Does it matter if a design is good or not?

Before we can deal with that question let’s ask a more basic one: What makes a design good?

To answer that question, we should first begin with what good means. Without a definition, it’s unlikely that any design can be considered good or not, since there would be no standard.

Good embodies three ideas: benefit, fit, and value. If something is good, it is useful and beneficial. It is not harmful, destructive or compromising. Its use results in good things.

Things that are good also fit well… they’re appropriate to the situation. If something is good then it’s not out of place or inappropriate. It specifically addresses the need or purpose it was created for.

And if something is good it has value… it enhances and builds up. It makes something desirable and worthy, or is in itself desirable.

Good design contains all these qualities: value, fitness and benefit. A design that does not work, does not communicate, does not add value, does not fit its audience or represent an enterprise appropriately is not good. And that matters, doesn’t it?

There are other businesses do exactly what yours does. The customer you seek has choices, and may or may not choose you. What will get you noticed? Your business needs to stand out and separate from the rest of the crowd. It needs to be the anomaly.

An anomaly is something that deviates from what is normal, standard or expected. Much of the time we think of anomalies as undesirable: Fitting in is better than standing out. Standing out makes you a target, unacceptable or open to ridicule. But in marketing and promoting your business, fitting in does nothing to grow your business.

Being different is one thing. Being different in a marketplace in which every other business is trying to be different is the key. One way to stand out is through effective design solutions specifically tailored to your business and your audience. You won’t find effective graphics through a crowdsourcing site or by holding a contest. The prevalence of stock photography, motion, illustration and canned logos is not going to help you stand out. The plethora of visual sameness lulls your audience to sleep. Wake them up with custom design specifically tailored to your business. Custom design solutions will differentiate your enterprise and increase its influence in the marketplace.

Make the investment. Be the anomaly.

Let’s make the distinction between beauty and pretty.

The etymology of the words differentiates them:

Pretty is being attractive but lacking in substance or value, and is often deemed unnecessary. It implies superficiality. The word originates from the Old English praettig meaning cleverness, or to deceive or trick.

Beauty, on the other hand, is related to form, visual appeal and excellence. It consists of lasting or substantive qualities. Further definitions include benefits and advantages of something. It comes from the Latin, bellus, meaning fineness.

The saying, Beauty is only skin deep, really refers to prettiness, and is antithetical to another equally popular saying, True beauty comes from within.

Human beings are drawn to things that are beautiful. While one’s personal taste or cultural bias will cause them to have a preference for one thing over another, as in choosing a blue vase over another color because their favorite color is blue, the understanding of beauty is universal.

Some projects just don’t fit me well. There are things I’m really good at and things that I’m not. I want to be effective at what I do, and that involves doing the right thing at the right time in the right place.

When a client wants something that I know I can deliver although it might stretch me and I might have to invest extra effort and time, I’ll take it on. But at the point that I realize what they want is simply too far out of my sweet spot for me to be effective, I need to make a decision. Do I continue onward or let it go?

Letting it go is the more courageous choice. This requires recognizing my strengths and weaknesses and being willing to experience discomfort in order to solve the client’s problem. This is not a bad thing… but when I know that the return will not match the effort, or the client could end up dissatisfied, the best thing to do is to face it, and offer an alternative. Clients trust honesty.

I took on a project to create some illustrations for a plastic surgery after-market product launch. In the process of iteration and reiteration, the client began re-defining their purpose and market, and I knew that I was no longer the right designer for the work. I am a realistic, narrative illustrator and the re-defined project needed a fashion illustrator. What they wanted was not realism but stylized fantasy. So I referred them elsewhere.

Professionalism often involves letting go rather than creating problems by pushing against our natural bents.

Despite the trend of green design and sustainability, most of us neglect our most obvious, fundamental and overlooked resource. We waste time right and left, wonder where it goes, and never seem to have enough of it to accomplish goals or life plans.

Time  Is Not A Renewable Resource

Of all the resources available to us, time is the only one that everyone has the same amount of. Once a minute has passed, it’s gone. We cannot reclaim, recycle or renew it. The difference between achieving our dreams and goals or not is mostly based on how we use our time resource. It’s fairly easy to be efficient, but being effective in our use of time is often a crap shoot.

Designers juggle many concurrent tasks and projects of various sizes, levels of importance and complexities. There are incoming client requests that compete for attention in the middle of the projects we’re developing. There is a constant tension experienced between the task at hand and the one waiting to be started. While I’m working on one project I’m feeling the pressure of another. Does this sound familiar?

Many books and blogs deal with issues of time management and how to get things done. Lifehacker, FranklinCovey, Behance, 43 Folders and David Allen’s GTD are just a few of the myriad sources of advice, systems and forms. These are all useful, and I have picked and chosen from among them to work out my own way of managing time and projects. In the process I have made a few discoveries on my own.

Remove Distractions

The primary tactic for guarding our time is to remove distractions. Nothing slows our progress more than a distraction, and no time management or productivity system really deals with these time-suckers. Distractions are usually small, and we don’t notice we’re being pulled off course because most of them are in some way necessary. (Some of my distractions have been email, phone calls and text messages.) Identify your distractions and determine how you’ll manage them. Time is wasted when we do the wrong thing at the wrong time. People and tasks both can be distracting time-suckers.

Guard Your Time

Only you can slay the time suckers and design your schedule. Being a guardian of your resource is vital to accomplishing things for yourself and for others. Set boundaries and enforce them with yourself and others. A friend of mine designated Wednesdays for study and research, and made himself unavailable for any contact the entire day. He burrowed in and got things accomplished without interruption.

Setting boundaries requires enforcement. Boundaries are only as strong as you make them. Your time will be robbed if you allow it. Don’t worry: maintaining boundaries will allow for spontaneity and sudden changes in plans. Every wall has a gate in it somewhere. The key is to know when to open or keep it shut.

Design Your Time.

It’s easier to keep your time boundaries and your well-being intact if you plan ahead. Here are tips for designing your time:

1. Design your week ahead of time. Take part of the Friday, Saturday or Sunday prior to assess the week being completed and plan the week ahead, scheduling appointments projects and  tasks. Include your personal and professional time in this, because your life is made up of more than work. I also schedule my planning time. Scheduling an entire week rather than just a day ahead provides a 20,000-foot level view of your time.

2. Block your time.  Morning is a block. Afternoon and evening are blocks. Set aside mornings for one type of activity, afternoons for another and evenings for a third.

3. Designate one day during the week where you’ll take care of business. This is essential if you’re a freelancer or contract designer. The reality is, you’re in business, which means you have record-keeping, marketing and administrative responsibilities as well as creative labor. I designated “Admin Fridays” in which I focus on business.

4. Know your peaks and valleys. We do not function at peak levels all the time. Energy levels and attention spans ebb and flow. Most people have a consistent rhythm of peaks and troughs each day. At what time of day are you most creative or productive? If it’s mornings, don’t schedule meetings and errands until your afternoon block. Learn how you ebb and flow, and schedule accordingly.

5. Take breaks between your blocks. Eat a meal. Go for a walk. Play with your dogs. Take your kids out for ice cream. Play a game. Put your feet up. You’ll move into the next block refreshed.

6. Take a weekly sabbath, also known as a sabbatical. The idea of sabbath is simply rest and reflection. Most designers I know, myself included, tend to work long hours during the week and on weekends alike. Because of deadlines, unforeseen challenges and unplanned events, we tend to make up for “lost” time on weekends. Creative energy is directly affected by fatigue, illness and anxiety. Rest and reflective moments are necessary for our overall well-being, and allow us to make better decisions. A sabbath allows us to stop working, gain perspective, retain objectivity and experience contentment.

Given all the emphasis on being green and reducing carbon footprints, consider the one thing you can never get back once it’s gone. By planning and following through, you’ll conserve, waste less and become more effective with your time resource.

What are some ways you “sustain” your time?

Self-expression is not the purpose of design creation, although the designer’s style and sensibilities will naturally influence their work. Being a designer is a matter of serving others, focusing on their needs and creating for their greatest good.
 
As a designer, I create visual communications that help an enterprise succeed. My focus cannot be self-serving and my designs cannot point to me and say, ”Hey, look at me!”. Instead, my designs must point to my clients and say, “Hey, look at this!” Although I’m the creator, I step out of the way and allow the client to be the focus.
 
If we approach a design solution as an opportunity for self-expression, we’ll miss the point and risk not solving the problem. If we don’t solve the problem, we’re not serving the client.

Everyone who follows the television series, NCIS, knows that the lead character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, has a set of rules. These rules are invoked by Gibbs or his team members to admonish, to encourage, to discipline and to keep the team unified in purpose and conduct. They’ll remind each other of “Rule Number 38″ or “Rule Number 7″.

Rules are useful tools to keep oneself in check, to maintain boundaries and to avoid issues. Every person has rules. I’ve found that the more experienced you are in life and business, the more rules you have.

I wanted to share a few of my rules. These have kept me from making some bad decisions. Some have been formed on the fly and others have been established as the result of a sad situation.

Rule No. 1. Don’t accept projects that contradict your values. If you’re uncomfortable with the premise of the project or the goals of the client, pass it by. It’s not worth it to take on a design project just “for the money” and end up hating the work. Invariably, no amount of money will make up for compromising your personal standards.

Rule No. 2. Don’t accept a new client if there’s even the hint of  trouble ahead. Trouble comes in many forms and will always sap your joy and creative energy. No relationship is perfectly smooth, but some are downright not worth it. The trouble is usually not about the project itself but about how you and the client interact. When a client wants to be the art director, when they seem to not know what they want, when they are fishing for ideas or spec work from you before committing to the project, when they are secretive about their project… when they think actually hiring instead of contracting you… these are all red flags.

Rule No. 3. The computer is only a tool. I am the designer. No software will provide the sense, knowledge and creative skill required to design. Computers have been around since the mid-1980s. Designers have existed for centuries. That should sum it up.

Rule No. 4. Take a day off every week. Just as you need to pull off the road to re-fuel or re-charge your car, you need to take a break regularly. Most of the designers I know work long hours, including weekends. An annual two-week vacation is not enough to regroup and sustain ongoing productivity. Stopping work to rest and reflect is important for long-term success and satisfaction. Unplug, slow down, and reflect on what you’re doing and why. You’re able to put things in perspective when you step outside the flow of daily creative effort.

Rule No. 5. Design your day before you begin it. The design process includes planning and being purposeful, knowing where you need to end up before you begin. This applies to managing your time in order to be effective in your work. If you plan each day before you begin it, you’ll keep distractions to a minimum and can focus better.

Rule No. 6. Always be looking. Keep your eyes open. Everything is a potential inspiration.

Rule No. 7. Always be listening. Listening is a skill few people take the time to develop. Clients are more likely to trust someone who who listens and then applies what they’ve heard.

Rule No. 8. Don’t edit when brainstorming. The best solutions are known to come from “brain dumps” where you just start listing and/or doodling everything that comes to mind in pursuit of a design solution. Once the list is made, then review it and narrow it down.

Rule No. 9. Do not work for hire or on spec or bid. These all devalue your work and your contribution to the client’s success. They also depreciate the design profession as a whole.

Rule No. 10. Always begin a project with a handshake AND a written contract. The handshake helps establish the relationship with the client and the contract protects the relationship by outlining specific expectations that both parties have agreed to. Most designers I know will concur on this: It’s when you don’t have a written agreement that trouble shows up.

Rule No. 11. The client is not your enemy. The designer-client relationship should be one of mutual respect. The designer is there to serve the client. The client is there to facilitate the designer. It’s a give-give relationship. When a disagreement arises or a mistake is made, own your part in it, fix it, and continue. Don’t blame. I’ve known too many designers (and even have been guilty of it myself in the past) who complain about the client constantly. And I’ve worked with clients who complain about their designers. Both designer and client should be about the business of seeking the other’s highest good.

Rule No. 12. Always be thankful. I’ve established the habit of thanking clients at the end of a project. Send a hand-written note rather than an email or a business letter. Really. It makes an impact. Show your appreciation and you’ll be appreciated.

Here are some “rules” for the rules: Determine your values and non-negotiables before you engage with clients. Setting your own boundaries mitigates or prevents others from setting them for you. Deciding up front about how you will handle things makes it easier to respond when situations arise. Be consistent in upholding your values, but also be flexible. Sometimes you need to add or modify a rule. Setting and maintaining boundaries will help you avoid relationships and circumstances that are potentially harmful.

Sculpture at Parris Island Marine Recruit Depot, North Carolina

Memorial Day is the U.S. holiday that for many marks the beginning of summer. School is ending for the season and it’s time to play. For me, it’s a day to think of heroes, courage and honor, and to remember that people gave up their lives so that we can play in our summer seasons.

One of my heroes is my daughter, now a Marine sergeant, who graduated boot camp several years ago at Parris Island, NC. When I went to her graduation I saw a sculpted replica of the Pulitzer-winning photograph by AP photographer, Joe Rosenthal. His image of the American flag being raised atop Mt. Suribachi in 1945 quickly became an icon. Not only is it part of the pride of the United States Marine Corps, but it represents the pride of this nation—our heritage, hopes and future; our values and character. Rosenthal shot many other photos during his career, but out of all his work, this one is most remembered.

Do you know of Thomas E. Franklin? He, too, shot a world-famous photograph of another American flag being raised—this time over American soil by a trio of New York City firefighters on September 11, 2001.

There’s something about the raising of a banner by heroes that attracts attention. And it’s not just the raising of the banner, but its endurance, and the valor of the heroes and the meaning behind it and where it’s raised and why. It’s the significance of what a banner represents that stirs the heart and wakens the imagination; that compels heroes to lift it high in the midst of a battle.

We follow banners. They stir us to action. They make us proud. They identify us.

Practically every business, organization and government has a banner. These are raised in the form of logos, motifs, icons and flags. We wear them and put them on our car bumpers and on signs and travel mugs. Every banner represents something—an identity, a set of values, a reputation, a history. Every banner has a loyal following.

You might think that the first thing I deal with in designing a client’s “banner” is the aesthetics—how it looks. But no. I look at the client’s identity: the values, principles and reputation they intend to raise over the melee of marketing messages in the culture. What will stir the hearts of the people the client is trying to reach? What will endure? Then, how to represent that. What heroes will carry it? How will my client be remembered?

A logo is no more a mere graphic than the American flag is simply a piece of fabric. There is so much more involved. What does your logo mean to you? What does it mean to your employees and your customers? How do you want to be remembered? Are you heroically raising it in the midst of your battle? Are you persevering?

Joe Rosenthal and Thomas Franklin are not as memorable as the photos they created. I don’t expect to be as memorable as the designs I create. Your clients may not remember your name. But they will remember your banner if you raise it high. Go be a hero.

Why should people buy your product?

People buy things they love. Our stuff becomes part of us, like a permanent accessory. Objects help us define ourselves and identify with each other. Through them we find mutuality and acceptance.

How do people fall in love with stuff­? How does a product carve its niche in the hearts of consumers to become that “gotta have” item that, if you don’t have it, you just don’t quite measure up? It’s first an issue of seduction, and second of satisfaction.

The things we love help us feel good. When we feel good, we look good — we feel desirable, attractive and valued. Whether it’s designer coffee, that special pair of skinny jeans, or a robust Harley-Davidson, our things reinforce what we believe is good in ourselves; they bring out the best in us; we see them as positive reflections of who we are. We build our culture around the things we love, both personally and corporately.

The things we love are precious. We associate them with good friends, good times, favorite places and activities. They become irreplaceable items, necessary to our daily function, and meaningful because of how they help us connect, engage and get things done.

The things we love are sensual, providing pleasure and contentment through sound, sight, taste, smell, and touch. These are very individual choices. What pleases one person will not please another. We need to first connect personally with the aesthetics (that would be the design) of the thing. After that, further connections are made. The more connections we make, the more we fall in love with the item.

How can you invest your product or service with “lovability”? Here are a few suggestions:

• Love it yourself. If you’re not passionate about it, how can you engender passion in another?
• Know your market. Your market is people, not statistics. Spend time with your market before you offer your product.
• Be patient. Give people time to react and respond to your product.
• Design it well. Design adds value and meaning to your product. Visual communication should be consistent and noble. Don’t rely on your own sense of style; invest in design created by an expert. And finally:
• Follow-up. Find out how your product is really being used. Do folks like it and talk about it? If so, they’re creating a culture around it, making it a necessity for lifestyle maintenance.

To be promoted in our design-driven culture, a product must be packaged in such a way that it becomes meaningful to the person using it, so that they become an evangelist for it. This requires thoughtful planning and execution of a design strategy. Although you cannot ensure a desired customer response to your product  just because you have a plan, investing in good design increases the likelihood of lovability because it increases recognition, differentiates in a visually-cluttered world, communicates reliability, and creates affinity. In short, good design increases overall desire and appeal.

You cannot market anything these days without creating some sort of culture around it. You cannot can’t create culture without design.