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
"Sometimes our most valuable work isn’t the insights we produce, but the conditions we create for shared reasoning across paradigms."
Kurt McCullochFaster alone, further together: Rebuilding collaboration in the age of AI research
March 10, 2026
"The harder I think, the further I am from the answer."
Dan WillisEnterprise Storytelling Sessions
May 13, 2015
"The proof of service design’s effectiveness is now out there in the growing diversity of case studies and practitioner voices."
Lavrans Løvlie Ben ReasonAsk me anything – Authors of Service Design: From Insight to Implementation
November 19, 2025
"We end up with this junk drawer phenomenon with spaghetti-fication of different insights being passed around with no clarity."
Jon White Erin MayUnsticking Research for Better Information Flow
March 11, 2026
"This emerging AI technology has given us a golden opportunity to combine the heart and brain of technology and make meaningful impact."
Liwei DaiThe Heart and Brain of the AI Research
March 31, 2020
"How do we dance at a distance? That is the real tricky part of remote teamwork."
Smitha Papolu Nova Wehman-Brown Melissa Schmidt Adam MenterTheme 3 Discussion
January 8, 2024
"The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed."
Sheryl CababaLiving in the Clouds: Adopting a Systems Thinking Mindset
June 6, 2023
"Women experience systemic inequality simply by navigating a world that isn’t designed for them."
Mansi GuptaWomen-Centric Research: What, Why, How
March 29, 2023
"Design maturity results from behaviors and structures that enable delivering value to customers, business, ourselves, and society."
Francesca Barrientos, PhDYou Need Your Own Definition of Design Maturity
June 8, 2022
