 surveyed early-stage companies chose product usability as main design focus, but only three picked product architecture, brand development, or marketing support.
Growth-stage shows more maturity: 29 out of 39 companies focus on product and marketing aims, with 12 mentioning service design. Mature startups are more developed in design perception than younger ones—they need profound design processes to strive in competitive markets.
What does the startup survey reveal about design competency?
The survey covered 99 startups mostly focused on mobile and web app development: 3 ideation, 33 early-stage, 39 growth, with no mature companies. Results show 58% of respondents aren’t satisfied with design competency within their team.
Less than half are happy with their design situation. Most have one designer or no designers at all—even fewer work with professional design teams. This explains why design expectations don’t translate into business results.
Should young startups invest heavily in visual design?
Different product stages call for different design approaches. Young products may be forced to pivot until finding market fit—spending heavily on visual design at this stage may be unreasonable.
However, all products benefit enormously from building consistent UX and product strategy regardless of stage. The focus should be on evolving tactics strategically rather than intuitively, with foundation built through user research and strategy work before visual polish becomes the priority.
