In this Life in 3D edition, designers Péter Schuszter and Alex Márton share what it’s really like to design at Shapr3D.
With completely different backgrounds - one in finance, the other in graphic design - they’ve found common ground in how they collaborate, grow, and build features that matter to users. This is a conversation about impact, ownership, and the constant evolution of what great design looks like.
How did you get into design?
Péter:
So by profession, I’m coming from finance, quite unrelated. But I got into it, and the most important aspect of my journey is that I first started off working for agencies, which was obviously for different clients. And about 15 years ago or so I moved into a product company, which was totally different, where you get to improve products over multiple years. And it just stuck with me.
Alex:
My background is in graphic design, so that gives me a different perspective. For me, the visual side of things is also really important. I really like typography, animations and that kind of stuff. When I’ve found interaction design and product design, for me the interactions, or the interactive bit of graphics, was the thing that really was interesting. I’ve been working in product design for eight, almost nine years.
Why did you join Shapr3D?
Péter:
I was working together in a previous company with someone who is one of the earliest employees. So my main motivation to come here was after seeing their excitement. And at the time, I had a dip in my motivation at my previous company. So I left and moved here. That was 7 years ago...
Alex:
It’s really about what the product does. I couldn’t imagine myself working on a database-handling product. Previously, I worked with Prezi, which also had a presentation editor. And when I found Shapr, for me, the reason it was interesting was because of the product - it’s a 3D editor. It comes with lots of really interesting interaction challenges. It’s something that lets people make something. And I really like that aspect.
What was your first impression of the design culture?
Alex:
I think compared to other places, design at Shapr3D is extremely challenging. It’s challenging because the domain itself is really, really specific. You need to understand it, and you need to use all that knowledge to understand the problem and come up with a solution. In addition to that we also have a lot of responsibility, and we’re really free to define our boundaries within the org. If you don’t like that kind of challenge, it can be overwhelming. But if you like to experiment and try things, then the impact and the hats you get to wear can be really broad.
Péter:
When I joined we were 8 people. Now we are around 130. It was really early startup mode - everyone working 10 hours a day. Design decisions were just discussions around the same table. Now it’s more mature with separate teams. But what still strikes me is that there are super smart people around me. A lot of developers have excellent ideas. I might take a design to 50 or 60 percent, and a lot of input comes from others.
That was uncomfortable at first, because I felt like I needed to defend everything. But now I see it as a strength.
Can you share a recent project you were proud of?
Alex:
One of the recent projects is working on Expressions. This is something I really enjoyed working on.
It started sometime last summer. The goal was to introduce Expressions into Design History. This is a very specific thing - math, logic, how you combine history steps. In practice, this allows you to define a variable and then use them within Expressions throughout the model.
One of the most interesting moments was during a design review when I proposed changes to how we handle units in the editor. I said, “We should do this and that.” István, our CEO, responded, “No, this doesn’t make sense.” But I was confident, and as we talked it through, he eventually said, “Okay, yeah, you’re right this is the way to go.” That was a really meaningful moment for me.
Péter:
Lately, I worked on a project around being able to select through a whole model. Like, if you have a laptop that has, I don’t know, a thousand parts in it. And you want to select something in the middle, you had to make things disappear to do that.
We had a design workshop with a high-profile customer who literally told us, “We just can’t do what we want.” That reorganized our roadmap. The feature made it into production this year.
How do projects like that typically come to life at Shapr3D?
Alex:
What I really like here is that we don’t just get things from the top, like, “Hey, do this now.” Features usually come from user feedback or from us. We know what we want to do for the next 4 or 5 years. The question is just, which one should we do next, and at what scope?
Péter:
If you examine every idea by itself, it will always look important. But you have to ask: is this blocking a workflow completely? Or is it just a quality-of-life improvement? Is it for everyone or for a niche group of users? That’s what helps us decide.
What’s it like to ship fast while still caring about quality?
Alex:
We don’t really have hard deadlines like, “I need the design by Friday.” But there’s pressure. You want to ship. You want to unblock. So you hand off one thing, and the next day you’re starting another.
Péter:
We often release something at 40%. Then maybe we build a second phase. But sometimes, we stop there. And it’s painful. As a designer, you want to finish things properly. But over the years, you learn that this is how product companies work.
You always want to raise the bar. But sometimes the team needs to move on. Users are usually happy. You are the one who sees what’s missing.
What role do users play in shaping the product?
Péter:
We have this really active group of users. They’re not paid, not incentivized. They just care. They try things as soon as a release is out, and they give feedback immediately. It’s chaotic at first, but it gets more constructive over time. It feels really good.
Alex:
I had a call with someone a few weeks ago. They said, “It would be nice to see all the Review links I’ve shared.” And I said, “That’s almost already done. It’s shipping in two days.” He was so happy. That was a great moment.
And after all that - what has designing here taught you?
Péter:
You think you have the answer. Then every single person will spot something you didn’t think of. Every single time. So now I expect that. And I reached out. Because the more feedback, the better it gets.
Alex:
Letting go. Coming from a graphic design background, it’s really hard to let go of the visuals. But you have to. You have to realise that if it doesn’t always have an impact.
What makes you proud to be here?
Péter:
Just working on a global product. Sitting in Budapest and seeing something you helped design used around the world -that’s pretty amazing.
Alex:
That we make something that helps people create. That’s what I care about.
Interested in joining our Product team? We are hiring!