420 Design Blog
The Value and Investment of Design
23 Sep 2005 | Angie H
For many small business owners, design seems like an evil necessary. An expense that needs to be bought, much like electricity or Internet access. Part of the cost of doing business. But in reality, as far as your business is concerned, design isn't just an expense. It's not a commodity. Design is an investment.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly why design is viewed as nothing more than a sub-profession with the objective to create something that looks nice. While aesthetics play an extremely important role in design, it is much more than that, especially when you consider that looks are very subjective. Design - GOOD design, that is - is about strategic communications solutions to a business' problems and/or needs.
When you hire a designer, you're not just hiring someone with the ability to use design software. Let's be honest: anyone can learn to use software. But designers are paid to do a lot more than that. Aside from carefully picking the right typeface or choosing the perfect color palette, you're paying a designer for his/her ideas. For solutions that are tailored to help your business AND your customers. There are subtleties in design that can turn your customer into a loyal customer or into an angry one. These things can't just be picked up when you purchase a piece of software.
Additionally, the ideas you are paying for don't happen overnight. And they certainly don't happen without getting to know you and your business. More importantly, "ideas give design its weight, its ability to influence audiences." Source
When done well, design can be a direct conduit for increasing sales. But businesses still aren't buying it. And I can't say that I blame them. It's pretty difficult to directly measure the impact of design on sales and a business' bottom line. But it's there. And that is where the true value of design is. It isn't about how much time it will take to create that logo or that website. That's not what you should be paying for. You should be paying for the creative and strategic thinking that will help increase your sales, expand your business and expose it to your target audience.
That, my friends, is why design is an investment.