“Everything is designed. Few things are designed well.”
– Brian Reed
Good design is good business. Whether you believe in the importance of design or not, your product or service is sending a message to people. Design is crucial if you care about what you are saying to your customers and what they are saying about you.
How you present your product or service affects how your customers feel, how they interact with your brand, and whether they become advocates of your brand (which is much more powerful than paid advertising).
Good design is meaningful and deliberate and brings real growth to your business and value to your customers life.
There are specific fundamentals that when executed, results in a product or service that resonates with consumers.
Communication
Communication is about having a message or an idea and how you share it. Your vision is what makes your product or service unique and why people should listen. It should be communicated clearly throughout all customer touch points. A successful brand creates an open dialogue with their customer. Much like normal conversation it should be natural and authentic.
Context
The context of a product is the situation in which a product or service is used. A customer’s satisfaction with your product or service depends on the context of its use. Context is about anticipating needs. Good design is the bridge between the needs of the customer and incorporation into their lifestyle.
Clarity
Simplicity can be difficult. People have a natural tendency towards complexity. They believe that by adding “more” color, shape, features, etc they are giving the customer more value. Too many elements and features hide a product or services’ true purpose. Clarity of vision and simple execution eliminates distractions. Things must be simple in order to clearly convey your vision. Remove the unnecessary to reveal the necessary.
Consistency
Consistency ties together design elements and ideas into a single cohesive brand. The strength of a brand rely’s on the consistency of its design. It makes the customer feel comfortable. It reinforces all the key points that you want the customer to know. It creates the framework that users can understand and engage with. Every image, block of text, and button of your brand tells a piece of the story, the ability to maintain consistency reinforces that story.
Good design enables brands to adapt to an always changing landscape. It helps brands maintain relevance and importance in the eyes of the customer. The market is always changing; your strategy needs to change with it. Good design is important to create a deeper emotional connection and loyalty among customers that will ultimately make an impact on business results.
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