The Value of Good Design

How much is good design worth?

Apple knows. So does Coke, Target, and an increasing number of everyday brands that realize the value of strong product and identity design.

With its focus on intuitive, elegant, and simple design, Apple has continuously experienced explosive growth and become arguably one of the greatest success stories in business history. Coca-Cola has demonstrated their investment by hiring a vice president of global design (David Butler). His sole job is to CREATE VALUE THROUGH DESIGN for this billion-dollar brand.

There's a difference between design and good design.

The professional designer offers a level of strategic thinking, conceptual, and rendering skills that your brother-in-law who knows the software simply can't. Good design is at the core about communication. A skilled designer knows how to ask the right questions about your product or service and customers, and can translate your business goals into clear and compelling messages. Whether via logo, website or printed brochure, the elements of design (layout, color, type choice, texture, etc) are used skillfully in service of that message. A good designer is a problem solver, not simply a style creator.

Is this value measurable?

A 2007 UK STUDY by the Design Council demonstrated a direct and significant link between design and business performance. In fact, design-led businesses outperformed key stock market indices by 200%. 4 out of 5 businesses surveyed believe that design is integral to their business, and think that design's importance to competitiveness has risen over the past decade. Where design is integral, less than half of businesses compete mainly on price, compared to two thirds of those who don’t use design.

Clearly, good design has become not simply an accessory, but the price of entry in an increasingly competitive marketplace.