Fortune companies have one lesson to teach businesses small and large alike; in the new millennium, design is King – and there are statistics to prove it. If you narrow it down to web design alone, mobile pages that load just one second faster can enjoy a 27% higher conversion rate. Velocity isn’t everything; so, too, is layout, color choice, and the smoothness of the user experience. Some 59% of consumers would engage with attractive content. What priority have you been giving design lately in social media posts, web design, and communications? How can you harness the power of great design to establish your business as innovative, trustworthy, and reliable?

California Love by Jenson Z. for Queble

Design Fosters a Company’s Success

According to research conducted by Adobe, 59% of consumers globally would rather engage with beautifully designed rather than simple content, even when they are short on time. The Design Management Institute, meanwhile, notes that design-driven companies have outperformed the S&P Index by 219% over a decade. Adobe also found that 69% of companies with a strong design focus reported greater efficiency in innovation when design was at its heart.

Why does Design Matter?

The key appeal of design lies in its ability to build an emotional bond between a company and its customers. Great design does this in many ways – often, by borrowing from nature to appeal to our unconscious love of natural forms. McLaren’s head designer, Frank Stephenson (designer of the legendary 2001 Mini, the Ferrari F430, and the McLaren 720S) relies on ‘biomimicry’ to replicate natural forms in his work. Thus, the McLaren720S’s front is clearly inspired on a shark’s prominent features. Interestingly, McLaren achieved record sales on the year this car was released, indicating the powerful emotional pull that beautiful design has on consumers.

The Importance of Web Design

Designing a great product shouldn’t be your only aim; the new 2018 Global Digital reports from Hootsuite and We Are Social have revealed that there are now over 4 billion Internet users in the world, and the first contact they will most probably have with your company, is through your website. A good website should not only express the ethos and values of a company, it should also boost its conversion rate optimization through great design. Websites have only 10 seconds to make an impression, so the right layout is key. Logos should always be on the upper-left hand corner because this is where users usually look first. Orientation should be easy, so you should include a navigation menu with CTA. The homepage should succinctly state what you do and establish you as a leader in your sector, but also provide a couple of calls to action to boost conversion. You should also pay attention to image quality; for example, Skinner Auctions of Antiques roadshow fame tested out the effect of increasing their image size by 28% (from 250 to 350 pixels), finding that the larger images prompted 63% more visitors to start bidding. Experimentation with design is important, as is monitoring the effects of both major and minor changes.

Final Virtual Reality Landing Page by Papay Wicaksono for Paperpillar

Rethinking Your Logo, Colors, and Communication Style

Companies that foster creativity enjoy a 1.5 times greater market share than those who don’t, so as they year closes, it might be a good time to rethink the pillars of your brand design – including your logo, chosen colors, and communications. Are you including your logo in all your emails and letters and does this logo connect with and reflect the values and lifestyle of your target customers? It takes people an average of 10 seconds to form a first impression of your logo but it takes up to seven instances of exposure to your logo for customers to recognize it.

P&Peacock by Brenttton

To boost brand recognition, note that color can increase brand recognition by up to 80%. Use colors and styles that appeal to your audience demographics. Remember that most purchasing decisions have an emotional basis; associate your brand with positive emotions through cracking design.

Companies that put great design at the forefront are reaping the rewards, enjoying higher conversion rates and a stronger emotional tie to their customers. Design should be an important component of everything from your products to your branding, and of course, your website. Your log, web layout, and communications should all let your customers know that you are on their wavelength; that you ‘get’ them and that you are there to fulfill their needs and make a positive difference to their quality of life.