Stop 11 · Collaboration & Developer HandoffTopics · 7/8

Presenting Design Work to Stakeholders

In short

Founders and managers don't want a tour of every screen. They want to know what problem you solved, why this design, and what you need from them. Present the story, not the pixels.

Framing a design decision around the problem and user need first, before showing the solution — leading with 'why' builds buy-in far better than just revealing a finished screen.

The jaadu confidently presents a drawing of a food stall on a board to a small committee.

Think of it like this

Pitching a stall idea to the fest committee

You don't show the committee every nail in your stall. You say: students want cheap late-night food, here's our momos stall, it costs this much, we need the corner spot. Problem, solution, ask. Same for design reviews.

Watch it happen

A simple story for any design review

Problem

Evidence

Solution

Trade-offs

Ask

1/5Problem: 'Many users abandon signup at the OTP step.' Start with what they care about.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Know your audience

A founder cares about growth, an engineering lead about effort. Shape the story for who's in the room.

Lead with impact

Connect the design to a goal they already care about, like conversions or support tickets.

Show, don't explain

A clickable prototype or a short video beats ten static screens with long descriptions.

Expect questions

Prepare answers for 'why not X?' and 'how long will it take?' before you walk in.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Opening with fonts and colour choices.

Do this instead

Open with the problem and the goal. Visual details come up later, if at all.

Oops

Ending the meeting without a clear decision.

Do this instead

State your ask at the start and the end. Write down the decision and share it after.

Your mission

Five-slide design pitch

~35 min

Quick check

What's the best way to open a design review with senior stakeholders?

Go deeper

1Practice a presentation structure: problem, research insight, design decision, expected outcome.
2Rehearse presenting a design to someone who wasn't involved in the process.
3Learn to anticipate and pre-answer the first 2-3 questions stakeholders typically ask.