What do you do as a product manager when your design team push for a clean, modern interface, while developers argue for the old, familiar UI?
tldr;
You should always go with the solution of the designers because they are designing for users not programmers.
1. Programmers are not the audience.
Developers spend their life inside complex tools, terminals, logs, IDEs — clutter doesn’t bother them because they’re trained to survive it. But users are not developers. Normal people don’t want interfaces that look like a cockpit from the 1990s.
2. Designers are literally trained to solve this problem.
A designer’s whole job is:
- visual hierarchy
- readability
- spacing
- usability
- clarity
- human factors
A programmer’s job is not design. Their taste is shaped by tools built for power-users.
3. Old, cluttered interfaces only feel “better” to developers because they expose internal structure.
Developers like seeing everything at once because it mirrors how they think: data → structure → options → panels → nested menus. Users, on the other hand, get overwhelmed and leave.
4. Modern UI isn’t “minimalism for the sake of minimalism.”
Good modern design reduces friction. Not fewer features — fewer obstacles. Clearer choices. Better flow. Safer defaults.
5. Every successful product on earth follows the designer, not the engineer
Apple, Google, Stripe, Figma etc. all prefer a clean and modern UI. If “cluttered 1990s UI” were better for users, the entire industry wouldn’t have abandoned it.
6. Engineers usually change their mind once they use the cleaner version
At first they complain because everything moved. A week later they admit the new design feels calmer, faster, easier to navigate.
7. The business side also points in one direction
Clean modern UI =
- lower support tickets
- higher conversion
- higher user trust
- easier onboarding
- better perceived quality
Clunky UI = “This looks old, I don’t trust it.”
Conclusion
Design for users, not for developers.
Follow the clean, modern design.
Developers can adapt — users won’t.
If you want harmony between teams, the compromise is this:
- UI = clean, modern
- Advanced settings = tucked away so power-users can still access them
- Internal developer tools can be as ugly and cramped as programmers enjoy
Customer-facing products should be modern and clean.
Top comments (1)
Yes, Modern design is a subjective opinion. Many people think that it's about flat themes, rounded buttons, or smooth animations. However, there's a fine line between "show-off" and truly modern UI. Many "modern interfaces" tend to incorporate a plethora of "super effects" (which can be overwhelming), most of which simply tax your hardware without providing any significant functionality. Modernity is not about appearance but rather about usability, optimization, and, of course, functionality.