Veteran Designer Reveals Why Extreme Minimalism Was a Design Mistake

Welcome to HackerNoon’s Designing the Future Interview series.

Answer the questions below as best you can (P.S.: longer answers make for a more engaging read). Once you’re done, hit submit, and our editors will review your responses within three days.

We’re thrilled to have you share your journey with us!

1. Describe your current role and tell us what you like most about it.

For the past 20 years, I’ve been working in our family-run company, specializing in UI/UX, product design, and web design. A major focus of my work has been with the leading insurance group in the Balkan region, where I design web and mobile applications that streamline internal processes, improve employee efficiency, and digitize complex workflows. From centralized client registries to claims management and internal task tracking, my goal is to create intuitive solutions that make employees' daily tasks easier and more effective.

Recently, our company has entered an exciting partnership with a detective agency and their startup focused on data intelligence, cybersecurity, and AI-powered criminal investigations. My experience in designing user-friendly, high-impact applications is now extending into the world of digital forensics, where usability and efficiency are just as critical. What I love most about my work is the ability to solve real-world problems through design, whether it’s optimizing corporate workflows or contributing to cutting-edge crime investigation technologies. The opportunity to bridge these different fields through intuitive, user-centric solutions keeps me constantly inspired.

2. How did you get into UI/UX design?

I grew up in a family of software engineers and my mom, a writer and a poet. So technology and art were always part of my everyday life. While my brother spent his time coding for demo scenes and making games, I was constantly drawing, fascinated by graphics and visuals. I watched him write lines of code, while I explored early graphic programs, starting with MS Paint when I was 6 (we were one of the first families with a computer at home), then moving on to Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator. I played a lot with all those apps, creating images and learning how to use the tools.

Over time, my interest in digital design naturally evolved into UI/UX. When digital experiences became more complex and evolved, I found myself drawn to challenges of not just making nice images, but creating intuitive and useful solutions for the web. Moving from static design to interactive prototypes, I transitioned to tools like Adobe XD, Sketch, InVision, and Figma, with the full spectrum of user-centered design.

Looking back, my journey into UI/UX feels like a natural evolution - blending my early love for art with the tech-driven environment I grew up in. Today, I get to combine that creativity with problem-solving skills, crafting digital experiences, that are not just visually appealing, but also enhance how people interact with technology.

3. What’s a design project you’re especially proud of, and why?

One of the projects that I am most proud of is my work with Next Sight, a criminal investigations startup, specializing in AI-powered cybersecurity and big data analysis. In this project, I was responsible for designing the MVP1 prototype of their ruthless investigation platform - a tool that enables law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to conduct deep and dark web investigations, track criminal activities like child exploitation and drug trafficking, and leverage advanced OSINT technologies for online threat detection.

What makes this project so special to me is its real-world impact. The prototype I designed was presented at Europol and gained significant attention from several cybersecurity professionals and law enforcement agencies. Knowing that my work contributes to tools that help fight crime and protect vulnerable individuals, is incredibly fulfilling. It was a challenging project, requiring not just intuitive UI/UX design, but also a deep understanding of how investigators interact with vast amounts of data. Balancing usability, security, and efficiency in such a critical application, was both a challenge and a privilege.

This project reinforced why I love design. Not just for aesthetics, but for its ability to solve real problems and make a meaningful difference in the world.

4. Tell us about a popular design trend you love (or hate)

One design trend I never really liked is flat design and excessive minimalism. While simplicity has its place, stripping away too much detail can take something essential away from the interaction.

A great example is a well-known weather app that redesigned its interface to use ultra-minimalist, monochrome icons - no yellow sun, no grey mist, no blue clouds, just flat black-and-white shapes. While this may look sleek in theory, it’s a terrible user experience. Weather is something people feel - it’s visual, atmospheric, and even emotional. Removing color and visual depth in the name of minimalism made the app harder to read at a glance, less intuitive, and, frankly, lifeless.

I believe that good design is about balance. Simplicity should never come at the cost of usability, context, or emotional connection. Users shouldn’t have to decode an interface just because it looks trendy. Thoughtful, functional design should always come first.

5. How do you balance creativity and user-friendliness in your projects?

For me, user-friendliness always comes first. While creativity is important, I believe that design isn’t just about making something visually striking - it’s about solving real user’s problems. I don’t design for my portfolio; I design for the people who will actually use the product.

A great design isn’t one that just looks good - it’s one that works. That means making interactions intuitive, removing friction, and ensuring that every visual element serves a purpose. Creativity should enhance usability, not overshadow it. If a design choice makes the experience confusing or inefficient, then it’s not good design, no matter how artistic it looks.

Of course, that doesn’t mean sacrificing creativity entirely. The challenge is finding ways to make interfaces engaging, aesthetically pleasing, and functional at the same time. I aim for designs that feel natural, where the creativity is subtle, but impactful - helping users navigate effortlessly without even thinking about it. At the end of the day, a great user experience is what makes a product memorable, not just the visuals.

6. What’s your favorite tool in your design toolkit, and why?

Over the years, I’ve worked with a wide range of design tools, but Adobe products have always stuck with me. Adobe XD, in particular, was a tool I really appreciated. It was stable, efficient, and didn’t introduce unnecessary complexity to the design process. It just worked.

Unfortunately, after Adobe’s failed attempt to acquire Figma, they abandoned further development of XD, which I find quite disappointing. It was a solid competitor, and I believe it had the potential to evolve into something even better. Meanwhile, Figma, now the dominant tool, has introduced changes that have disrupted established design workflows. Recent UI updates have made the experience less intuitive, and bugs have become more frequent. It feels like some of these decisions are driven more by business strategy than by actual user needs.

That being said, my toolkit extends beyond just design software. I use ChatGPT for summarization, translations, and organizing data into tables, which speeds up my workflow. MidJourney helps with AI-generated imagery when I need quick concept visuals, and while many designers dislike Canva, I still use it for simple, quick tasks. It has acquired a lot of stock assets and gets the job done efficiently when needed.

So while I still use Figma for collaboration, I can’t say I have a favorite tool right now. What matters most to me isn’t the brand or the trend but a tool that respects the designer’s workflow and puts usability first. Just like we, as designers, aim to do for our users.

7. Can you describe your design process, start to finish?

Most of the work happens before opening any UI/UX tool. It starts with communication - understanding the client’s needs, goals, and challenges. Then comes deep research, including market analysis, competitor benchmarking, defining user personas, journeys, flows... I always document everything to ensure a solid strategy before moving to design.

Once I start putting ideas on the canvas, it’s a process of constant iteration - refining layouts, testing usability, and improving interactions until everything feels just right. Design isn’t a one-and-done task; it evolves through feedback and fine-tuning. The process continues with testing, iteration, and developer handoff, ensuring the final product aligns with both user needs and business goals.

8. What’s the biggest mistake you made early in your career, and how did it affect your journey?

Early in my career, I made the mistake of not pushing clients to clearly define their requirements upfront. I once worked on an app where the initial request seemed simple, but with every meeting, new features were added. Without a structured scope, the project kept expanding, and we quickly exceeded the budget. What started as a small task, ended up as a fully custom-built modular solution - without proper planning.

This experience taught me the importance of detailed documentation and clear feature lists before development begins. Now, I ensure that every project has a well-defined scope, aligning expectations from the start to avoid scope creep and budget overruns. It was a tough lesson, but one that fundamentally shaped how I manage projects today.

9. What advice would you give to a designer at the beginning of their Journey?

Work hard.

10. On a lighter note, what's your least favorite font and why?

I believe that every font can find its place somewhere, at least if it’s 99% readable, recognizable or attractive to the addressed public. If it’s not any of that, it goes on this list :)

That’s all!

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