Why Design is Critical     For many small and medium size business owners, a graphic designer is the first port of call when it comes to marketing their business.  A scenario we come across on a daily basis is one where the entrepreneur starting a business realises the need for a business name and basic business collateral; business card, letterhead, website, brochure, etc and they seek the services of a graphic designer. This hence becomes the critical point in the development of their business, not just their business image.   The grandfather of modern management Peter Drucker said that business was about 2 things and 2 things only; marketing and innovation. Graphic Designers have a vital role to play in both. Design is emerging as one of the most important factors in building business advantage. Richard Seymour, co-founder of SeymourPowell UK, one of the world's leading product design consultancies says:  "Bad design is very expensive. Brilliant design is incredibly cheap. The more desirable an object is to start with, the less you'll have to spend on advertising it… And now we live in an era where conventional advertising is dying. The time has come again for the supremacy of the product.”   Your Design Checklist - Use when not working with a marketing consultant or another marketing professional The design of a brand requires serious research and understanding of your customer and prospect needs, examination of what is being offered by your competitors and how those offers are being communicated. Have you answered these questions and provided answers in an executable brief to your graphic designers? How many designers extract these questions from their clients?   Do many graphic designers raise warning flags with their clients if their chosen brand name is unlikely to pass the trade mark application?   Do graphic designers explain that a properly ‘designed’ brand name can  make an emotional connection with your audience, and help to build a brand that ignites the passions of your customers and propel itself through the world on its own, becoming a no-cost, self-sustaining PR vehicle?   Do graphic designers check that the brand name achieves its key objectives: - Differentiation from competitors - Reinforcing a unique positioning platform - Creates a positive and lasting engagement with their target audience - Is unforgettable - Provides a deep well of marketing ideas and advertising images   Do graphic designers stop their clients and ask them for a Positioning Statement (a creative interpretation of the business USP – Unique Selling Proposition) which in most case should form part of the logo?   Of course these questions are not the expertise of most graphic designers or design studios and not really their job. It is the job of the clients’ marketing people (in a small business it is the owner) or their marketing agency or consultant.   Stark Reality Marketing Solution Stark Reality works with a number of designers from freelance operators to mid tier design agencies. Unlike the traditional agency structure that employs a number of designers in house, Stark Reality Marketing can select the right designer for your job.  Like other professions design has a number of segments and specialist areas; ranging from industrial and product design, through to packaging design, graphic (print) design, online and web design. Many designers also tend to favour certain styles or product categories. Stark Reality makes sure that our clients get the best design team for every job, every time.   The graphic designer’s job is to translate brand strategies and messages into visually appealing communication that connects with the intended target audience. Their creative efforts can make or break the communication. The best product, strategy, idea or copy can be ruined by bad design.   For optimal results we need to answer these questions: How can the design better communicate the personality of the brand? How can the positioning of the brand be enhanced through visual communication or How can the brand experience be enhanced in store or on the website using visual cues that make decision making easier?   I have seen a change of font and better use of line spacing on a website make it turn from ordinary and unnoticeable to exceptional. Better use of imagery has resulted in doubling response rates! Amy ‘Fritz’ Fridlund from Research International states it perfectly: “Good design will inherently and intentionally incorporate insights and understandings from marketing.”   For a confidential discussion about your design requirements, please call  +61 3 8683 0224

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