When was the last time that a great design really spoke to you? Trick question. The fact is that great design is subliminal – what makes it great is that we don’t even pay attention to it.
The idea behind good design is that it’s invisible. When done well, good design draws the user in, makes them want to engage with the brand, and compels a feeling. When something isn’t executed properly, it stands out—and not in a good way. Maybe a logo seems cluttered, or there are too many competing elements. For a website this can translate into a poor user experience—which at best is annoying, and at worst turns people away from your site. That’s a glaring mistake.
So how do you achieve good design? Like really good design? The secret is strategy.
Jumping to solutions without thinking critically about the design problem you’re trying to solve can be self-defeating. For example, that font that you think looks really cool might actually send the wrong message to your audience. Or all those details you want to include might make the logo appear illegible when printed in smaller sizes. Or the mark you have in mind might be too generic and overused, and needs more of that custom touch.
The final visual that you see is only the tip of the iceberg of the whole design process. What’s beneath the surface is a lot of invisible work to create something beautiful and memorable, simple and effortless. There has to be a method to the madness—it can’t just be a hodgepodge of creativity lumped together.
Every part of a design should have a purpose, such that you achieve maximal impact with minimal design elements. Distilling a design concept down to its essence will be easiest for the user to grasp—making the end result more successful.
Most people don’t realize how much work went into creating something beautiful, unique, simple, and compelling, that helps to tell your story as a brand. And that’s exactly the point—the end-audience shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the process, they should be touched by the solution. With the right balance of techniques and tools, an invisible process of good design principles layered onto a strategic foundation has clear impact.
What design problems stand out to you? We can give you visibility on how to overcome them—let’s talk.
