Good design is the key to business success

When we work with businesses, they often question the value of branding and ask for the numbers that prove their design investment will be paid off. Saying that we believe in the importance of great branding is an understatement: that’s what we dedicate most of our waking hours to here at Grain!

We were thrilled to come across this recent article on an analysis by the Design Management Institute which shows hard evidence of the importance of good design for business.

The research conducted by the nonprofit focused on design management has found out that in the past 10 years, design-driven companies have outperformed America’s Standard & Poor’s 500, a stock market index of 500 large publicly traded companies, by 228%! These include brands such as Apple, Herman Miller, Procter & Gamble and Starbucks.

Though at times it seems intangible, the investment needed for quality design work reaps great rewards with memorable branding, wonderful user experiences and innovative marketing, not to speak of the potentially huge advantage of bullish financial performance.

It’s worth keeping an eye on Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands report to see which companies are benefitting most from their brand strength.