All Programmers are Web Designers, and Other Design Myths

We live in a world of objects and systems created by people who have spent years honing their skills and insights through professional training. Graphic artists and painters share professional DNA with architects and web designers in this way. They have devoted their lives to helping people achieve unique goals, feelings and expectations through the objects and experiences they create.

Plenty of clients get this. Plenty (like Pilot’s) understand the importance and benefits of high quality professional design. But others, not so much. And this is no where more evident than in the myths floating around about what design is and isn’t, what it can and can’t do, and what it does or doesn’t cost.

Here are some of our favourites:

Corporate design is a luxury

No corporate design is a luxury. Companies cannot afford to compete without a visual identity that has been carefully analysed and designed to articulate the core philosophy, values and attitude of their brand. Corporate design is arguably the fastest way to communicate your company’s position in the market to a potential customer.

Design is just a matter of taste

Design should always accompany a sound strategy. It is the result of a targeted development process. Professional designers help clarify and articulate a company’s brand message in myriad ways. A strong visual design concept can even serve as the starting point for a new business concept.

Design is unreasonably expensive

The price of a corporate image that inspires trust and delivers meaning to the right audience is invaluable. Whether it’s a consistent look and feel across all basic communications or a major branding effort with a complex web component, the return on investment can quickly become obvious.

As long as it works, it doesn’t have to look good

Imagine Steve Jobs felt this way about Apple products. He he who wants to sell must also capture the senses. In addition to clearly articulating your brand message, designers understand that, oftentimes, people’s eyes (and hearts)  make their purchasing decisions.

All programmers know how to design great user experiences

Coding and designing web experiences aren’t one and the same, although there are great people out there who can do both. But trust us when we say they are the exception to the rule.

Let’s take off our design blinders and squash these myths wherever we see them. It pays to understand the possibilities of professional design, just as it can be costly to overlook them.