New Design Imperative: To Satisfy and Delight, The

Design Management Review, Winter 2009 by Davison, Jo

Websites are corporate resources. Jo Davison's insights have to do with making them resources that generate real value in terms of brand, customer relationships, and sales. Design is the key to achieving these goals and, with illustrations from an industrial products company, a retailer, and a professional services firm, Davison details the elements of sites that are approachable, beautiful, and hard-working.

Design must reflect the practical and aesthetic in business, but above all... good design must primarily serve people.

- Thomas J. Watson, Sr., 1874-1956, businessman

For print collateral to separate itself from the crowd and delight its reader, three fundamental properties must prevail: concept, craftsmanship, and execution. Whether creating an annual report, sell sheets, a direct mail piece, or a capabilities brochure, the designer must begin with a great idea, define it through intelligent design, and execute it with attention to detail or run the risk of a dull piece that is easily dismissed.

The concept that establishes the story to be conveyed is fundamental if the audience is to be engaged, its atten- tion held, the message clearly commu- nicated. Equally important, graphic design that conveys the message - type, color, and imagery; copy and its posi- tion on the page; pacing that reveals the story and punctuates the message - must be both passionate and smart. And finally, execution (the paper's weight and texture, black-and-white or color, finishes, assembly, and so on) requires rigor to faithfully move the design into reality. And, when wonderfully done, the concept, craftsmanship, and execution combine to give the collateral its greatest chance of achieving the intended outcome.

The same is true of digital design. Whether creating a sales tool, a corporate website, or an online brochure, the designer must begin with a compelling concept. Without this frame- work, it is impossible to create an interactive experience that both engages and satisfies. In addition, the design must conform to both sides of the page - with sound design principles that govern the visual experience on the front end and expert functional alignment that delivers it on the back end.

But here's a difference. While print design evolved over many centuries (and continues to progress today), digital design has evolved at an unparalleled pace. First-generation websites functioned primarily as an information source, with straightforward design that supported pages of copy but lacked the capacity to excite or entertain. Second-generation website design grew from its predecessor, but technology was the rule and consequently content was often sacrificed in favor of flashing icons, multicolored graphics, and bright backgrounds. Today, thirdgeneration websites deliver the ultimate user experience in fine detail, with technology at the service of the visual experience. Using metaphor to attract, psychographics to establish archetypes, and well-delineated, intuitive workflows that deliver multilayered, animated content, designers are creating satisfying, richly branded experiences.

Digital designers must respond to the organic, expansive nature of Web design and the complex, evolving standards that dominate the process. Standard among website designers and developers is the requisite capacity to create elements and write code that uses a breadth of technologies (XML, JavaScript and Flash, and so on), support a host of interactive elements, and deliver rich content through a vibrant experience as unique as the person, product, or place it intends to share.

To provide strategic value, website designers (using the term broadly, to include graphic designers, information architects, user-experience designers, content strategists, writers, developers, and so on) must be credible. They must understand the business - industry, products, services, processes, audiences, and user needs - deeply. To be noticed, behave well, and excel, the website must be designed to deliver an experience that is approachable, beautiful, and hardworking.

No longer just a front door

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

- Eugene Ionesco, 1909-1994, playwright

Businesses constantly seek new ways to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiencies, streamline processes, and reduce costs. The Internet, which for early adopters was essentially a venue for the distribution of information, is now broadly recognized as a fundamental tool that supports basic business operations, including generating recurring income, increasing the value of assets, and securing the overall value of the organization.

The day when a corporate website served merely as a "virtual front door" is over. Where once "a Web presence" satisfied, designers today must provide a Web business - an experience that delivers everything from product specs and personalization to shopping carts and brand personality. The website's ability to optimize performance and deliver value depends on its design. The holistic, phased design process - which incorporates analytics, business rules and requirements documentation, usability testing, functionality specifications, visual design, content strategy, development, and testing - is the essential component if the website is to successfully satisfy business requirements by satisfying users.