A presentation given by Ed Morrissey during the 2010 StL Innovation Camp that highlights the importance of design for start-ups, product developers and everyone else.

1. Design for Start-ups (and everyone)
February, 2010
Why Design Matters
Ed Morrissey
Partner & Chief Creative Officer
6321 Clayton Road
Saint Louis, MO 63117
314.727.3600
ed@integritystl.com
www.integritystl.com
Interactive Brand Advocacy

2. Agenda
– Intro
– Define Design
– Elements of Design
– Rethinking Design
– Design ROI?
– Case Study
– Conclusion
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3. What is Design?
– Percentage of Respondents Agreeing with the Statement
To develop new products/services 75%
How products look 74%
Products working to meet client needs 64%
Creative thinking process 50%
Produce something that will ‘sell’ 47%
Strategic business tool 34%
None of the above 3%
According to the Design Council’s National Survey of Firms, 2004
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4. Quote
– An activity that translates an idea into a
blueprint for something useful
whether it’s a car, a building,
a graphic, a service
or a process.
– “Design is the fundamental
soul of a man-made creation”
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5. Where does Design Matter?
– Architecture
– The graphic arts
– Industrial design
– Animation
– Anthropology
– Biology
– Technology
– Automotive
– Design is everywhere
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6. 7 Components of Design
– Unity – all elements must appear to belong together
– Gestalt – the whole should be more than the sum
– Space – white space is beautiful
– Color – used consciously
– Dominance - contrast
– Hierarchy – clear starting point and importance scheme
– Balance – clear, single message
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7. myspace
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8. facebook
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9. Comparison
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10. But…
– Can we calculate an ROI?
– Start-ups don’t have,
but really need:
• Money
• Time
• Sales
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11. Benefits of Good Design
– Save Costs
– Save Time
– Increase Revenue
• Gain Customers
• Increase Transactions
• Increase Product Sales
• Retain Customers
– ALSO: Reduce Training Costs, Decrease Support Costs,
Increase Trust, Deter Litigation and the list goes on and
on…
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12. Cost Prevention
– “The rule of thumb in many usability-aware
organizations is that the cost-benefit ratio for usability is
$1:$100.
– Once a system is in development, correcting a problem
costs 10 times as much as fixing the same problem in
design.
– If the system has been released, it costs 100 times as
much relative to fixing in design.” (Gilb, 1988)
– Good design eliminates surprises
– Good design creates cost efficiencies
Save Costs Save Time Increase Revenue
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13. The Time to Design…
Number of
Possible Cost of
Design Change
Alternatives
Requirements Development Deployment
Phase Phase Phase
Save Costs Save Time Increase Mayhew, 1994
Bias & Revenue
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14. Make Design Standard
– Centralized design minimizes errors, improves efficiency,
avoids duplication, reduces time spent searching for
data/answers and capitalizes on reuse, where possible.
– Top principles of leading product developers…
Maturity Class Mean Class Performance
Best-in-Class: • Percent of products that meet/exceed rev targets (82%)
Top 20% • Percent of products launched on-time (83%)
• Percent of products that meet product dev budgets (76%)
• Percent of products that meet product cost targets (82%)
• Percent change in annual product revenue (4%)
Aberdeen - The Top Five Principles for Successful Product Development, 2008
Save Costs Save Time Increase Revenue
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15. Make Design Standard
– Best-in-Class firms were 89% more likely to
centralize design
– Best-in-Class firms had a 4% revenue increase
while others had a 5%+ decline
–Time is money.
Aberdeen - The Top Five Principles for Successful Product Development, 2008
Save Costs Save Time Increase Revenue
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16. This is Simple
– Usable products lead to cost savings and sales
– Good navigation makes it easier for users to find
what they’re looking for and to buy
• User experience design
• Human factors
– Usable products lead to word of mouth
• Word of mouth leads to sales
• 76.4% of purchasing influenced by WOM (WOM
Research)
– Usable products lead to good product reviews
• Good product reviews lead to sales
Save Costs Save Time Increase Revenue
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17. Some Other Revenue Stats
– 85% of visitors abandon a site (cPulse)
– 62% of web shoppers gave up (Zona study)
– 50% of web sales are lost (Gartner Group)
– 40% of repeat visitors do not return (Zona
study)
– 50% of product returns due to poor
design (Reuters)
Save Costs Save Time Increase Revenue
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18. Good Design
– Goes beyond the ‘look’ of a product “Designers have
– Shapes the product for ease of use, more potential
reliability and costs of production and to slow
maintenance environmental
– Affects the quality and ease of degradation
manufacture of the product than economists,
– For services, design can also affect politicians and
how customers will experience a environmentalist.
service, such as a bank or a fast food
Their power is catalytic.”
restaurant, including their experience
in the queue – Alastair Faud-Luke, Eco Design
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19. Newspapers are Dying - Jacek Utko
– http://www.utko.com/
– Bulgarian Newspaper
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20. Newspapers are Dying - Jacek Utko
– http://www.utko.com/
– World’s Best Designed Newspaper
– Circulation Results
– Russia
• +11% 1Y, +19% 2Y, +29% 3Y
– Poland
• +13% 1Y, +22% 2Y, +35% 3Y
– Bulgaria
• +100%
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21. The Power of Design…
– People come to love it and loyalty soon follows,
along with the three Rs:
• Repurchase,
• Reuse, and
• Recommendations
– Benefits that fall directly
to the bottom line
– Such is the power of design
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22. Conclusion: Good Design is Good Business
– Importance of first impressions (see next slide)
– Investor confidence
– Must be an integral part of running/starting a business
– Shorter sales cycle / faster entry to market
– Turns consumers into customers
– Creates higher perceived value
– With the marketing playing field being leveled, the only
distinguishing characteristic for many companies is
design
It ignites passion, identifies, informs, clarifies,
inspires, and communicates.
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23. Test - Who Would You Buy From?
Googled ‘software for math and physics visualization’
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24. Parting thought…the only reliable strategy
– To gain buzz you need to set expectations high.
To gain and retain customers, you need to
surpass those expectations on a regular basis.
A great way to start is by setting the table
for quality early on inside
your organization
and one of the best ways
to do this is through design.
– http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
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25. Thank You.
Ed Morrissey
ed@integritystl.com
Ed Morrissey
Partner & Chief Creative Officer
6321 Clayton Road
Saint Louis, MO 63117
314.727.3600
ed@integritystl.com
www.integritystl.com
Interactive Brand Advocacy

26. References
– http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2009/09/design-for-startups-the-aesthe.php
– http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2010/id20100120_303529.htm
– http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/About-Design/Research/Value-of-Design-Factfinder/
– RODI (Return on Design Investment)
• -http://www.designfactfinder.co.uk/
– http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
– http://www.wired.com/
– http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/95/open_design-index.html
– http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/
– Sample Sites
• http://www.dpgraph.com/
• http://www.tecplot.com/
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