Designers: Why You Matter
You’re working on a project, laboring over design explorations, trying to find a direction that’s original, clever, on brand and captures the goals of the brief when suddenly you are overcome with self-doubt – why should anyone care about your design work?
The reason is clear. As a designer you’re responsible for expressing the organization’s most valuable asset – their brand. All the market research and strategy leads up to the moment when you’re asked to synthesize that data into a meaningful visual direction that will motivate audiences to build a relationship with the organization.
The ability to communicate this value is critical both personally and professionally. As a discipline design is being recognized as a strategic business asset, but from a professional perspective designers still seem to be marginalized as support staff. To help battle this perception there are four critical points that designers can make when communicating their value.
Design affects consumer behavior: Design motivates consumers by creating a perceptual value. It is often a consumer’s first impression of a product or service, which establishes the relationship.
Design is a differentiator: As a competitive strategy, design offers a way for firms to differentiate their products or services from their competitors’.
Design creates meaning: Design communicates value and helps consumers comprehend the product or service.
Design as a process manages risks: Design process offers a structure that takes into account the strategic purposes of the communication being developed. Process aligns the client and designer, offers opportunities for collaboration and innovation, and manages risk by creating a common understanding of goals, roles, and a structure for diagnosing problems.
Whether you’re an in-house designer or running your own shop, never forget the importance that your work plays in your client's success. In some cases design is the brand - the trigger that sparks audiences to engage with the organization. It never hurts to remind yourself (as well as clients) of this occasionally.
