How often have you wondered why the same product or service in the market is so popular or even, perhaps, takes the majority of consumers? If you are often visited by such thoughts — do not worry, you are not alone in this boat. And there is an answer.
Today we will try to understand this from the side of an unobvious, but very significant element, to which managers often do not pay due attention. By His Majesty Design.
Design is everywhere. Whether it’s good or bad, bright or unattractive, it surrounds us everywhere — store signs, product labels, apps, social networks, furniture, appliances — the list goes on for a very long time. We live in the era of design and it influences one of the key factors on the emotional component of the consumer — will he buy or not?
Will your design grab it? Will it cause reflection and desire to associate yourself with your product or service? Analyzing the importance of design in the 21st century, we raise questions from a completely different angle. In addition to the quality of the product and the leading differences from competitors, it is the design that allows you to look deeper, both conscious and unconscious actions that will become key for you.
Design is your key difference from others
We have determined that design is an important factor that helps the consumer make a decision about choosing a product or service. Let’s now see how high-quality design can help your company, and what are its advantages (so you can decide why your business needs design):
1. New rules in the market (for example, during the pandemic, many had to go online, but not many understood how to compete in this space) and new trends;
2. Entering new markets;
3. Old customers go to competitors;
4. You have an easily accessible product or service and it is extremely important to differ, stand out, and be remembered against the background of other competitors;
5. You are a start-up or an existing startup that needs to show off and explain who you are and what you do;
6. You need to increase sales of your products or services.
The advantages of good design over low-quality, second-rate:
1. Increasing customer loyalty;
2. Strengthening the identity of your business;
3. Increasing product/service awareness;
4. Creating more products/services;
5. Expansion of the target audience;
6. Social media sales.
Design complexity
As you can see, everything new that the company strives for invariably clashes with design as an important way to differentiate itself from competitors. The visual style of the company builds its future and conveys the inner world of the team, its mood, and design are even part of the reputation.
And it is important to understand that every company (its leaders, marketing department) should be able to distinguish between good and bad design (which is the lion’s share in our information space). It is important to develop and grow a taste within yourself in order to be at the top so that the quality of your product or service is in tandem with high-quality design, and then your company will be equal and paid attention to. In the matter of good taste, such leading services in the design world as Behance and Dribble can help you figure it out, where you can always find fresh ideas and delve into the trends of the environment.
Design efficiency always goes hand in hand with complexity, that is, you can’t just rebrand the logo and think that sales will certainly go up. It is necessary to build a holistic visual image of the company, which it will go and develop over time. And it all depends on how correctly and efficiently each component of the company’s design will be worked out.
Consumers notice changes and choose those who strive to stand out and be better than their competitors.
How businesses can use design
In every area of business (whether it’s a startup or a pharmaceutical company) design is needed. We talk so much about it in this article, but we didn’t say a word about what kinds of it exist. But it is important to understand what exactly you need and when.
Let’s look at the most popular types of design using examples of the work of our digital design agency Dizz Agency.
Design types :
UX design;
UI design;
Graphic design (broad concept, includes web design);
3D design;
Illustration;
Animation;
Brand identity (corporate style);
Polygraphy.
UX design. Globally means — user experience (UX) is what a person experiences when using a product, system, or service (service). It is the relationship between the product and the person. UX design focuses on creating products that people can easily use and enjoy.
UI design. Often the concepts of UI and UX design are confused, and sometimes they are considered synonymous. In fact, these are different things. The user interface (UI design) is everything that the user sees and interacts with.
Its role is important when creating desktop applications, mobile applications, web applications, and games. UX Design (User Experience) — is responsible for the functionality, as well as what the user feels while using the system. Web design is part of UI and UX design.
Graphic design. A very broad concept, which, in fact, includes all the categories below. Graphic design is the design of what surrounds us by means of graphics. Whether it’s a product, a company, or a service, graphic design helps to express a particular stylistic personality.
Graphic design includes cover and page layouts, development and selection of fonts, illustration, collages of photographs and drawings, and work on corporate identity. But for your convenience, we have divided this vast category into subcategories, which will simplify your contact with a design agency and help you choose exactly what you need.
It is important to note that this type includes (as in UI and UX) Web design. It concerns your site — the design of the main and internal pages, the usability of your site, and its face.
3D design. This type of design is necessary for those who want to create their own product, that is, to see its 3D visualization when the product does not yet exist. A 3D designer creates a product from scratch, taking into account the wishes of the client.
Illustrations. Creating infographics, icons, characters, and pictures (often a fictional world), for example, creating a cover for a fantasy book.
Brand identity. Most of the graphic design. This is your corporate identity — logo, brand book; book covers, packaging, banners, catalogues, leaflets, and presentations. Everything that we can see in a brand and what visually distinguishes it from competitors (stylistic elements, colours, fonts, business documentation, souvenirs).
Animation. This section includes all types of videos and files that are created from immovable elements (gif files, cartoons). Animation is ordered when there is no need or desire to conduct real shooting, you can also animate illustrations of artists (creating animation from them).
Motion design is a subcategory of animation. These are 2D and 3D dynamic graphics, and animation, which is used in videos — intros, titles, and infographics. Animation of a logo or some other elements can also be attributed to motion design.
Polygraphy. This is the creation and preparation of a design for printing in the printing industry (preparation of a layout according to technical requirements).
Depending on the niche in which the business consists, and the stages that the company goes through, the need for types of design may be different.
Design audit of your business
Once you understand how many types of design exist, the next step is for you to evaluate your business and understand what are the key areas through which you can communicate with your customers through design. What role does he play in them? Can you add value to your product/service through design?
Mistakenly, design is viewed as the finishing touch to the development of a product or service, as something to be used after a strategy has been formulated, key decisions have been made, and budgets have been allocated.
But in fact, successful businesses include design in their business strategy from the very beginning. This is because engaging design early on can save you money and lead to better market offerings and better service for your customers.
If you did not lay it at the very beginning — do not be discouraged. Making even minor changes at any stage of a business’s existence can bring significant positive results.
Steps to use design strategy should include:
1. Determining where and how the design is currently being used in your business;
2. Identifying ways to improve the design needs assessment process. For example, involve management who understands their product better than others and knows the points of intersection with the audience, or turn to design audit professionals who will become your strategic partner and tell you what can be changed through design to increase conversion;
3. Conduct market research to make sure you know exactly what your customers need.
Using design to improve the development of a product or service
Figuring out what your customers want is an important starting point in developing competitive products and services. The more you learn about your customers’ preferences from market research and design-driven user research, the more likely you are to develop products and faces that they want to buy. But how do you know the needs of your customers? You have to start from the very beginning.
Product design development includes the following steps:
1. Conducting user research;
2. Development of the concept of a new or existing product;
3. Preparation of the initial project;
4. Determining the number of people, materials, finances, and processes required for its production;
5. Creation of a prototype;
6. Conducting focus groups to evaluate a new product;
7. Making changes after the focus group and choosing the final design.
Remember that product design should not only target your existing customers, it can also be used to attract new customers and enter new markets.
You have already been convinced by global business giants
If you still doubt whether you need a quality design — think about the successful companies Apple, Google, Uber, Netflix, Porsche — the list goes on.
Pay attention to how harmonious everything in their brand is — from the products themselves, interface design, logos, brand book, and ending the design of official sites and user usability. Quality, fame, success, and design always go hand in hand. We, as a team with 9 years of experience, have something to tell you. We take responsibility as a strategic partner.
During the work of Dizz Agency, we have helped our clients to become distinctive and unique in the market many times.
Seeing a newly implemented design, whether it be a website, presentation, video, or animation, there were no more doubts about the quality of the product/service. Because we know how to present your product to the audience from the right side, we know how to distinguish a company from competitors. Choose the best for your business and he will surely thank you with superiority in your niche.