🚀 How I never run out of design ideas (even under pressure)

You need to add a rating feature to your app by Friday. Do you: A) Spend three days designing from scratch, B) Copy whatever trending apps are currently doing and hope for the best, or C) Browse through dozens of thoughtfully curated examples you’ve been collecting for months?

If you picked C, you already understand the power of a swipe file.

Great products build off each other—you don't need to start from zero every time. But here's the problem: most PMs spend 2-3 hours hunting for inspiration each time they need design examples, only to end up with generic solutions that users have seen everywhere else. When you're scrambling under deadline pressure, you settle for whatever Google serves up first. I’m here to tell you: there's a better way.

What Is a Swipe File?

A swipe file is your personal collection of design patterns, features, and interactions that you’ve saved for future reference. Think of it like Pinterest boards, but instead of pinning home decor ideas (I’m partial to the Modern Farmhouse style), you're collecting product inspiration.

Let's say we're building an app called Doggos Disguised where people can upload images of their dogs in costumes (because who doesn't need more costumed dogs in their life?). We want to add a mechanism for users to rate each other's dog costumes as part of a Halloween costume contest.

The good news: in-app rating mechanisms are fairly common, so we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The challenge: finding the best examples and understanding which aspects of it would apply to us.

So, how do we find the best examples of rating systems? There are a few different methods. We can start with apps we already know: Yelp, Google Maps, Uber. But this limits us to our own experience and memory. Paid tools like Mobbin help, but don't allow personal curation.

Enter: our handy-dandy swipe file.

Swipe Files in Action

For our costume rating feature, we want there to be three different options to rate - “Good Boy”, “Great Boy”, and “Best Boy Ever”. Based on extensive user research, we know dog lovers would never consider a dog in costume as anything less than a “Good Boy”, so we use this criteria to find a rating system that matches our needs.

After checking my swipe file's rating section that I’ve built out in Figma, I can see examples like Netflix's thumbs up/down, NYT Cooking's star ratings, Resy's additional feedback options, and Beli's three rating system. The goal isn’t to copy any of them one for one, but instead to draw inspiration and remix them for our purposes.

For Doggo Disguised, let’s say we want to use the rating style of Netflix but with the option to add additional details after you rate, like Resy allows us to do. Netflix's thumbs up/down feels more casual and fun than formal star ratings—perfect for our playful dog costume context. But since dog owners love dogs, adding Resy's optional comment field allows users to explain why this costume made them smile or share a funny reaction. It's the best of both worlds, fast ratings with room for personality.

How to Build Your Swipe File

Step 1 - Choose Your Tool

I prefer to use Figma to organize all of my product screenshots since it is easy to drag, drop, and re-arrange, but use whatever you feel the most comfortable with. You could also use Notion, Docs, or even screenshots stored on your desktop. 

Step 2 - Develop An Organizational System

I’d strongly recommend organizing your screenshots by using common product patterns like Onboarding Flows, Checkout Flows, Navigation Patterns, and more. You could also organize it by the type of product that it is. You can even just organize it by vibes—whatever system works for you.

Step 3 - Adding To The File

The best way to build your swipe file is to start screenshotting products that you use in your everyday life. As you find examples of designs that you like, drop them into your swipe file. Sometimes it’s nice to also leave a note by a screenshot detailing what you like about it, so you remember for later use.

Start Simple, Stay Consistent

Don't overcomplicate this. Start with some sort of file, save examples you genuinely like, and add brief notes about why they caught your attention. After six months of consistent collecting, you'll have instant access to 200+ examples across dozens of patterns—turning design decisions from hours of research into minutes of selection. Build a swipe file, build better products, and remember that every costumed dog deserves to be at least a Good Boy.

P.S If you want to rate some doggos yourselves, check out Doggo Disguised!

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