Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A clear and strong design identity can represent w hat an organization wants
their brand to stand for now and in the future. Design can provide an
external picture for customers and can act as the internal face of business
strategy.
Tw o major problems can arise from this pattern. Firstly, it can be hard for the
designer to tap into the soul of the product or service because they were not
a part of the team that established the core needs, values, target audience
etc. This in turn can lead to lack of consistency - and economic synergy -
between overall strategy and design identity. A vast amount of time and
money is then spent trying to marry the two. This can feel like trying to fit a
circle back into a square and thus the project often ends up back on the
drawing board. A solution to this problem is for companies to actively appoint
a design strategist, a person w ho acts as a bridge betw een the designer
Finally, design is an excellent channel for risk taking and for rapidly pushing
the barriers of an organization. Failure can occur quickly in the design stage,
but in most cases the designer(s) w ill 'fail forw ard' - the mistake leads to
learning, w hich allow s the team to succeed sooner. One of the most powerful
components of design is that people form fast relationships and responses
to it, positive and negative. It is amazing how quickly cross-departmental
teams can discard a design because it isn't quite w orking. This in turn
enables them to move the ball forw ard and close the gap between the idea
and the successful product/service. Design should therefore be viewed as a
fast prototyping method that simultaneously raises the level of innovation
w ithin an organization and helps create a culture that achieves success
quickly.
Design Awareness: How familiar are people w ith the distinct visual and
graphic language of the organization/brand? To w hat extent is design the
face of the brand?
Design Loyalty: To what extent will a person buy a product or services purely
based on the way that it looks or feels?
The value of developing distinct, clear ways to measure design equity is that
valuations w ould highlight where companies are failing to connect with
customers and where potential opportunity lies. For example, say an
insurance company develops an umbrella as their logo w ith the intention that
it conveys protection and safety, the essence of the brand (Travelers). Yet, a
design equity survey reveals that customers associate the umbrella with
rainy days and gloom. This may offer some form of explanation as to w hy the
company is having problems selling the quality and safety of their service.
Many companies today have yet to grasp the pow er of design as a strategic
tool and as a direct vehicle for increasing sales. The famous designer,
Raymond Loew y, once said, 'There is no curve as beautiful as a rising sales
graph!' Contrary to popular belief, designers do understand the need for
pragmatism and that design should be customer centric. They also
understand that great design can go further in the sense that it can create
yearning for a brand, self-confidence and security through ownership, and
make us feel as if we belong to a larger group. Arguably, it is not just the
design that evokes the emotion but rather the w hole brand or image of that
product. Design, however, is in essence emotional and there are very few
elements of a brand that have the power to be as responsive to people's
needs for sensory pleasure and to promises of delivery.
Research has show n that people relate to brands in a very similar way that
they relate to people. They form relationships w ith others based on
personality, appearances and trust. The same dimensions can be applied to
brands. They project a certain style and image, have a unique name and
personality and ultimately they try to engender loyalty through trust,
aspiration and differentiation. Most brands' distinct DNA is channeled through
design. Great design has real personality and w e almost define the type of
person we are by the type of brands that we buy.
CONCLUSION
Notes:
Aaker, David.A, 'Brand Leadership,' (New York: The Free Press, 2000)
Bedbury, Scott, 'A New Brand World,' (New York: Viking Penguin, 2002)
Gobe, Marc, 'Emotional Branding,' (New York: Allw orth Press, 2001)
Kelley, Tom, 'The Art of Innovation,' (New York: Random House, 1995)
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