WTF is SIP?
by Raffi Chilingaryan
The who, what, when, where, and why of Spotted in Prod.
Who is behind SIP?
Raffi Chilingaryan curates and screen records posts, with support from many community members who flag cool stuff for him (mostly via comments and DMs on X). Neesh Kancharla developed the very first version of the SIP website, and Joe Smith currently maintains it.
What gets posted?
We post a wide range of apps, from large companies to craft focused startups and indie developers. We do our best to properly attribute our posts and appreciate when the community chimes in to help us credit the right people.
I try to stay balanced across categories but my daily habits, interests, and location inevitably bias the curation. This is another place where the community is so key. I really do love when people send me apps that I wouldn't have come across on my own ‒ even if I don't end up featuring them ‒ so please don't be shy to recommend something you love.
We don't post Apple's native apps despite the fact that they have some of the most fluid interactions you can find. This is mostly because they come preinstalled on your device and there are already plenty of Apple fan accounts highlighting these details. It's not a firm policy though and we may switch it up some day.
Selection criteria
Since some people may be curious, here are things we tend to look for:
- The app serves a clear purpose and seems useful (even if it's not for us)
- The pricing of the app is reasonable
- The app isn't scammy or harmful
- The whole app has been cared for and is in good shape
- All (or almost all) screens and flows are consistent
- Spacing, layout, text, and color feel nice and consistent
- Load times are reasonable and are paired with clear loading states
- Transitions between views are consistent
- The app icon has been cared for (simple is better than overcooked)
- The app isn't over-animated (we've seen lots of this)
- Bonus: the app has some novel functionality
Please note that this isn't a firm set of criteria and there is no way to guarantee your app gets posted (although as a developer myself it does feel like a useful checklist regardless of whether you want to get featured). Ultimately I post my taste: things that are either beautiful or thought-provoking to me.
When do you post clips/update the website?
I post daily on socials and update the web app library in batches whenever I can find a good chunk of time to do some tagging. Every clip is 100% organic non-GMO hand tagged because I don't trust AI to decide what is interesting about it or use the right design parlance.
Where are you based?
I'm based in Chicago, Joe is in Wales, and Neesh is a student at Northeastern in Boston.
Why Spotted in Prod?
Spotted in Prod started as way to separate my reposts from my personal work, but it quickly grew into a platform for developers and designers to find inspiration and showcase their work.
Things got really exciting once I realized SIP was helping drive traffic to indie devs and smaller startups. Distribution is a hard game, and we see our ability to create awareness (even if just a little) as a way to help builders focus on what they love doing most: coding and designing.
Those reasons alone are enough to continue curating SIP for a long time to come, but there are also new avenues that we're excited to explore (stay tuned). We're extremely grateful for the support we've received so far and the community that is emerging here, and we hope to build the best possible platform for anyone who appreciates high quality apps.
Spotted in Prod is a community of developers and designers who are obsessed with the details. We're constantly on the lookout for exceptional UI/UX patterns in the apps we use every day.
Our mission is to help you build better products by making it easier to discover and learn from the best interfaces in the world. We believe that great design is everywhere, and we're here to help you spot it.
What we do
We're building a platform that makes it easy to discover and learn from exceptional UI/UX patterns. Our web app lets you:
- Browse a curated collection of the best interfaces
- Learn from detailed breakdowns of what makes them special
- Connect with other developers and designers who share your passion
We're also active on Twitter, where we share our latest discoveries and insights. Follow us at @spottedinprod to stay up to date with the latest in UI/UX design.
Join us
Whether you're a developer, designer, or just someone who appreciates great design, we'd love to have you join our community. Sign up for our web app to start discovering exceptional interfaces today.
Our Story
Spotted in Prod started as a Twitter account in 2023, sharing our favorite UI/UX patterns from the apps we use every day. We quickly realized that there was a community of developers and designers who shared our passion for exceptional interfaces.
In 2024, we launched our web app to make it easier for everyone to discover and learn from the best interfaces in the world. We're constantly adding new features and content to help you build better products.
Our Values
We believe that great design is everywhere, and we're here to help you spot it. We're passionate about sharing our knowledge and helping others build better products.
We're committed to building a community that's inclusive, supportive, and focused on learning. We believe that everyone has something to contribute, and we're here to help you share your knowledge with the world.