NOTES ON CANVS
7 MINS
'Not easy' | How we work
Debprotim Roy, Founder, Canvs shares some important notes on how we run projects at Canvs, and how while we are in the business of design, the experience of working with us is very much our product. Every practice here has been established by us from scratch & is a deliberate part of our SoP.
It has always felt difficult for us to run a design studio. Over time, we have realised why. It is because doing things right is difficult. We like to be in the thick of things because we want to do things right, no matter the effort. We take responsibility for our work.
The nature of products rolled out by companies is often a reflection of how they function internally. The final outcome of our work with our Clients isn't just seen in their interfaces but also in how central the function of Design becomes in their company.
I’ve always wanted to write about our style of work as a studio, but somewhere inside, it never felt right. Felt like hubris, like posturing, like a prideful announcement of self-awareness. Among startups, there’s an opinion that goes something like this: Real disruptors always claim to be in a competitive market, while everyone else pretends to be a monopoly of some kind. Most agencies tell you, “We aren’t yet another agency”. So we’ve generally refrained from any self-gloat by writing about “our way of work and how that’s different”. At Canvs, we have always been private that way and quite self-critical.
However, it has been over a decade of being who we are, and that has only matured and distilled, so I figured it was time to write a bit about it.
It has always felt difficult for us to run a design studio. Over time, we have realised why. It is because doing things right is difficult. We like to be in the thick of things because we want to do things right, no matter the effort. We take responsibility for our work.
The nature of products rolled out by companies is often a reflection of how they function internally. The final outcome of our work with our Clients isn't just seen in their interfaces but also in how central the function of Design becomes in their company.
I’ve always wanted to write about our style of work as a studio, but somewhere inside, it never felt right. Felt like hubris, like posturing, like a prideful announcement of self-awareness. Among startups, there’s an opinion that goes something like this: Real disruptors always claim to be in a competitive market, while everyone else pretends to be a monopoly of some kind. Most agencies tell you, “We aren’t yet another agency”. So we’ve generally refrained from any self-gloat by writing about “our way of work and how that’s different”. At Canvs, we have always been private that way and quite self-critical.
However, it has been over a decade of being who we are, and that has only matured and distilled, so I figured it was time to write a bit about it.
"At Canvs, we have always been private about our way of work, and quite self-critical."
"At Canvs, we have always been private about our way of work, and quite self-critical."
“Mavericks and Statesmen”
“Mavericks and Statesmen”
About a year ago, I was talking to one of our long-time clients and mentors, taking his input on how to function better. He gave me a valuable insight into our perception as a group of operators. “There are agencies that are statesmen, they know what to say to clients, who to talk to and when. They keep the ball rolling and raise the invoices like a well-oiled machine. They don’t move the needle for the client, almost never. Then there are agencies that have the ‘My way or the highway’ attitude. They are fantastic at what they do; they will give you (the client) more than what they ask for, but they refuse to bend and budge. They are the ones that make a difference in a client org. The problem is that it’s not very sustainable for them. Hence, most agencies are Statesmen, it's good for their business. You guys are not.”
He meant well, as he always does. And he left me with a well-articulated insight into who we are. We have always been this way, as it is the nature of the people who join us, and sooner or later, nature kicks in, pretence doesn’t scale.
About a year ago, I was talking to one of our long-time clients and mentors, taking his input on how to function better. He gave me a valuable insight into our perception as a group of operators. “There are agencies that are statesmen, they know what to say to clients, who to talk to and when. They keep the ball rolling and raise the invoices like a well-oiled machine. They don’t move the needle for the client, almost never. Then there are agencies that have the ‘My way or the highway’ attitude. They are fantastic at what they do; they will give you (the client) more than what they ask for, but they refuse to bend and budge. They are the ones that make a difference in a client org. The problem is that it’s not very sustainable for them. Hence, most agencies are Statesmen, it's good for their business. You guys are not.”
He meant well, as he always does. And he left me with a well-articulated insight into who we are. We have always been this way, as it is the nature of the people who join us, and sooner or later, nature kicks in, pretence doesn’t scale.
"Most agencies are Statesmen, it's good for their business. You guys are not," said one of our long-time clients and mentors.
"Most agencies are Statesmen, it's good for their business. You guys are not," said one of our long-time clients and mentors.
Pretence doesn't scale
Pretence doesn't scale
Companies often become the personalities that drive them. At work, the folks who have led the firm have always been genuine in character. These are people with a variety of facets to their personality but always original, always genuine. There is no pretence. We have brought that to work. With clients, we have always been honest. If something is amiss, we'll get on a call and let you know. When asked for an opinion, we say it as it is, often with the subtext of whether that is good for us or not, as their agency. The people who matter always appreciate that.
This does lead to some difficult conversations along the way, but never too rough to be mended. Besides, that rawness in flavour is often understood as a feature, not a bug. Our clients understand that people who are useful aren’t always easy pushovers, and we get that about them, too. Besides, a third party that’s proactive in maintaining a channel of communication is a party that you can monitor without management overhead.
Companies often become the personalities that drive them. At work, the folks who have led the firm have always been genuine in character. These are people with a variety of facets to their personality but always original, always genuine. There is no pretence. We have brought that to work. With clients, we have always been honest. If something is amiss, we'll get on a call and let you know. When asked for an opinion, we say it as it is, often with the subtext of whether that is good for us or not, as their agency. The people who matter always appreciate that.
This does lead to some difficult conversations along the way, but never too rough to be mended. Besides, that rawness in flavour is often understood as a feature, not a bug. Our clients understand that people who are useful aren’t always easy pushovers, and we get that about them, too. Besides, a third party that’s proactive in maintaining a channel of communication is a party that you can monitor without management overhead.
Self-managed, 0 agency handling costs
Self-managed, 0 agency handling costs
Almost always, when companies draft agencies, they have a management overhead at their end. Someone who monitors if the agency is delivering on time and in quality. We don’t do that. We don’t like being managed, because we don’t like not being in control.
We absorb the management overhead at our end for any project we take on. Everything is planned in advance, kept transparent and delivered on time. This is significantly harder than it sounds, especially if you have to adopt this as a tenet instead of seeing it emerge as a trait of your people. Most projects go wrong, and you should have the spine to call it out much earlier than when disaster hits. With time and a little bit of pattern recognition, you can predict such collapses. We do. We like to keep our clients informed whenever there’s something worth talking about that they can help rectify. If we can handle the sway in motion ourselves, we do that without mention.
This over-management of projects at our end helps businesses focus on projects and not on people. If more agencies adopted this method of decentralised control, larger projects would get orchestrated better, you’d need fewer hands, and you'd see more wins. We do it because we can’t help it.
Almost always, when companies draft agencies, they have a management overhead at their end. Someone who monitors if the agency is delivering on time and in quality. We don’t do that. We don’t like being managed, because we don’t like not being in control.
We absorb the management overhead at our end for any project we take on. Everything is planned in advance, kept transparent and delivered on time. This is significantly harder than it sounds, especially if you have to adopt this as a tenet instead of seeing it emerge as a trait of your people. Most projects go wrong, and you should have the spine to call it out much earlier than when disaster hits. With time and a little bit of pattern recognition, you can predict such collapses. We do. We like to keep our clients informed whenever there’s something worth talking about that they can help rectify. If we can handle the sway in motion ourselves, we do that without mention.
This over-management of projects at our end helps businesses focus on projects and not on people. If more agencies adopted this method of decentralised control, larger projects would get orchestrated better, you’d need fewer hands, and you'd see more wins. We do it because we can’t help it.
"When asked for an opinion, we say it as it is, often with the subtext of whether that is good for us or not, as their agency. The people who matter always appreciate that."
"When asked for an opinion, we say it as it is, often with the subtext of whether that is good for us or not, as their agency. The people who matter always appreciate that."
In the weeds, outside the screens
In the weeds, outside the screens
In design, there’s a TON of work that happens outside making flows and interfaces. Design is a team sport; product development is a team sport. Design is led by decisions made by humans acting on data, insights and agendas. This makes it imperative for any design studio worth its salt to actively participate in conversations in the periphery of their mandates. In our history as designers, there have been countless times we have been pulled into meetings we had no business being a part of. We have gone out of our way to work with developers, marketers, salesforce, agents, regulators, etc, to ensure decision-making is intentional. A lack of agency by any single party in such structures ends up becoming a problem because decisions cascade as the buck gets passed on.
You have to take responsibility for what you build, and that means taking the time to talk to parties who matter in the delivery of your work. It means having talking points to ensure those meetings are useful. To ensure you are heard and your work is seen as it's meant to be. These conversations start much before even a single line is drawn. If, as a design studio, you feel you have done a great job because “you collaborate with developers to ensure the final product looks as expected”, you are doing the bare minimum. Again, Design is a team sport, and a LOT happens in conversations you claim to be ‘not your business’.
In design, there’s a TON of work that happens outside making flows and interfaces. Design is a team sport; product development is a team sport. Design is led by decisions made by humans acting on data, insights and agendas. This makes it imperative for any design studio worth its salt to actively participate in conversations in the periphery of their mandates. In our history as designers, there have been countless times we have been pulled into meetings we had no business being a part of. We have gone out of our way to work with developers, marketers, salesforce, agents, regulators, etc, to ensure decision-making is intentional. A lack of agency by any single party in such structures ends up becoming a problem because decisions cascade as the buck gets passed on.
You have to take responsibility for what you build, and that means taking the time to talk to parties who matter in the delivery of your work. It means having talking points to ensure those meetings are useful. To ensure you are heard and your work is seen as it's meant to be. These conversations start much before even a single line is drawn. If, as a design studio, you feel you have done a great job because “you collaborate with developers to ensure the final product looks as expected”, you are doing the bare minimum. Again, Design is a team sport, and a LOT happens in conversations you claim to be ‘not your business’.
"An over-management of projects at our end helps businesses focus on projects and not on people. If more agencies adopted this method of decentralised control, larger projects would get orchestrated better, you’d need fewer hands, and you'd see more wins."
"An over-management of projects at our end helps businesses focus on projects and not on people. If more agencies adopted thisl, larger projects would get orchestrated better, you’d need fewer hands, and you'd see more wins."
Knowledge is the currency
Knowledge is the currency
The thing I said about having talking points in meetings goes significantly deeper. As a studio, we are often called in to present our case to management teams, boards, CEOs, etc. The nature of questions in such settings is almost always non-trivial. You generally find smart people at such tables who have earned their place. They often have perspectives you never had of the business as a new outsider. But you are meant to have answers, real answers.
Design is an intellectual arena. Knowledge is the capital you wield. The more you know, the better you position yourself. You get a chance to present your case to management because your client product team trusts you to do a better job at that than they will. That's a privilege earned, not an assumed right of a third party. When we talk to product teams about concepts before jumping into Figma, we come prepared. We do our homework for ourselves. It has been a joke that it takes us around 2 weeks to become completely familiar with a new business. It's just the amount of effort we put in. And trust me, you cannot do it if you are not an inherently curious person. This often means we are selective about our projects, but that can spin into a separate conversation.
In short, we read, we tinker.
The thing I said about having talking points in meetings goes significantly deeper. As a studio, we are often called in to present our case to management teams, boards, CEOs, etc. The nature of questions in such settings is almost always non-trivial. You generally find smart people at such tables who have earned their place. They often have perspectives you never had of the business as a new outsider. But you are meant to have answers, real answers.
Design is an intellectual arena. Knowledge is the capital you wield. The more you know, the better you position yourself. You get a chance to present your case to management because your client product team trusts you to do a better job at that than they will. That's a privilege earned, not an assumed right of a third party. When we talk to product teams about concepts before jumping into Figma, we come prepared. We do our homework for ourselves. It has been a joke that it takes us around 2 weeks to become completely familiar with a new business. It's just the amount of effort we put in. And trust me, you cannot do it if you are not an inherently curious person. This often means we are selective about our projects, but that can spin into a separate conversation.
In short, we read, we tinker.
"Design is a team sport, and a LOT happens in conversations you claim to be ‘not your business’."
"Design is a team sport, and a LOT happens in conversations you claim to be ‘not your business’."
A rose is a rose is a rose. You are in for a hell of a lot more than rectangles.
A rose is a rose is a rose. You are in for a hell of a lot more than rectangles.
When you hear customers talk about products that they use, they speak of design as a composite whole of visuals, features, motion, engineering and generally, experience. It is what it is. The set of features you chose to roll out in a new product has a huge implication in the experience of the product. That choice of the first feature set is a design conversation. We are party to that. Sure, there are other stakeholders, but we are at the table. That is just how things are crafted. Every aspect of a product is up for discussion when it comes to designing it.
Recently, internally at Canvs, we were all using the product Poke by Interaction. It is an AI assistant with a super simple and familiar interaction mode, iMessage. When you hear its users talk about Poke, they will talk about this as the design of the product. The product doesn’t exist. It’s a wild bet, but it works like magic.
If you are in the business of design, you are in the business of a hell of a lot more than interfaces.
Over time, running a studio, we have always felt that while we loved what we did, it's pretty hard. This felt like imposter syndrome, since most agencies seem to find it much easier to operate. What we missed is the key fact that we never saw anyone else’s notes. We never built a studio before. Everything, always, was from scratch. That’s what made it difficult, but that’s what brought us here. And I guess that's what has mattered the most, an ownership in our actions.
[This write-up is a work in progress, given its nature.]
When you hear customers talk about products that they use, they speak of design as a composite whole of visuals, features, motion, engineering and generally, experience. It is what it is. The set of features you chose to roll out in a new product has a huge implication in the experience of the product. That choice of the first feature set is a design conversation. We are party to that. Sure, there are other stakeholders, but we are at the table. That is just how things are crafted. Every aspect of a product is up for discussion when it comes to designing it.
Recently, internally at Canvs, we were all using the product Poke by Interaction. It is an AI assistant with a super simple and familiar interaction mode, iMessage. When you hear its users talk about Poke, they will talk about this as the design of the product. The product doesn’t exist. It’s a wild bet, but it works like magic.
If you are in the business of design, you are in the business of a hell of a lot more than interfaces.
Over time, running a studio, we have always felt that while we loved what we did, it's pretty hard. This felt like imposter syndrome, since most agencies seem to find it much easier to operate. What we missed is the key fact that we never saw anyone else’s notes. We never built a studio before. Everything, always, was from scratch. That’s what made it difficult, but that’s what brought us here. And I guess that's what has mattered the most, an ownership in our actions.
[This write-up is a work in progress, given its nature.]