While some might theorize that anyone can do this, Collins actually gets his hands dirty. He has failed forward so many times that he has a ton of successful projects to show for it.

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For an altruistic introvert, his drive is fascinating. “Here’s what I love about people. I love people who are thoughtful, innovative. Who have this innate desire to be more than what they currently are. I know that feeling. I want to help.”

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Geneza School of Design: It’s Monday, do you experience Monday Blues or are you excited to work? 

Collins Donye: I’m always excited to work. 

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GSD: That’s Unusual.

Collins: I was born on a Monday so I like Mondays. 

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GSD: Where did you grow up? 

Collins: Grew up in Delta. Moved to Lagos when I was 7. Lived there ever since. 

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GSD: Lagos is…a lot. How do you do it? 

Collins: I’m always home so it’s chill. There’s internet, power and chowdeck. 

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GSD: What’s a specific project you’ve worked on that has significantly impacted you? 

Collins: There’s this project called Xperience under this brand called Infineon Technologies. That was one of the first companies I worked for when I first got into design. It was…defining. It was an ambitious attempt to redefine in-transit entertainment. Let me explain. 

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Imagine being stuck in traffic but instead of scrolling aimlessly on your phone, you have access to high-speed interactive entertainment. So when you get into an Uber, you see a tablet at the back of the seat that’s in front of you. 

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When I joined the team, I was fresh into Product Design. Had a few freelance projects here and there. Was my first corporate environment. I was eager and excited. I worked on my first project. Nailed it. Then came Xperience. 

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It wasn’t like anything I had ever worked on. Anyone can design for Interfaces for Mobile Apps, Websites, or Tablets but imagine being the first to design for a smartwatch. This was 2018, in Lagos. I had never interacted with a system like that except when flying. So I was banking on that experience. I didn’t have access to see competitors’ products. No existing products to draw inspiration from, no playbook. I was creating something entirely new. For people on the go. 

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How do you design something that captures people’s attention? How do you make the tablet come on immediately when they enter the cab? Engage them all the way to the end? How do you make it fascinating enough for people to drop their phones and interact with the tablet?

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GSD: What form of entertainment were you aiming to provide? 

Collins: This is how the business makes money. Brands like Boomplay, Jameson, Maggi, Zara, Paystack, Jumia could come to Xperience and request a brand channel. Like apps on the tablet.

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If someone clicks on Maggi, they can follow a cooking tutorial, and play games. They could go virtual shopping on Zara. Zara uses that to advertise their products. Brands are paying to be in the faces of thousands of people because an average Uber ride picks between 5-20 people per week and multiplied by at least 300 Ubers. The stakes were high.

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My job, as the only designer, was to research the viability of the product. Craft something appealing and interactive. It meant I had to get creative and be fast about it. Because we were running on timelines. I started looking for anything at all that would inspire me. Smart TVs, interactive demos of Tesla, BMWs. My boss would find ways to get us on trips, first class so we could interact with the tablets. 

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Imagine flying to a nearby country just because you want to record using a tablet.

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GSD: That’s an expensive project!

Collins: I know right? So a lot of resources were being poured in. 

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I designed the first draft. Put it in front of users, and watched them interact, taking note of every tap, swipe, hesitation in real time. 

At what point did they stop using this product and pick up their phones? 

Where was the drop-off? 

Where was the excitement? 

How did they feel?

The pressure got immense so I proposed we got a senior level designer. I had to communicate that I couldn’t do it alone successfully. We didn’t want the project to flop so I convinced them and they hired. 

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I was relieved. We brainstormed a lot. Because he had more experience, I learned how he approached certain problems.

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At the time, I had this rigid process…oh, I must do research first, then ideation. I must sketch, wireframe, before design. For this project, it was time-wasting. Then this Senior guy came in, looked at the groundwork, did secondary research online, and started drafting screens. He did not even speak to users. It was after he finished the first draft we spoke to users. I watched that process and my mind opened. 

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These are little things you learn by doing. Now, I know how to figure things out. I don’t need to have a clear direction. I just need to pull information and inspiration from different places. Looking at nature, anime, healthcare, checkout systems at restaurants, and gaming platforms. I may not have access to competitors products but that’s fine. I’ll figure it out.

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GSD: What happened to the project?

Collins: I left the company before it launched. They launched but they were not profitable. It was hard to get partnerships and brands to come in. It was sad, really. 

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GSD: What would you say your creative process is?

Collins: There is no one-size-fits-all approach. 

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My approach is about tailoring the design process to fit the nature of the project. There are heat maps the project needs to react to. 

• What are the challenges?
• The Goals?
• Who are the stakeholders? 
• Project timelines? Quality timeline to speak to users?
• Do we have the resources for a lot of research? 
• Is it a new project? Or has it been existing? That means there’s groundwork. 
• Can I access calls with users? If it’s a startup, you know there are limitations. 
• Are there existing reviews? 

All of these factors influence how I approach work.

Some projects require a deep dive into research. Others work well with quick rapid iteration and launch. You have to be able to adapt your process to meet the needs of the product rather than focusing on the rigid structure.

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If the problem space is well-defined. Then you know you need to spend more time prototyping and doing more user testing. In this case, your process would focus heavily on iterations. Creating something tangible quickly, testing it with users, and refining based on feedback.

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Sometimes collaboration can be the reason why design doesn’t happen immediately. I rely heavily on inputs from clients, stakeholders, and the team. They have to be involved in the ideation process so we’re all aligned in the vision and direction. It can take time for everyone to drop their input. These inputs shape the direction of the product and the insights provide a fresh perspective. It’s not how I want it but what works for the business, then the user, and finding that intersection. In the end, my choices are guided by what the project needs, what the project has access to, the stakeholders, and what the users need at that moment. It’s always strategic and intentional.

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GSD: So you’ve been designing for 6,7 years now?

Collins: 7 years.

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GSD: What’s a project that you’re really proud of? The most impactful. 

Collins: Rvysion 

Rvysion is a venture builder company. Most people would call it a venture studio or a startup studio. Basically, it is focused on producing B2B and B2C products that grow into becoming a standalone company. 

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We generate ideas for these products in-house and we deploy resources to build them from the ground up. Rayna UI is my proudest product. It’s an open-source design system co-founded by Rvysion. 

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GSD: What was the hardest part about building Rvysion?

Collins: Upscaling. 

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With Rvysion being a venture-builder company, we fund it with our resources. Every product starts with an idea. How do you validate these ideas? Will it succeed in the market? Do we have a niche for it? Do we have access to the Target Audience? Where can we find them? Do we build an MVP and test after? Spend fewer resources, get validation, and build out the rest? How do we navigate that space? Asking these questions is oftentimes hard but is necessary for decisions. 

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You don’t want to experience a ‘high’--- “Oh this idea is really good, let’s build it!” Only to go through some more research and you find out that its not going to be valuable. 

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GSD: Does the ‘high’ happen often?

Collins: Yes.

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GSD: What do you do then?

Collins: First off, we note down all the ideas in our black book. We call it the Rvysion Black Book. Then, we do a quick SWOT analysis of the product or idea.

These bring down the high and nail down the specifics to decide if this is a good idea to build or not. That has helped us shape 4 products: Rvysion Studios, Rayna Ui, DesignWhiz, and OneDraft. 

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GSD: I would think that for a product like Rvysion, one of the hardest parts would be collaboration…?

Collins: No, that’s the easiest part. I’ve had experience managing teams, navigating collaborations with multiple teams, and being able to tie everyone under 1 common umbrella. It’s what I enjoy the most because it comes naturally. With the multiple projects we have, it’s easier to prioritize what we’re building. It’s easier to spread out resources to say; 

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‘Okay, I need you guys at this. This is how you build. This is how you navigate this space. When you’ve gotten to this stage, you reach out to me for reviews, I give you feedback.’

 It’s easier to actually go through that motion and build something in the space of time. 

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GSD: Are you leading the team? 

Collins: Yes, but I took out a structure. Being the head of the Rvysion group, I collaborate with other founders who then lead individual teams. These founders are spread across the products and then I jump in to help out when needed and review the progress of each product.

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GSD: It’s nice that you’re explaining so much.

Collins: Thank you.

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GSD: So, what’s the big picture?

Collins: Right now, we’re a Venture Builder company. Build ideas, and turn them into ventures. 

My goal is to have lots of successful self-sustaining products and incorporated companies.

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GSD: What’s your personal end-goal?

Collins: I love people. I don’t like being around them so much because I’m an introvert. Here’s what I love about people. I love people who are thoughtful, and innovative. Who have this innate desire to be more than what they currently are. 

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I come across people who struggle to be able to channel energy to becoming what they want to be. It’s the reason I started my newsletter. It’s the reason I build. I have something to give. I want to help. I build solutions that should be in the world and are not here yet. 

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I enjoy it when people use these products. When I have an idea, I collaborate with an amazing developer. I’m saying to them —” I know you want to get somewhere but come work with me. Let’s build this. This could help you actualize your goals. You could farm this product. Do this. Put yourself out there. “ — I love the feeling of seeing people blossom.

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I want to be able to fund companies. Fund people’s dreams, their ideas, create channels of opportunities, create jobs. Solve problems. I look forward to it.

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GSD: Money. So important. How have you been funding these venture projects?

Collins: There’s this saying…your full-time job will likely not get you financial freedom. 

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I had that mindset. So, while working, I saved as much as I could. Little investments to grow the money instead of keeping it in the bank. In the process, I realized that there was no figure I needed to save to start. I decided to be strategic. With the money I had, I reached out to my brother, Ogaga. I shared my dreams with him and he was down for it. We started Rvysion group.

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While I was funding the company with my savings, when it finished, I started funding with my monthly salary. Gaga and I contributed and we built the first product: Rvysion Studios. 

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That starting pulling in money for us. We could reduce our personal funding. Afterwards, we brought in 2 more founders. We built Rayna, Design Whizz, OneDraft. After a while, we didn’t need to fund anymore. It became self sustaining. From becoming self sustaining, it started funding the other product ideas we had. We started hiring. We’ve grown from having to fund it with our own cash to become self sustaining with a team of 40 running without me. 

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GSD: Did you say 4 or 40?

Collins: 40

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GSD: That’s incredible. How would you rate your life? 

Collins: I’d say 6.5.

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There’s a mix of highs and lows. I’m learning to embrace the journey, frustration, and doubts. 

I would give it a 10 when I’ve finally grown to the point where I can embrace everything life throws at me.

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GSD: Cheers to you getting 9.5.

‍Collins: Hopefully. 

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Want to connect with Collins? Say hi here.