So what’s so important about design anyway?

Sep 21 2007

That’s one of the most common questions small business owners have been asking me over the past year or so. Here’s the short answer. Why do something halfway when it takes roughly the same amount of time, the same amount of effort and the same amount of money to do something right?

Somewhere my mother is smiling.

Now, here’s the longer answer. People are pretty smart and they process information a whole lot faster than you’d think. The first few seconds after you meet someone for the first time are often the most influential few seconds in an entire relationship. In less time than it would take to shake hands, you’re already making split-second decisions about what you think of this person, how they’re dressed, whether they look you in the eye… It’s part of human nature. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a whole book about it.

We do the same thing with businesses. Whether we like it or not our potential customers judge us by our “stuff.” Our logos, business cards, web sites and brochures. If those important customer-facing tools look unpolished and unprofessional, so do we. But the flip side of that is that if we really make the effort to look good, we can turn those tools into a strategic advantage. A great business card WILL get compliments and great-looking web sites can still impress people. You can make yourself look bigger and better than your competition.

No matter what the industry, well-designed businesses are just more appealing. Not convinced? What made the iPod the most popular MP3 player around? More storage? Longer battery life? Outstanding sound quality? No, it really isn’t better than the other players on the market. It’s just cooler. Other MP3 players just look cheap and inferior next to the iPod. And especially back when the iPod was new, there was some status to be had by being seen in public with those white earbuds.

It’s the same reason that people pay two or three times more for stainless steel appliances and why, given the choice, many people I know would rather shop in Target than Wal-Mart. Looks matter. And if I thought that logic didn’t extend to my business I’d be kidding myself.

But here’s the good news… It really doesn’t take anything extra to design your business for success. It takes the same about of time, money and effort to get a good logo as a lousy one. If anything, it’s cheaper to go for good design out of the gate because you won’t want to replace it right away with something new. And it won’t cost you sales or opportunities.