Why Good Design is Good Business.

Good design is good business…

Thomas J. Watson Jr

From dating apps to online shopping, we choose products, services and people based on beauty.

Successful business owners know this well.

When most people are asked what attracted them to a company’s website or app majority state that the website design of the business was their number one factor in determining the credibility of that business.

So not only is good design directly tied to success, but it’s also tied to trust.

People don’t trust just anyone.

When people work with a company, they want to know they’re working with professionals. Investing in professional design shows that your business values professionalism and sends a powerful message to potential clients or customers. You only have one chance to make a first impression, and using a professional designer helps you make it as effective as possible. Investing wisely is key to sustaining and growing your business, and design is no exception.

And so down below I give you 7 proven reasons why good design is good business (and how you can use it to increase your small business revenues).

1. Good design makes a strong first impression.

Good design is about using colors, shapes, textures, space, forms, images, and content in a harmonious, balanced way.

Good design starts with a strong brand.

A well-designed logo is an important part of a company’s brand.

A great logo design can be the difference between blending in and standing out from the competition. But while we often recognize the value of a great logo, we don’t always prioritize it. New business owners often incorrectly believe that a good logo will cost thousands or tens of thousands of shillings.  As a result, they sometimes buy pre-made logos in an online logo store or try a do-it-yourself approach.

In the digital age, companies only have a matter of seconds before a customer makes up their mind.

Those few seconds are crucial because they can make or break a sale – and design plays a huge role in the deciding factor. Good design is a signal to customers that they should buy from you. This is true not only online, but also for physical products. Packaging design, for example, can alter the perception of your product.

2. Good design helps your business stand out.

If you thought you had no competition, think again. Every company, no matter the industry, faces a hefty amount of competition.

Human beings have an attractiveness bias; we perceive beautiful things as being better, regardless of whether they actually are better. All else being equal, we prefer beautiful things, and we believe beautiful things function better. As in nature, function can follow form.

Creating a successful product, service or website is all about getting eyeballs to it. What if you can spend less money but generate more eyeballs just because something looks better than the others? Would you not take the time to invest more upfront to get those kinds of results? That’s the great thing about good design, you don’t have to spend more but you’re automatically able to generate more attention.

3. Good design builds customer relationships.

Since relationships are based on emotion, customers are often emotionally connected to a company.

Great designs use color, layout, and smart font choice to connect to their consumer in meaningful, emotionally driven ways. Incorporating impactful, memorable, and emotional connection in the visual display of your brand is the best way to show the world who you are and what your brand stands for.

Your designs should support the principles you have built your company around and strive to reach your customers’ hearts (rather than their wallets). Create valuable, sustainable customer relationships by building your brand’s visual identity on the foundation of emotional connection. There’s no better way to secure consumer loyalty than by connecting you through your shared values, and a great design is the most effective way to illustrate them.

Good design is not only a reason why your customers become customers – but it’s also why they stay.

4. Good design keeps your website easy to use.

Good design is not just what looks good. To be effective, design needs to perform a specific function.

Good design is about how something looks and works.

A well-designed website, for example, helps convert visitors into customers. When people have attention spans that are shorter than that of a goldfish, you know you don’t have a lot of time before someone gives up.

When people encounter poorly designed sites, they are more likely to give up because they can’t find what they are looking for or it takes too long to find the information they seek. Signs that a website is easy to use includes a simple display of information, no middle-man steps, and no bells or whistles. Good design and good usability aren’t about information overload or tons of animations – it’s about giving the customer the bare minimum that they need while still expressing your brand.

5. Good design promotes brand consistency.

It would be strange if Google suddenly started displaying search results in an italics font. Or if Safaricom suddenly included pink color in all their logos and Mpesa shops.

The layout of Google’s search results and the Safaricom color theme are more than just design elements for the companies, they’re a part of their brand. Because those designs are so memorable, it’s hard to imagine them changing, and that’s a really good thing.

Consistency is key when it comes to creating a cohesive brand.

That’s because the brand ties the customer to the emotions.

When a brand is inconsistent, it seems chaotic and disorganized. People don’t want to get involved with chaotic brands because they trust the company less.

Put another way, your brand is your company’s public identity. Ideally, your brand should embody the best (and most essential) attributes of your company. That’s pretty unlikely to occur if you leave your branding to chance.

Start by making deliberate, informed choices about what elements of your company’s personality and service philosophy should be featured. And once you’ve laid the groundwork, the key to branding success is consistency.

6. Good design is the key to social media success.

If you thought you only needed a well-designed website to succeed, think again.

Many of today’s marketing efforts are done on social media platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or any other platform, social media is one of the best ways to connect to customers, go viral, and make a name for your company.

But in the age of aesthetics, you won’t get far with your social media strategy with poor designs. Without visuals, marketing messages boil down to plain text and this approach rarely catches people’s attention.

7. Good design makes you money.

We pointed out that good design is good business and hopefully, you’re beginning to understand why that’s true.

Ultimately, good design increases your company’s value, boosts sales, and puts your business in a better financial situation. Through building trust, making strong first impressions, building customer relationships, and even executing successful campaigns, good design helps make your business more profitable.

At the end of the day, the technology or the differentiating factor in your business can only take you so far.

Let that sink in for a moment. Even though your business is small today, a good design can help it be big tomorrow.

If you missed out on the previous article, you can read it here; The art of starting, building and scaling a business.

About the Author