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
"The story of the immunotherapy patient and his daughters became a riff that executives remember to understand complex life impacts."
Christian MadsbjergInfluencing Strategy
March 31, 2020
"Safety is often forgotten because it’s taken for granted, but ignoring safety leads to disengagement and diminished access."
Mansi GuptaWomen-Centric Research: What, Why, How
March 29, 2023
"The magic happens when the designer becomes a mentor or counselor, not just a designer—like a sangaroo for the scrum team."
Nora Tejeda Giovanna AlonsoScaling Design Capabilities at BBVA Through a Self-service Design Model
June 10, 2021
"Youth, families, and communities impacted by the child welfare system experience a lot of loss of control, with important aspects of their lives decided without their input."
Sarah FathallahA Typology of Participation in Participatory Research
March 28, 2023
"People often go along with the outcome if they feel they were part of the process."
Alison Rand Sarah BrooksScaling Impact with Service Design
March 25, 2021
"You can just ask Siri to turn on VoiceOver—no installs, no approvals needed, making it easier to test."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
September 8, 2022
"Every single one of these companies has a landing page on their marketing website with a call to action to sign up."
Sydney LawsonAnatomy of a Strong User Panel
March 10, 2026
"Research is the most analytical form of information processing because it involves active knowledge generation."
Kristen Guth, Ph.D.Out of the FOG: A Non-traditional Research Approach to Alignment
March 28, 2023
"Interviews can be a crutch that keeps us from using better ways to answer our questions."
Sam Ladner Megan Blocker Tanvi Dhond Katie Hansen Ricardo MartinsMethodologies: Beyond the interview [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 4, 2024
