Connecting the Dots: How to Foster Collaboration and Build a Strong Design Review Culture
Summary
Developing a process that keeps designers connected to their work and their peers is especially challenging in distributed teams. See how we do it at MURAL, a design-first company, where we bring people together with collaborative intelligence to create a digital space that feels open and safe.
Key Insights
-
•
Mural treats design review as an ongoing process with multiple touchpoints rather than a single milestone.
-
•
Standard design reviews happen weekly and focus on medium- to high-risk work but welcome all stages and disciplines.
-
•
Workshops serve as final checkpoints involving cross-functional partners like engineering and product management.
-
•
Peer design pairing encourages mentorship by pairing designers with senior leaders voluntarily each quarter.
-
•
Asynchronous reviews leverage Loom videos and Mural templates to collect thoughtful feedback across time zones.
-
•
Executive design reviews focus on strategic decisions and involve a small, cross-functional group for final alignment.
-
•
A foundational design culture depends on trust and the shared belief that feedback is a gift.
-
•
Design operations supports autonomy and flexibility by providing templates while allowing teams to self-manage.
-
•
Embedding design reviews into Agile sprint cycles requires negotiation and education with product and engineering partners.
-
•
For smaller or solo design teams, education, advocacy, and having allies help integrate design reviews effectively.
Notable Quotes
"Design review is simply the act of designers collaborating to increase quality and craft."
"Feedback is a gift; it’s always about the work and never about the person."
"You don’t need to be in the same room to achieve something great."
"A great designer doesn’t have all the right answers, they have the right questions."
"Trust emerges through sharing work, receiving feedback, and trusting those around you to help you grow."
"Critique is an opportunity to build a culture of trust upon grounded reality while developing your craft. - Chris"
"Design review is a time to get comfortable feeling vulnerable and stay curious and open. - Kelly"
"Artifacts didn’t happen if they’re not documented; they’re decision-making points in the product process."
"For distributed teams, cameras on help build connectedness, though it remains optional."
"Sometimes it helps to have an ally who champions you and acts as a gatekeeper for design requests."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If we deeply understand outcomes and advocate for impact, we’ll be the ones making real change happen in the enterprise."
Greg PetroffSoftware as Material—A Redux
June 6, 2023
"They walked. The locals were most likely right."
Brendan JarvisFraming Tomorrow by Questioning Today
June 8, 2022
"Put all product screenshots together to clearly show that different products look different and must feel like one company."
Prerna MakanawalaAchieving Balanced Design Consistency
June 9, 2021
"Our job is to fight context loss as data moves up layers of abstraction in AI outputs."
Tricia WangFrom Users to Shapers of AI: The Future of Research
March 25, 2024
"The Echo Look failed because it missed key motivators like self-expression and companionship by focusing too much on AI."
Cheryl PlatzEmbrace Your Fun Factor: Game Development Best Practices for Product Design
January 9, 2026
"When I started, there were a few practitioners in the US, a small community, and now I see this growing network and community of practice."
Ariel KennanTheme Two Intro
November 17, 2022
"Designers are the most insecure function in many companies because their role—to represent people's needs—is both critical and ambiguous."
Tricia WangThe most popular design thinking strategy is BS
January 27, 2022
"We have about 5,000 new IBMers arriving every month, with high expectations and low tolerance for poor experiences."
Kristin WisnewskiMeasuring What Matters
October 23, 2019
"It’s not move fast and break things; it’s slow and steady."
Scott Jensen Sarah Delaney Carmen LiuShort Take #2: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
