VGROUP:
MARKETING BRANDING DESIGN INTERACTIVE

I recently came across a quote from Douglas Martin’s book ‘Book Design: A Practical Introduction’ which struck a chord with me and got me thinking:

“Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point: design is inevitable. The alternative to good design is bad design, not no design at all.”
- Douglas Martin

In creating any building, product or communication, certain decisions must be made and those decisions and the process of making them is what design is all about. It isn’t about putting a visual veneer on something, or making something look good. Design is about asking the right questions and finding the most suitable answers to create a solution that fulfils its intended function efficiently & elegantly.

So everything that is made by mankind has been, to some extent and at some point in time, designed. The chair you sit on, your computer, your pen, your home.

When working within a marketing or project budget it can sometimes be hard to justify the cost of hiring a designer or design agency, especially in today’s tough economic climate. But the cost of not seeking professional help can be far higher. Poor design decisions can lead to spending time and money on solving the wrong problems, wasting resources and delivering a sub-standard result. The cost of releasing sub-standard products or communications can be far reaching, from expensive product recalls to damaging people’s perception of your brand. Of course, it’s not only in design where hiring people with the right expertise is the most efficient course of action. This principle is summed up well by fire-fighting innovator Red Adair:

“The only thing more expensive than hiring a professional, is hiring an amateur.”