What does a designer do? A quick primer on the role and importance of a designer
There is some questioning over whether design is an essential part of running a business. As a designer, I’d say it depends on the business, but in many cases, branding and website design can be very beneficial additions to a company’s marketing strategy. A good brand design can communicate a company’s goals while also relating to its target audience. A good website design can connect with its audience and ensures anyone interested in the company’s products or services can reach them easily 24/7. The design process may seem mystical, and it certainly can be an intuition-based practice, but there are some concrete ways to summarize what design is and how a designer makes the magic happen.
Big Picture: Designers Solve Business Problems
From a million-mile view, a designer should be solving some sort of business problem. Visual design focuses on solving issues reaching and communicating with the company’s target audience effectively. Put another way, design and marketing go hand in hand and should make the sales team’s job easier. The logo, colors, imagery and language used within the branding should do a good job capturing the tone of the company but do a better job relating and connecting with the target audience. Well-executed branding should present the company as proficient, build trust in their ideal audience and even create brand enthusiasts that return regularly or provide referrals.
In addition to looking nice and reaching the target audience, a good design solution should also make the process of running the business as easy as possible. This is what separates a good designer from a great one. Marketing and design solutions for businesses typically require adding software and technical tools to support the brand design and marketing efforts. For example, the website platform your company chooses will either require extra time and money spent learning unintuitive systems and interfaces, or it can save you time and money by providing intuitive systems and interfaces that easily blend right into your marketing and business processes already in place. By avoiding adding any unnecessary tools and assisting in streamlining business and marketing processes, a designer can help increase the bottom line of a business.
Close-up: Designers Are Visual Curators
The actual process of designing is often thought of as subjective, elusive and inexplicable. Sure, any process can be broken down into milestones on a timeline, but what does a designer actually do to distill abstract ideas into visual designs that solve tangible business problems? To answer this question, it is good to think about designers as visual curators. Each designer has their own unique style and perspective that influences their visual aesthetic. Visual design “curation” involves a deep understanding of typography and fonts, color theory, visual design trends across time, popular culture, the basic psychology and stigma associated with specific visual styles, and a honed skill to turn abstract ideas into concrete visuals.
A designer will typically ask many questions at the beginning of a project to get a good idea of who the company is, what problems they face when finding new clients, and who their ideal clients are. Once a designer understands the type of person that is the best fit for this company, they will research this type of person and what they’re looking for when they hire the company or purchase a product. There is typically a feeling associated with the decision-making process that can impact whether or not the potential client converts or not. So in addition to trying to capture the essence of the company, it is typically this feeling that a designer tries to capture as well to illustrate that they truly understand the client’s needs and that choosing their company is the best choice.
For example, if a new wellness studio is working with a designer on creating their new branding, the designer will ask questions to determine what type of clientele are the best fit for the classes and overall “vibe” the studio wants to uphold to ensure all their members are satisfied with their experience. In this case, this wellness studio offers meditation, yoga and relaxation classes, so the clientele must be interested in these calming activities and help maintain a calm and quiet environment. A designer may draw inspiration from nature and use a color palette of blues and greens, which have been proven to relax the nervous system. They may use modern and simple fonts that are easy to read and accessible for a wide range of people since the majority of the population enjoys relaxation to some degree. The logo, graphics and imagery used throughout the branding may continue with the nature theme and use references or actual images of forests or calming water to further reinforce the branding and thus the wellness studio as experts in the stress-relief and relaxation industry. The designer’s selection, application and overall curation of these styles and elements create a brand totally unique and effective in communicating its mission and services through the visual branding.
The beauty of the design industry is that every designer is totally unique in their problem solving process and design style application. This is also why a business should pay close attention to a designer’s portfolio when deciding which designer to connect with for a creative project. Selecting a designer may also feel like a subjective process that involves more instinct than concrete data. But you’ll know a designer provides value by the way they have solved business and marketing problems in their previous work, which should be evident in their portfolio.
