Tweet

Using Design in Business

Written by: Chanie Pritchard

Article Overview: Design in business is much more than just catchy ads. You can use design to generate new ideas and turn them into innovative and competitive products and services, improve your business processes and strengthen and deepen your marketing approach. If used systematically across your business, design can bring a range of measurable commercial benefits...

Using Design in Business

Design in business is much more than just catchy ads. You can use design to generate new ideas and turn them into innovative and competitive products and services, improve your business processes and strengthen and deepen your marketing approach.

If used systematically across your business, design can bring a range of measurable commercial benefits:

• Improved sales and conversion rates
• Improved market position
• Greater customer loyalty
• A stronger and more credible identity for your business
• The ability to open up new markets

Design increases the value of your products and services to your customers. A professional image for your business and its offerings gives customers a reason for buying from you, and not from your competitors. In addition to improving the customer’s impression of the products and services you sell, design can also improve the way your business operates - the efficiency of its processes, the quality of its packaging and the marketability of the business.

Most people think of design as simply “decorating”… covering the outward appearance of products or the graphic elements of things such as your website, packaging and marketing materials. While these things are very important, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Design actually plays a part in nearly every aspect of what most businesses do. For example, when a business creates a consistent look across its brand materials, products, signage, stationery and its marketing activities, they are using design to improve their business and future prospects.

You can also use design to benefit your business in less obvious ways:

• product and engineering design
• graphic design - from manuals and marketing literature to signage and software interfaces
• packaging design
• software design
• retail and point-of-sale design
• interior design and fit-outs
• exhibition and trade show material design
• promotional design
• annual reports and company presentations

It’s a good idea to conduct a design audit - look at key areas of your business such as your brand, your product and service development, your work practices and customer communication and consider what role design plays in them. There may be opportunities to use design to make your business more efficient and to add value to your products and services for your customers.

It’s also a good idea to remember that corporate design is a highly specialized field. The ability to design and build a house does not come included with the purchase of a hammer… it is the same with corporate design. While the tools designers use continue to improve the industry and design products immensely, there is much more to successful design than picking up a software package.

DO:
• review prospective design firms’ portfolios carefully
• ensure the work shown in the portfolios was actually done by the firm or professional
• discuss your project with a senior designer before signing a contract
• ensure the designer is familiar with marketing and sound corporate design theory and standards
• make certain the firm will be doing the work (beware of outsourcers - fronts for cheap unqualified labour)
• ask questions… enough until you are comfortable the firm suits your business perfectly
• trust the professionals to do a professional job - if you were a designer, you would have done it yourself!

Related Articles
  Things to do before you hire a web design company
  All you need to do before hiring a web design company
  Get a Custom Logo Design and watch your Business Grow
  4 Cool Website Design Ideas
  Franchising is a Design-Build Program

Article Tags: business design, company presentations, competitive products, conversion rates, customer loyalty, design interior, design retail, engineering design, future prospects, graphic elements, improved sales, market position, marketability, marketing literature, marketing materials, material design, packaging design, professional image, promotional design, software interfaces



Related Forum Posts
Re: what position to request? - Hi Michael, Great suggestion from David, or you could try something around a design consultancy, How about Website Design Consultant, Design and Development Manager, Website Support and Development Manager or maybe Internet Business Development Consultant. Ultimately whatever you are comfortable with and good luck for the future, Mal.
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Top Banner Help - [quote:35xjo6uq]Good job on the banners BennyBoy![/quote:35xjo6uq] No probs:) I agree Online Marketing and Publicity Search Engine Optimization - Web Design and Programming Blogging also may be... Web Design Tutorials Looking to Hire - jobs section Interesting Articles / websites
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Sales Courage and Resilience

Ten Reasons to take Notes during Sales Meetings

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.