The Cost of Bad Design
In today’s competitive world, the primary goal of a business is to make itself stand out and get visibility from potential customers. Some businesses start off with DIYing or purchasing low-cost options for their branding or graphic design. Hey, we all have to start somewhere, right? But just as you invest in your niche, product or skillset, you need to invest in good branding. In order to scale your business, you need to invest in how your business looks and is perceived by others. Branding is really about how your customers see you. If you don’t feel like spending money on your business customers won’t either.
What is bad design and what is the cost?
Whether you’re a designer or not, you’ve seen bad design; Clip art logos, Word and PowerPoint materials, an overwhelming array of fonts and colors, stock photos that are fuzzy and pixelated, or cluttered scrapbook-looking ads or brochures. These are extreme examples, but you get our point.
In general, bad design can confuse and distract viewers, making it hard for them to understand your message or take the action you want.
The cost of bad design can be significant for businesses and can:
Lead to lost opportunities
Lead to a loss in revenue
Impact user feedback
Lower consistency for both your product as well as brand design
Reduce clarity in your product or service offering (ie. Prospects get confused and leave your store or website)
Reduce your level of professionalism
Lower your credibility
In addition, bad design costs you even more as you lose the trust of your customer:
Poor design can lead to lost sales: Bad packaging, confusing website layouts, and unappealing visuals all have the potential to turn off potential customers.
When design isn't done well, it can lead to wasted time, money, and effort. If a design isn't effective—if it doesn’t solve the problem —it may need to be redesigned; this typically takes additional time and costs real resources (both financial capital as well as human capital).
Bad design can harm a company's reputation, making it difficult to attract new customers and retain existing ones. If a design is poorly executed, its unprofessional nature or outdated feel may damage the company’s image.
In some cases, bad design can lead to legal issues. For example, if a product's packaging is confusing or misleading, it could lead to lawsuits or regulatory action. Or if you are using a publicly available design resource for your brand materials, you could end up with copyright issues on the design template.
Steps to Good Design /Avoiding Bad Design
Are there ways we can prevent this sort of unnecessary cost in the form of design? Although there is no one set of golden rules, there are some steps that we can use as guidelines:
1. Listen to Your Audience
Nothing beats hard and fast facts, especially when they're based on a wide variety of sources. A good designer leaves their ego at the door and strives to listen to what people are asking for. Listening to and researching the traits of your target audience will lead to an effective brand strategy that will impact the strength of your brand or design.
2. Have a Brand Strategy
It is important for your designer to invest in the research and development process and to have a firm understanding of why. Before starting any brand or design work there needs to be a strong strategy. Developing a strategy involves putting in the work to research your company, your competitors, and your culture. All of the information is then compiled to create a strategy for the visual direction of your design. Starting with a brand strategy then ensures that your design or branding is unique to your business’s needs, and the customers you intend to serve. It maintains consistency across your brand to ensure your business is recognizable amongst competitors, and it maintains professionalism and credibility.
3. Trends are not User Needs
We live in a society where trends spread like wildfire. Once a trend becomes popular, soon it starts cropping up amongst the competition before it is EVERYWHERE. Trends are not bad. In fact, some of the best products we have today are because of certain trends. However, it is very important to keep your main brand or design strategy in mind no matter what. Before adopting a trend, consider if it will continue to support your strategy 3-5 years from now and does it align with your core audience.
4. Content is King
No matter what the visual brand looks like, content is key. What is content? It is the meat and potatoes of your branding or design strategy; What does your product/service consist of? When a user communicates about your product/service to another person, what will they first think of to describe it? Your core content is designed to educate, inform, and provide value to your customer. Therefore, it is important when building out any brand materials or a marketing campaign that you pay special attention to what is in your content.
5. Hire the Right Designer.
Just because you know someone who is an “artist” doesn’t necessarily mean they are the person for you. Do your own research. Look at what other leaders in your field are doing. It’s not about copying what they do but getting an idea of the quality of their design or brand. What makes them stand out? What impresses you about their design? What is their approach and process? Have they done work with competitors or businesses in your same industry? Hiring a designer who meets your company’s culture and needs will ensure the final outcome strategically aligns with your business.
What does good design cost?
The better question is what is the value of good design? If it’s for your livelihood then it’s worth as much as you can afford for the right design. Good design isn’t free. Here is where you get what you pay for. If you spend $100 on a logo, you probably deserve a logo that looks like a poorly executed amateur piece or a generic stock piece with your name plugged into it. Of course, not everyone can afford to spend xxx dollars on design, we get it. There’s room for everyone at the table. However, by going the cheaper route, you are wasting more time and resources in the long run.
Branding and graphic design are like any other service or product that you pay for. If what you get is not helping you achieve your goal, it’s a huge cost you’ll be bearing for a long time.
We at Lianne Charlene Creative have helped several businesses establish visibility or an effective brand. If you are looking to outsource your graphic design services, connect with us today at hello@liannecharlene.com
- The LCC Team