Is Bad Design Work Costing You Money?

(Estimated reading time: 8 minutes)

Not long ago, I went to a used bookstore. As I walked past an isle, a book stood out to me.

That’s how I normally find books. 

I read the words “gluten-free-recipes” and I did a double take.

I’m always interested in resources that help me continue my gluten-free, dairy-free life style. 

I took a closer look and read the spine, “gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free…” and as someone who has a hard time digesting cashews as well, I thought, “This is cool!” A lot of cookbooks that say “gluten-free” replace the gluten with nuts like cashews.

I was even more intrigued. I pulled the book off the shelf to reveal the cover. 

I paused for a second because I was disappointed. Disappointment, by the way, is not a good emotion to have for products relating to food.

I flipped open the book to look at a few pages, but I was already sold on NOT buying the book. 

The cover design was terrible. I didn’t care what the contents of the book said anymore, because I already had a “bad taste in my mouth.” 

I put the book back on the shelf and continued on with my day.

I was the perfect customer. Not many people can enjoy that book like I would enjoy that book. 

It’s probably not relevant for 90% of the population. The product was in my hand and I put it back because of the design work.
Yes. I am biased because I am a designer, illustrator, and branding strategist. But think about it, you’ll probably still agree that if you don’t like the packaging on a product you will buy the prettier item right next to it if the price is still within your range.

Yes, I was at a used book store, so the books were older. However, It was not even an old design. The book cover looked like It was done on professional software. The book had been released by a publisher. The book was not simply a hobby project for someone. This was a project that people expected to make money on. 

The purpose of the book was to give everyday folk with dietary restrictions the ability to cook something at home that they could eat. 

There was no other competition for this product on the shelf, and I still didn’t want it. 

Inception

There is a rule in most creative arts that the fourth wall should not be broken. Let me explain myself and why this rule was put in place. Imagine that you’re watching a movie. It is the video editor’s job to be invisible. No one should ever notice the video editing when they are watching a movie. If they notice the editing then the movie goer is pulled out of the story and suddenly remembers where they are and notices the popcorn that they’re eating. When you can captivate someone and never reveal yourself, you have “arrived” as an editor. Yes, rules are meant to be broken, so there are exceptions, like when the floating heads in the television show “The Office” talk to you through the people holding the cameras.

When someone does bad design work the same thing happens. The customer is no longer captivated. The customer knows that you’re selling to them. No one wants to be sold to. Everyone wants to be captivated and entertained.

Some of the best commercials are designed to make you think it’s your decision to purchase a product or service. They are typically subtle, beautiful, and entertaining. Yes, just like in the movie Inception. In the movie Inception, the person inside your head sets you up to think an idea was yours all along, but really, someone else has influenced you.

You can always expect good design work to sell more product. Investing in a good designer for your brand and product line can mean exponential profit.

Imagine that you are selling cook books. It doesn’t matter what is inside. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the best at cooking. What matters is getting someone to take something off the shelf and purchase it. What matters is how the audience feels about the book. Again, yes, the content inside should also make them feel good or you’ll probably get some nasty reviews on Amazon about your homemade spinach puffs. 

The Example

Here’s an example.

Imagine that your cookbooks each cost you $10 to make including $5 on cheap design work.
Imagine that you want to sell your cook books for $20 each. 

Your customers didn’t like the design, so you sold 50 of them to friends and family for a profit of $1000 

Now imagine that your cookbooks cost you $15 each to make because you doubled your budget for design work.

Imagine that you still want to sell your book for $20 each. 

Your customers like your design and you sell 8 times as many, 400 of them instead of 50, because a few book stores wanted to purchase some and you make a profit of $2000. You’ve double your profit because of good design work. Simply put design work is valuable whether it’s graphic design, product design, audio visual design, interior design, user interface design or user experience design. 

Research
I don’t expect you to just take my word for it. Mckinsey & Company released a study last year titled The Business Value of Design.

It is a bit of a heavy read, but if you’re interested in research it’s a good place to start. The paper is wholesome in its approach to the invested collective worth and value of design built into businesses overtime and it’s reflection in profit. 

What matters is getting someone to take something off the shelf and purchase it. What matters is a bit more than feelings. What matters is that people do judge books by their covers, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, I did that. Make your cover good. Make your design work so good that no one even notices that they noticed it. Make your product stand out and you’ll see an even better return.

Finances

I can hear it now. People are groaning and saying. “Oh, but you don’t understand. I don’t have a big budget.”
Yes. That is true of many businesses and startups. However, there is hope! Maybe a designer will negotiate a payment plan with you. Maybe a designer will negotiate to receive a percentage of the total sales of your product. Maybe a designer will jump in and run a kickstarter with you in order to help you get your book off the ground! There are so many wonderful things that could happen when you believe in a product and want it to sell. 

My advice is to take design seriously. It sells.

If you would like to stay up to date with the Well Setup Startup Blog, then hit the subscribe button below or join the email list at the bottom of the page. If you are interested in some good design work that will increase your potential profits or community engagement, then reach out and let’s talk design.