Design. The Secret Weapon

Design. The Secret Weapon.

I have been running my design business for 13 years now and have over 2200 projects under my belt. The reason my business has been a success is because I take design seriously, and I help my clients to do the same!

Why is design so serious?

If you think about a business that does not take design seriously (and they are out there) and you contrast it against a business that does take design seriously, I think there lays some insight that is as much internally driven in the business as is externally important to that businesses customers or clients.

Design should be taken seriously. When you take design seriously you are actually taking the perception of your business seriously and when you do this you set up an expectation for your business that you become motivated to adhere to. It’s not merely about how your business looks from the outside but the culture you create within the business to match that expectation.

This expectation propels action to be taken to match that perception you are creating. And with the right consistent action applied the results then begin to be delivered and shown.

I’ve seen this process repeated time and time again and feel like this is a secret weapon to good design that could be overlooked.

Sunflowers for Jess

I have recently worked on a campaign called Sunflowers for Jess. This is a prime example of how serious design was used for a great outcome. Our aim was to attract sponsors, sell tickets to the main event and raise donations for a very worthwhile cause.

With our design campaign we were able to attract over 60 sponsors and donators, sold out 650 tickets to the event and raised over 150K in funds that were directly donated to Jess.

Graphic Design

A graphic designer is a communicator, we communicate to an audience (the consumer) through images that are designed to inform, captivate and inspire a response.

When working on the Sunflowers for Jess campaign we needed to captivate the sponsors and the community to create a successful event for Jess. This took on a design strategy in the form of a website, social media, letterheads, signage and much more. We developed the campaign based around one of Jess’s loves – sunflowers. We brought this into the campaign through images and colour combining these elements to tell Jess’s story.

Perception

Perception is basically how we want our audience to think about our business, cause or event. Perception is formed by all aspects of branding. When a client or customer hears the name of your business, what do you want them to think and feel? That is perception.

For Sunflowers for Jess we wanted the sponsors and community to see Jess for what she is. An enthusiastic and fun person who has worked to help the community and through a tragedy now needed some help in return. When looking at the campaign we didn’t want people to feel sad we wanted them to feel compelled to help. Help someone in need. Our bright imagery, social media posts and videos within this campaign all worked toward this and from the overall outcome worked very well.

Expectation

Expectation is the belief that something will happen. In many ways expectation is perception in action. To create the perception we need to adhere to the expectations we set.

So for the Sunflowers for Jess campaign we set goals. What we believed we could achieve for Jess. Our expectations for the campaign. For example how many sponsors we needed, tickets for the main event, what the campaign needed to be successful. Once we had set these expectations for the campaign we ran with it. I am happy to say we reached and shot above all expectations.

Action

Once you understand the expectations you’ve set we need to put these into actions. In terms of design it is the how, how do I now go and create something to reach the expectations I have given myself, so that peoples perceptions of my business are what I want them to be. How do I now put into action what I need to get the outcome that I want? 

Sunflowers for Jess was a project that needed lots of action because we wanted to reach lots of people and wanted peoples perceptions of the campaign to compel them to help. We acted on our expectations and created a magnificent campaign. 

Results

When actions are completed results are evident. Setting up a brand or re-branding a business takes many steps. But ultimately once it is completed and if done well the results can be seen.

We had great results in the Sunflowers for Jess Campaign. We knew what we wanted our perception to be, we knew our expectations, we implemented the actions to reach these and in the end we saw the results we wanted. A very successful campaign raising over 150k for someone in need.

To sum up

When design is taken seriously you can create a great brand. A brand that is perceived by customers and clients as being worthwhile.

To create a good brand serious design is needed. Not just slapping together a logo and a webpage. It takes time, care and thought to create a successful business. Perception, expectation and action are all needed to get the results you are after.

Design, the secret weapon!

Read more: Is Authenticity Killing Advertising? >>

I really do enjoy getting feedback so please let me know your thoughts on this or any of my articles in the comments field or on social media below.

Cheers Daniel