On November 12th, Aleksandra Medina (Abu Dhabi ’20) led an interactive workshop at the Leslie eLab as part of Startup School on how to design websites that resonate with the modern customer while remaining clear, intuitive, and accessible.

Drawing from her experience building Frich, the fastest-growing Gen Z money community in the country, Medina guided participants through a “design roast” of a real startup website — one that loses its message in a labyrinth of buttons, colors, and links.

She shared a simple rubric for evaluating any homepage:

• Can you tell what this is in 3 seconds?
• What action am I expected to take?
• Is the most important thing obvious?
• Is anything confusing because it’s “too quirky“?

Participants then redesigned the website on paper in small groups, articulating the goals of their new layout before exchanging feedback to see whether their intended message landed.

Throughout the session, Medina emphasized three core principles:

• If people have to think to use it, you’ve already lost them.
• Every extra click/action is annoying.
• Conventions exist for a reason. No need to reinvent the wheel.

“Teaching design is hard. The real learning comes from watching what customers actually do,” Medina said. “Give them your blueprint and time how long it takes to create an account, submit an application, book an appointment, or make a purchase. It tells you everything.”

Stay up to date on upcoming events, deadlines, news, and more by signing up for our newsletters!