Every aspect of life is a product of design, from your distinctive DNA to your coffee mug. It’s essential to individual and organizational function, influencing how we think, behave, and ultimately connect. Sadly, we often take the influential conceptions that surround our life for granted. As a result, we fail to appreciate a design’s ability to evoke powerful emotions. A business that does not value the meaningful composition of its products, services, branding, or strategies can significantly impede its success.
All companies, new and established, can improve the success of their designs by answering four simple questions:
1. Who is your target audience?
It is vital to understand who you aim to reach before embarking on your journey to create. Identifying your target audience clarifies the shared characteristics that are the starting point for the design direction. For example, a smoothie business may identify its target demographics as health-conscious individuals between the age of 18 to 35. Common traits of this group may include competitiveness, body-conscious, and active. The shared attributes form a picture of the customers you want to purchase your product to focus your design on appealing to their needs. This visualization guides the next step to the process that emphasizes the story you want to communicate.
2. What is the story you want to tell?
Graphic Designer Lorinda Mamo once stated, “Every great design begins with an even better story.” When a company communicates the details of a brand’s story in a design, it entices the audience to foster a deeper connection with the brand. Crafting a logline is one way to clarify the narrative you want to tell. A logline is one sentence stating the plot, the conflict, and a poignant hook. For example, when we created the website for my feature film, Listen, David used the film’s logline as a starting point for the design concept. Although loglines are traditionally used to describe books and movies, they can help focus the crucial elements of your story.
3. What is the purpose of your design?
The purpose of your design connects your company to what your customer values. Your intent explains who you are, what you stand for, and why your company offers the type of products and services it sells. A design without a purpose creates customer confusion. Outlining the purpose helps differentiate the business from the competition in a memorable manner.
4. What is your intended outcome?
Your desired result is the feeling you want your audience to have when they experience your design. All influential creations have a clear purpose focused on connection. First, however, companies must determine what emotion will connect their audience to their brand. For example, a bank designing its identity wants customers to feel secure when they view their logo, and a fine art gallery desires its customers to feel inspired when they see their signage. While each outcome is specific to the business, they foster a connection that nudges the customer closer to doing business with them.
The Nike logo is an excellent example of a practical design that effectively answers all the questions above. In ancient Greek mythology, Nike is a winged goddess of victory. She recognized success in all undertakings by hovering above a victorious competitor with her extended feathery appendages. Nike successfully blended the story of the Greek goddess, the purpose of the Nike products, and the emotional connection. The stylish “swoosh” design, a symbol of one of the goddess’s wings, woos its athletic audience with an association to strength, speed, motivation, and victory. And every famous athlete, avid competitor, or sports fan that has laced up a pair of Nike shoes or wore a piece of Nike clothing strives to be associated with precisely what the Nike goddess represents.
Please contact us if you would like to learn more about how design influences our lives or how the Tansley team can help your company design strategies that help grow your business.
