Why is graphic design important? Design is in everything.
This tidbit is often forgotten, even by me, a designer. The chair you’re sitting on, the screen you’re staring at, the room you’re in, the colour of the walls—someone designed it. Now, it might not be well designed (does the chair hurt your butt?), but it was designed and manufactured.
The Problem with Bad Design
To summarize a scene from the fabulous industrial design movie Objectified, we should not tolerate bad design. We can put a man on the moon; we have hundreds if not thousands of materials at our disposal. There is no reason for an uncomfortable chair. Yet they exist. What a horrible waste of time and materials and money. Someone designed the chair poorly. Then a machinist or manufacturer would’ve prototyped it, and then it went off to production.
Think about the materials, the man-hours, and the shipping, only for the consumer to waste their money on a chair that isn’t comfortable. If a chair’s not comfortable you may as well stand. Does an uncomfortable chair even have a purpose? Isn’t it better to not have a chair at all?
The chair is a tangible example and I’m sure we’ve all had an experience with an uncomfortable chair. Graphic design is the same though people may not be able to describe it in the same way.
The ramifications of poor graphic design are the same. You waste the designer’s time – whether you’ve hired a professional and had the wrong goal or it was DIY-ed by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. You also waste the printer’s time, and the paper, for a flyer that didn’t do its job. Isn’t it better not to have a flyer at all?
Graphic design is important for 3 main reasons:
First impressions matter
There will always be people coming across your business for the first time.
Perhaps a friend sent them a link, they were scrolling through Instagram, drove by a billboard, or got your flyer in the mail. Will their first impression be great? Will they see a slap-dash job? Will they notice you at all?
Comprehension
Great design should help make your content easy to comprehend. The more time someone has to spend to figure out what you’re trying to say, the less likely they are to succeed.
We know by those stick men where the bathrooms are — we don’t even need the word “bathroom” anymore, those two little people and an arrow and we can figure it out.
Airports are so great for this because they can’t always rely on visitors knowing the language. We know a little suitcase means baggage claim is that way! 
Get your point across quickly to catch the viewer’s eye, then secondary or explanatory information can be smaller, or you can direct them elsewhere.
Meaning
This is my favourite part of branding. There can be so many layers to a great design. Colour and font choice in particular are two easy and accessible away to change how a design feels. You can reinforce your message or point over and over again with visual cues. This adds to overall comprehension and your initial impression.
Studies show that if there are two items, equal in quality and price, the one with the better design will sell. As a business owner, you want to make sure that yours is the one that looks the best for the customers you want. When we talk about good design lowering the cost of acquisition for your clients. This is a prime example.
Ready to add some importance to your business?
Graphic design is important because it influences our decisions and perceptions. If you’re ready to be more influential in your business, book an introductory call with us today!