Good design moves me. It moves me to smile. It moves me to think. It moves me to cry. And I love watching it move others. Design is able to pull a wide range of emotions out of the viewer, the listener, the experiencer, the creator. It doesn’t matter if it’s graphic design, sound design, graffiti, baking, fashion, sculpture, typography, stage design, party planning, cinematography, carpentry, event experience, interior design, architecture, music, animation… Most everyone I’ve met in life wants to create something. We want to be inspired and want to inspire others. We all have an itch of creativity no matter the medium. Design is meant to evoke an emotion, and that is powerful and important.
Why is design important?
It’s simple, really. Design shows that you care. Here’s a trait that I share with many other designer friends: I find myself buying products simply because of the package design. Weird? Probably. Do I regret it? Seldom. I’m almost never disappointed in the product inside a well-designed package. The fact that a company invests in high-quality packaging to present their product in a beautiful way lets me know that it’s important to them. The time and money spent on designing the logo, graphics, and selecting packaging materials tells me that they are all-in on their product. Minimal investment makes me think (subconsciously or not) that what you’re selling isn’t really worth the effort or financial risk. If you don’t want to spend your money on your product or service, why would I want to spend mine?
It applies to everything. Steaks aren’t served on paper plates. Gifts aren’t wrapped toilet paper. The latest tech gear isn’t announced by fax. Think about how you present yourself and your work. A few questions I would challenge you to ask yourself during your creative process are:
- “Who can I influence today?”
- “How do I want them to feel?
- “What’s an appropriate approach?”
- “What is my motivation?”
To me, the most important of these questions is the latter. Be genuine. Be sincere. Be yourself. If your motivation is manipulation, you’re doomed to fail. You aren’t anyone but who you are. Don’t try to be someone else. Take pride in who you are and what you can do. Move somebody in way only you can. It matters, and it’s worth it.