Most of the times designs are considered as the last priority in terms of importance by most companies, atleast till the time they become big brands. In a recent article in Business Week by Diego Rodriguez on Why Designs matter? he very aptly brought out an important point on how design is being treated as a noun whereas it should be treated as a verb. He points that most of the times Design is used interchangeably with luxury and aesthetics whereas the time has now arrived when it should just be considered as way of approaching challenges which designers and non designers can and should learn to create positive outcome in the world.

Design is no more about making pretty things but has a huge business implication attached to it. Every $1 invested in usability returns between $10 to $100 as per IBMs Cost-Justifying Ease of Use survey. And hence design holds a lot of importance. Read a wonderful example and thought would share this. Which was the first MP3 player in US market? Most wont know, it was Diamond Rio PMP300 but most of us only know and remember Apple iPod. Reason: Design. Obviously there was a difference between product performance as well but design has been a key reason behind the success of Apple.

Some simple reasons why designs are important

1. It gives a lot of credibility to your product
2. People are looking at brand ecstacy these days and hence how your design comes up plays a major role in that extra bit
3. If Nokia is successful today its because its awesome when it comes to usability. Usability hence is very very important in your business being a success or not.

Above all, how do you connect with your customers – Design!