There's always this question of what's more important, making something esthetically pleasing or making sure that all business goals are met. I personally hate fighting with designers when it comes to business requirements and what they want to add to their portfolios. As a business owner, you have to make sure that business always comes first. If you're not giving what you're customers want, but the design is award winning... what's really the point?
Businesses have websites to do one thing only... to use it as another source of revenue generation whether it be through lead generation or actual cash. What designers have to realize is that understand business is equally important as picking yellow over black when choosing a stylistic theme.
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Recent Comments | 1 Total
May 15, 2009 at 2:31pm by Eric Benedict
I think you bring up a fantastic concept.
To borrow a phrase from Florence Knoll "Good Design is Good Business" The problem is that not everyone understands what constitutes as good design. I would argue that simple and functional is far greater design than flashy ornate. In Florence Knoll's case her simple designs in the 1940's were drastically different than the ornate and complex designs that were prominent at the time. Now 60 years later her designs are still selling in their original form, while almost everything from that era is obsolete. A product that is still earning revenue 60 years later, is clearly an example of good design.
In terms of websites, I would say that Google is the best designed website on the market. While the aesthetics are simple, it draws millions of visitors every hour and earns over $5 Billion per year in revenue.
A good design is only good when it accomplishes its intended purpose. If a product or website isn't generating revenue for a company, then its not a good design, regardless of how aesthetically pleasing it is.