Your mother always told you not to judge a book by its cover. But you do. Because design is powerful.
Graphic Design by Milton Glazor
There are other expressions you have heard. “Clothes make the man.” And “beauty is skin deep.” Oscar Wilde said, “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.” Design trumps all.
You have an innate desire for what you consider attractive or beautiful. Because of this your momma felt it necessary to remind you “not to judge a book by its cover.” She knew how powerful, persuasive and seductive good looks and good design are.
Smart marketers know you judge a book by its cover. Especially book publishers, they know how important a cover is for a book to sell. It is not enough that a book have good content, it has to be well designed to reach its full potential.
The brand development process begins with design because “we buy with our eyes.”
ACTION: Is style more important than substance? You better have both. If not in your product or service, at least in your advertising and marketing.
Target is a fabulous brand. They are competing against Wal-Mart and doing well. Target made a decision to be design driven. It is reflected in everything they do from the products they offer, the way they do business, the look of their stores, to the way they advertise. Their logo is incredibly simple and easy to remember—target is ALL about design.
Target understands who their customer is. They hire designers to create clothes, furnishings, cool advertising and great in-store marketing. Time Magazine called Target “the champion of America’s new design democracy.”
ACTION: Brand developers study the great brands. See how they advertise and promote. Keep a journal of good design.
A brand is a promise.
Brands create experiences and emotional involvement. Your brand exists in the mind of the consumer. What the consumer thinks about your product and service is reality. We can use design to help create an experience for our audiences and influence their perceptions of our service, business or ourselves. Don’t you dress for success? Don’t you judge the book by its cover?
So, appearance helps our brain create a perception of a product or service. Graphics and logos are not your brand but they become very important symbols to the consumer. We become emotionally attached to symbols. By just mentioning a brand name you will see a logo in your mind. Apple Computers, Starbucks, Nike, and CBS—did you see the logos? Did you feel any emotions? If you can remember the logo you will have some emotional attachment.
The Journal of Advertising Research stated, “Emotions are twice as important as facts when making purchasing decisions.” The Journal’s study involved 23,000 consumers. It exposed them to 240 advertising messages and covered 13 categories with emotions trumping facts in all 13 categories.
Procter and Gamble’s CEO A.G. Lafley said, “Design is the principal reason for emotional attachment relative to a product or service or experience. Design is the number one determinant of whether a product-service-experience stands out or does not.”
ACTION: Have someone critique your design (everything relating to your company, product/service) and tell you how well you are communicating your differentiation.
“Design is the ultimate edge.”
Tom Peters said, “Design is so critical that it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department. Design, like lifestyle, is one of the few differentiating factors, and companies that ignore the power of elegant and functional design will lose.”
ACTION: Create a notepad with “Design is the ultimate edge and may be the only differentiator” printed at the top of the pad as a reminder for your business meetings.
The brand development process begins with design.
Some products the only thing that differentiates them (before the taste the beer) is the label. And the label may be the only advertising the consumer will ever see or read.
Design may be your only differentiation.
Good design pays. “We buy with our eyes.”
About Ken Gasque
Ken Gasque is a brand image-maker, marketing planner and designer. Ken works with small companies and Fortune 500 companies who recognize the need to differentiate their products and services to stand out in a cluttered market. Ken is a highly visual, outside-the-box-thinker on advertising, branding and marketing—his work reflects his belief that “We buy with our eyes.” Ken writes and lectures on brands, design, images and brand development.