Good Design is Good Business
There is no room for complacency in the current business climate. No matter what size your business you are being assaulted by competitors from every angle. The competition is aggressive, and it’s constant. Quality and customer service are no longer sufficient in themselves: today’s business environment is rich with high quality products and services. To avoid getting overlooked by today’s savvy consumer your business must stand above it’s competitors. Well thought out and well executed design is a crucial aid in helping a product, service or company get noticed.
Business guru and author Tom Peters puts it this way, “In a world loaded with stuff that looks like other stuff and performs like other stuff, design is a way to stand out”.
Effective communication has never been more important than it is in today’s business world. How you communicate your message to your market is becoming one of the primary means of distinguishing your business from those of your competitor’s. And it’s expected of you—design consciousness is up—today’s consumers are more aware of design than at any time ever before. Apple, Sony, Oxo, Target are just some of the more obvious examples of companies that use good design successfully. Each one evidence that good design can lead to increased profit.
And the consequences can be dramatic—consider the success of Volkswagen’s Beetle and Apple’s iMac computer. These are products that can largely credit design for their success. Not only did they increase profit and raise market shares for Apple and VW, they also forced change upon their respective industries. Yes, forced—almost overnight these two corporations put their competition in a subordinate position, and they did it with good design. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, wanted a computer that didn’t look like any other computer available at the time. The iMac was the first computer marketed primarily on its appearance, and it increased Apple’s sales significantly 3.7 million units sold in the first two years: that’s one sold every 18 seconds. And the numbers continue to grow. Suddenly beige box-shaped computers were outdated regardless of their speed, memory or options. The consumer now knew that they could have hip, vibrant colors and streamlined shapes, and that’s what they wanted. The desktop computer was now also a sculpture, an object of desire and Apple’s competitors were at an immediate disadvantage, they had to change or be left behind. Since the introduction of the first iMac in late 1999 Apple has continued to successfully embrace innovative design with newer more innovative generations of the iMac as well as other new products like the iPod.
Automobiles changed also: again, streamlining and a new color palette, but also subtle features that ‘enhance the driving experience’, interior lighting and other details, textures, wheels, a whole new attitude. For 1998, the year the new Beetle premiered, Volkswagen reported it’s best sales figures in seventeen years. Although not exclusively attributed to the new Beetle, units sold were up 59% over the previous year. Their competitors re-evaluated everything from economy cars to sport utilities and redesigned in response to Volkswagen’s innovative approach to design— Nissan, Ford, BMW/Mini and Chrysler being just a few examples.
These are just a few of many examples of companies that realize good design is an important part of their business. Pay attention to what you see around you and you’ll find dozens… hundreds more examples. Everywhere from the products on the shelves of your local grocery to the interior of your favorite restaurant—good design is good business.