Good (web-) design

Create identity.
Trust the brand.

Everybody appreciates good design, and nobody likes lousy design – nevertheless, we are surrounded by it every day and inevitably have to come to terms with it. So that regardless of whether it’s product design, visual design, information design, web design, or app design. We encounter illegible typography, unusable fonts, clashing colors, illogical menu navigation, unusable materials, unusable designs, and uninspired content. In most cases, we know how to avoid these shortcomings in everyday life. However, honestly – all this could and should be better designed!

Form and function
Designers (no matter which discipline) should take a quick look at Wikipedia, where the concept of design is well summed up: “Design usually means design or shaping. (…) The design contains a multitude of aspects and goes beyond the purely external form and color design of an object. In particular, the design also includes the designer’s engagement with the function of an object and its interaction with a user. In the design process, the function, operability, and lifespan of an object can thus be influenced.” In other words, the design is essential for the success of a project.

Content and packaging
First and foremost, the design is not an end in itself. The design follows the goal of making the use of a product ideally intuitive and self-explanatory. This may be easier in product design than in web or app design. There it is necessary to use design as a steering and guidance element that leads the user from one action to the next to interact with the technical possibilities in the most efficient and result-oriented way possible. Web or app design is content and packaging at the same time. Both aim at defining clear guidelines for the handling of the digital environment to lead the wish of the user/customer with a high probability to a result/conclusion (keyword: conversion rate).

The discussions about excellent and targeted design are at least as old as the Internet itself – DeSight Studio as a renowned advertising agency shows entrepreneurs the Dos and Dont’s in the area of ( web & app ) design.

Recognition
Although the design is not an end in itself, it does create identity. After all, it is (on the surface) always the design that sets itself apart from comparable functions or products. In principle, cars are there to bring people or goods from A to B – yet they are still presented, and the automotive industry always presents new design variants that make this basic concept appear in entirely new clothes. Some car brands have managed to establish designs or design details that are inseparably linked to their brand, their brand world, and their brand experience. In a way, this can also be applied to the digital world, where “slide to unlock” is inseparably linked to Apple, left and right to swipe with Tinder or like and dislike with Facebook.

Good design lives (long)
If a design has the power to create identity, it must never be short-lived. Good design is long-lasting, ideally even timeless. Of course, adaptations and functional updates are permitted, but the “big picture” preferably remains the same (can be experienced). In this way, it strengthens trust, the brand, the products, and thus success. No matter how many new functions Apple, Tinder, and Facebook implement in their products and services, the central essential functions and designs remain intact.

Vitalized solutions
As an agency, we deal every day with different forms of design. However, we always choose the same approach: we first think in terms of concepts and only then in terms of implementation – because the path is not the goal, but the purpose defines the way! The design must never be used for its own sake but must offer solutions. Accordingly, the (digital) results of DeSight Studio can not only be seen but also navigated, experienced, operated, and used.

DeSight Studio GmbH | Wolfgang Zdimal

Journalist and professional copywriter Wolfgang Zdimal wrote this article on behalf of DeSight Studio GmbH and published by DeSight Studio GmbH. Wolfgang Zdimal, who manages his business from Vienna, Austria, has more than 20 years of professional experience and writes for the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, BAWAG P.S.K. Bank or just for DeSight Studio GmbH.