The Power of Good Design
Accountants to landscapers have a basic understanding of the power of marketing. They need to build an audience! They need more people to want their stuff!
Is design understood that specifically? Is it something that we want because we’re certain it will affect the bottom line in a significant way? Or is it something we need because we’ve seen our competition use it successfully and hope to do the same?
To pass that threshold of needing (and resenting) to wanting (and loving) design, you need to understand three core parts of design: making things useful, making things usable, and making things desirable.
Making Things Useful
Putting together a collection of features and functionality to help people accomplish a goal is just as much a part of design as choosing a color scheme. It’s far enough away from seeing a beautiful interface that it doesn’t feel like design. Just remember, no matter where you are in the project, design is happening.
It may be appealing to leave the designers out of this phase for budget or time constraints, but don’t let that happen. Some features are complex enough to influence the feeling of the application. If you’re going for a lightning fast and highly enjoyable application, a complex feature will interfere with that plan.
A good designer can spot these inconsistencies in complexity and help you build a more consistent set of features and functionality. This is a very important part of setting the right tone and building a good foundation for the project.
Making Things Usable
If we can’t get the value that has been promised quickly and efficiently we will probably get cranky. We are all prepared to work for the value we need, but if confusion is getting in our way it can become very hard to to see this product or service as an ally. Using something can be difficult without damaging perception, but when it gets confusing there has been a huge failure in design.
Getting down into the nitty-gritty details of properly labeling form elements, buttons, icons, headings, micro-copy, error-copy, alert messages, and links is what it takes to make people feel comfortable and confident in their actions. It can take a lot of time, but it’s worth it. Once you’re out of your audience’s way, they will become more effective and give you all the credit.
When you intuitively know how to get somewhere and then instantly know what to do when you get there, a sense of confidence emerges. After you feel as if you’ve have mastered the art of using a website or application it will be nearly impossible for the competition to break through and convince you to switch.
Making Things Desirable
Building something useful is worth celebrating. Making something useful become easy to use is also a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately, there are many companies, teams, and even individuals that can take a project this far. You need to make it feel personal and meaningful to keep your audience engaged.
Desire isn’t just a nice look. Visual appeal will get some temporary attention that will quickly drift into the next distraction. A personality that continuously challenges, excites, and delights the audience is required to make them want to use your product or service. Although most of the design is done at this point, inspiring desire can be the most difficult part.
A great designer can help translate a personality into a look and feel that will reinforce the perceptions you want to build in your audience. This perception will help your content make more sense and give it an extra level of credibility. It can also resonate with people on an even deeper level if it feels similar to how they feel about themselves.
The Multiplier Effect
Something useful is valuable. When it’s easy to use it’s 10 times more valuable. When it’s fun to use it’s another 10 times more valuable. This is the power of good design.