Design. It’s all around us. Think about it for a second. Everything you own, everything in your office, every product in the supermarket – in fact, every manmade thing in this world has been designed. Your clothes, your house, the banknotes in your wallet, even that awful Lino in the kitchen at work – someone is responsible for its design. It is interesting to think that thousands of people are behind the objects and furnishings in your own house.
Design is ubiquitous. For this reason, it is also incredibly powerful.
It is therefore interesting to consider the different people involved in design – from the initial creative concept to the end consumer.
What does Design Mean to…
The Designers Themselves?
Good designers work with their brief in focus at all times. But as in all creative pursuits, a designer will also leave their creative imprint on their work. They will get to the heart of a brief, whilst also adding a sense of their own individuality and creative flair. Creativity is in their blood; their designs come from their soul. It is a very personal labour of love.
Big Corporations?
At national and international level, designs can make or break a product or brand. For large businesses, designs need to quickly deliver fundamental messages to consumers: the product or business; the USP and the quality. Big businesses spend huge sums on design services; it is often the very first thing that connects the business with a customer. Bad design damages a business and could potentially alienate customers. Good branding designs are synonymous with successful large businesses.
Consumers?
Branding connects individuals emotionally with a business. Successful brand designs should lead customers to think and feel a certain way about a business and its products. A good design should be easy to understand and have an immediate impact.
If a business is successfully branded, the result can provoke incredibly powerful emotions and thoughts for consumers – childhood memories and relationships can be brought to mind; smells and tastes evoked. This means good designs have huge potential for businesses. Emotive connections sell products and enhance brand image.
But What Should Design Mean to You and Your Small Business?
Having a small business means your design needs to be more personal – about you; your employees; your company ethos. Corporate branding is more often than not far removed from business owners and shareholders. By making your branding more personal, you have a greater opportunity to enhance the way your customers connect emotionally with your brand and create outstanding customer loyalty – loyalty that corporations could only dream of.
The Personal Approach to Design and Marketing
The personal approach should extend to how you market your business. Whilst online marketing is becoming a cost-effective way of connecting your business with potential customers, it can be seen to be remote and impersonal. However, a physical, personalised leaflet delivered into the heart of your home, such as those offered by leafletdrop.co.uk often deliver the best results. Why? Because in an corporate, digital world, people appreciate a personalised engagement.
What do you think when you think ‘design?’
Article Submitted By Community Writer
