Tech doesn’t need heart. What it needs is another AI pivot, a jargon-soaked deck, and a few more hockey-stick graphs.
Obviously.
Except, we all know that’s rubbish. Users aren’t clamouring for “disruption,” they’re just trying to get through their day without feeling like every new app is a tax return in disguise.
Let’s get something out of the way: tech isn’t short for "technical". In the modern startup world it’s short for terrifying, tedious and sometimes totally soulless.
I’ve spent twelve years in this world: first a wide-eyed Yorkie from Penistone (yes, all the jokes have been made), then a slightly jaded Mancunian running Umlaut, a branding agency in both Manchester and Berlin, and now with Dead Keen: my studio at the messy intersection of design, code and brand.
What I’ve learned (the hard way) is this: brands without heart don’t just let down their users. They eat away at the founders too. The value of what we make is measured in feelings as much as metrics. Ignore that, and you end up with another ghost app haunting someone’s homescreen.
This Journal piece is my call to arms, or maybe just a nudge. No funnels, no viral loops, no “secret growth hacks to make six figures in two and a half days”. Just a belief that if you unite brand, design, code and emotion, you can build something that matters and still sleep at night.
The Mental Health-ephant in the Room
Startup life is glamorous. Champagne launches, ping-pong tables, billion-dollar valuations. Right?
Reality check: 45% of founders report poor mental health, 85% say they’re highly stressed, and 55% can’t sleep properly. “Work-life balance” translates into skipped meals, fewer holidays, and more stress than sense.
And here’s the kicker: burnout often has less to do with hours worked than why you’re working those hours. Chase vanity metrics and investor applause, and the grind will hollow you out. Build something that matters to humans, and suddenly there’s fuel in the tank.
Heartless brands make for heartless founders. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Uniting Goals and Audience: The Dead Keen Approach
Products are for markets. Or so the textbooks say.
But people don’t live in “markets.” They live in moods, fears, late nights and early mornings. That’s why at Dead Keen we start with one deceptively simple question: “Who is this for?”
Not “What’s the EBITDA?” or “What persona did McKinsey invent for you?” But: who’s tired at 2am relying on this? Who’s anxious, hopeful, or bored and still has to use it? If we can’t answer that, we don’t start. It’s really that simple.
For a real estate startup, this meant ditching “disruption” waffle for a clearer story: their app helps buyers and sellers see where the property chain is stuck, before it collapses.
For a fintech founder, it meant swapping “monetary velocity” for the lived panic of freelancers waiting on late invoices. When she saw wireframes centred on her users’ feelings, and anxieties, instead of KPIs, she whispered: “Finally, someone sees what I was trying to do.”
That’s the stuff.
Clear Language, Not Jargon
Jargon proves you’re serious. Because nothing says “approachable” like pivot, productise, and MVP.
Except it doesn’t prove anything. It alienates the very people you’re trying to reach.
Great brands speak human. Slack didn’t call their audio and video chat feature “Synchronous Multi-Node Video Discussion Interface.” They called them Huddles. Apple didn’t name its file sharing protocol “Proximity Data Transfer System.” They called it AirDrop.
At Dead Keen, our microcopy reads like a conversation with a mate (albeit a sarcastic one). Our errors say “Well, that’s embarrassing… Let’s try again.”
And unlike most brands, we also give you buttons and fallbacks so you’re not stranded on the M25 in the pouring rain.
Tiny detail? Maybe. But those tiny details build trust faster than a thousand marketing decks.
Brand Behaviours and Design Systems
A brand is a logo. Slap it on the pitch deck and you’re done.
Wrong. A brand is a set of behaviours. At Dead Keen, ours are emotionally articulate, poetically grounded, and technically competent. That translates into everything: our colour palette (Graphite Black, Electric Blue, Burnished Orange, Flaming Magenta), our tone, even our motion principles: Everything moves like memory, not like code.
Does this sound like overkill for a seed-stage startup? Maybe. But here’s what happens when you don’t bother: your “system” grows like Frankenstein’s monster. Consistency dies, trust dies with it.
Brand systems aren’t vanity. They’re the bedrock. Boring until the storm comes, then you’re very glad you built on rock, not sand.
Humanising Tech Through Design
1. Simplicity Isn’t Simple
Minimalism is soulless. White space, clean lines, the UX equivalent of a waiting room.
Except simplicity done right isn’t soulless at all, it’s humane. It calms the anxious, clarifies the confusing, and clears space for emotion.
We designed a fintech dashboard in dark mode so users wouldn’t feel like their money was screaming at them. But when an invoice was paid? Fireworks. Tiny bursts of joy for the most boring moment in business.
That’s the point: Simplicity is the stage. Personality is the performance.
2. Playful Trends and Left-Field Ideas
Serious design wins trust. Grey palettes, Helvetica, nothing risky.
Or, maybe trust comes when people feel something*.* That’s why when we onboard users into Scratch, our in-house playlist app, we don’t just dump features. We set a mood: A dancefloor in your pocket, rough edges like a good night out.
Not gimmicks, but plenty atmosphere. Nightlife photography, motion blur, bold gradients. A product that feels alive.
The rule is simple: Weird is welcome, random is not. If you’re going to hurl neon paint at the wall, at least make sure it means something.
3. Accessibility and Inclusivity
Accessibility is a box-ticking exercise. Run the contrast checker, add an alt tag; job done.
Except inclusive design isn’t just compliance. It’s empathy. Screen readers, language support, avoiding gendered assumptions—these aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re table stakes.
As a neurodiverse founder (hi, ADHD), inclusive design also means designing for brains like mine: ones juggling twelve thoughts at once. Keep it clear, keep it simple, keep it forgiving.
Inclusive products don’t just avoid lawsuits. They earn loyalty.
The Unification of Design and Code
Designers design. Developers build. Never the twain shall meet.
That’s how most agencies operate: lob a Figma file over the wall and pray.
At Dead Keen, we don’t silo. Our designers review code. Our developers sit in workshops. The result? A product that feels cohesive because the people making it actually spoke to each other.
And here’s where it gets fun. When code and design dance together, you can add touches like CSS easing that feels natural, or visuals that pulse to the beat of a song. Function and feeling, side by side.
Products should run. But they should also breathe.
Purpose and Values: Putting the Heart Back
Growth at all costs. That’s the old gospel.
But Gen Z founders—82% of them—now say they want profit and purpose. Mission and margin, hand-in-hand. Climate tech, fintech for the underserved, mental health platforms: these are the brands that last.
Dead Keen isn’t neutral in this. We pick clients whose missions we believe in. We say no to work that conflicts with our values. We put money and time into causes we care about: queer rights, neurodiversity, mental health.
Not because it’s marketing. Because it’s sanity.
If your work reflects your beliefs, you’re more resilient when things go wrong. If it doesn’t, burnout is waiting.
Lessons Learned (and a Gentle Nudge)
- Start with why (and who). If you don’t know who you’re serving, stop.
- Tone matters. Talk like a human, not a prospectus.
- Systems save sanity. Trust compounds when design is consistent.
- Heart doesn’t mean fluff. Empathy + data = stronger products.
- Integrate design and code. Magic happens when they share a table.
- Take care of yourself. Delete Slack on weekends. Call your mum. Spend some time in nature. Dance. Laugh. Cry. Create. Be silly.
Conclusion: Design Like Nobody’s Watching
Building tech brands with heart isn’t soft. It’s survival.
The founder mental-health crisis isn’t slowing down. But if you unite your work with your values, build products that matter, and remember there are humans on both sides of the screen, you stand a chance.
Design with heart, and not only will your product thrive, but you might just sleep through the night.
If any of this appeals to you, let’s talk. Or read my full report on the current burnout epidemic in tech. Or join the Scratch beta for some top playlists to help you create, or unwind.
But most of all, dance. Music solves everything.