First impressions | Design is key to a business' public face
Co-owner of Curvwork, a design consultancy in Portland, and a board member of AIGA Maine
Remember the old saying about first impressions? When your customers interact with your company for the first time, whether it’s online, seeing a business card or entering your place of business, they form an opinion. Good design makes your business look good and can help you reach new customers and better communicate with exisiting ones. Your brand may seem like an intangible asset, but it generates tangible results and directly affects your bottom line. The decision to integrate good design into your business strategy could be the most important decision you’ll make in a new business startup or revitalizing an established brand. But businesses often overlook the value of graphics when working to revitalize a brand. Here’s a guide to help you begin the design process:
1. Before you design, write about your company and develop a strategy
Take the time to write a design brief for your designer that includes background information, target audience demographics, business objectives and design strategy. The power of design depends on what makes your company or products unique. Your designer can hit the ground running if you bring a clear, concise and actionable brief to the table. If you don’t know where to start, ask your designer to audit your company’s communications and provide recommendations. Ultimately, the brief will include every aspect of a project or design campaign, including the project scope, timelines and budget estimates that the designer will help you fine tune. This is the script that you and the designer will read from during the design and production process.
2. Decision maker, meet designer
Have your designer meet with the ultimate decision makers at the outset of a design project. This is crucial, because much of the communication and information about your company comes directly from the decision makers, and therefore they need to be involved in a project from the beginning if they are going to make informed choices. On the other hand, it is also counterproductive to involve too many people. A design project team should consist of only the designer and one or two key personnel/decision makers at your company.
3. Make it real
Designers create visual manifestations of your branding and business strategy. The only way to inspire all the stakeholders and help them understand the patterns and insights the designer is bringing to a project is to make visual and tangible prototypes. If it’s a website, make a screen design actual size and view it on your own monitor. If it’s a printed booklet, the designer will print it on paper so you can hold it in your hands. If it’s three-dimensional, make a model. Making a model can be cost prohibitive with a large building for example, so sometimes designers will use CAD renderings. If a major design decision is made after completing the prototypes, take the time to have those prototypes revised — even if it’s just in digital form. That will give all the stakeholders the opportunity to see the final product. Crucial decisions are often made at this stage.
4. Show and tell
You’ve worked hard with the designer to come up with what you both think is the best solution. In an organization, this is where the relationship between the designer and the decision makers is really important. If you’re presenting to a board, include the designer in the presentation meeting. Vital information is often exchanged at the meeting with the decision makers. The designer will have the opportunity to refer to the brief, expound on the thinking behind the design work and ultimately help you get approval.
5. We have lift off
Fabrication, printing, photo shoots, construction. Don’t disengage in the production phase, especially if it’s a large, complicated project. Have your designer report on progress and reviews of any production approvals such as shop drawings or printers proofs.
6. Measuring success
Take time to share information on feedback, sales, company morale or any other positive or negative gauges, whether it’s anecdotal or quantitative, after launching a design initiative. Going forward, your design briefs can be reused on similar projects and tweaked as necessary to improve design strategy and bring your communications into line with your organization’s marketing strategy.
An example of a brand update. The logo on the left, created decades ago, was modern looking then but has since lost its impact. The newly designed logo on the right simplifies the mark, makes it easier to recognize and produce in print, web, video and architectural graphics. The updated typeface is also easier to read. Courtesy of Puelle Design, Yarmouth.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments