Infographic: Does Design Matter?

Designers always say that good designs are the “first impression” so they play a big role in the making or breaking of a business. But that’s a designer’s perspective… what the do the business owners think?

99Designs organized a survey last month just get an answer of this question. And the revelations it made were very likeable for the designers.

A Few Conclusions

  • Small businesses consider design important to their success: 80% of small business owners consider the design of their logos, websites, marketing materials and other branding tools either “very important” or “important” to the success of their companies. Just 3% indicated design is “not important.”
  • Design will only become more important to business success in coming years: 67% expect graphic design to play an increasingly significant role in business success over the next five years.
  • Small businesses plan to spend more on graphic design in the coming year: 78% of survey respondents anticipate their companies will spend the same or more on graphic design work in 2012. Only 21% plan to spend less.
  • Affordability continues to be a factor for small businesses: 65% of small business owners said they would pay up to $500 for a new custom logo; 20% indicated they would pay as much as $1,000; and 15% indicated they would spend more than $1,000. With these numbers in mind, it’s not surprising to learn that the majority of small businesses are still taking a DIY approach: More than 50% source design work in-house or do it themselves, while 21% use freelancers, and 18% run crowdsourced design contests on sites like 99designs. Only 7% work with design agencies.
  • Blue is the color small business owners most associate with success: Fifty-seven percent of respondents associate the color blue with success; the second most cited color is green (35%) followed by white (32%), black (29%) and red (21%). Purple was the color male respondents least often associate with success, while women were least likely to select orange. 
  • Apple topped the lists for best logo and best website, while Wal-Mart topped the worst lists for both categories: Asked to name the companies with the best and worst logos and websites, those identified most often were (in order of frequency):
    • Best logos: Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Google and FedEx
    • Worst logos: Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Pepsi, IBM and Google
    • Best websites: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Nike
    • Worst websites: Wal-Mart, Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace and Microsoft
Infographic - Does Design Matter?

This infographic was originally published at 99Designs

Infographic: Does Design Matter?

Designers always say that good designs are the “first impression” so they play a big role in the making or breaking of a business. But that’s a designer’s perspective… what the do the business owners think?

99Designs organized a survey last month just get an answer of this question. And the revelations it made were very likeable for the designers.

A Few Conclusions

  • Small businesses consider design important to their success: 80% of small business owners consider the design of their logos, websites, marketing materials and other branding tools either “very important” or “important” to the success of their companies. Just 3% indicated design is “not important.”
  • Design will only become more important to business success in coming years: 67% expect graphic design to play an increasingly significant role in business success over the next five years.
  • Small businesses plan to spend more on graphic design in the coming year: 78% of survey respondents anticipate their companies will spend the same or more on graphic design work in 2012. Only 21% plan to spend less.
  • Affordability continues to be a factor for small businesses: 65% of small business owners said they would pay up to $500 for a new custom logo; 20% indicated they would pay as much as $1,000; and 15% indicated they would spend more than $1,000. With these numbers in mind, it’s not surprising to learn that the majority of small businesses are still taking a DIY approach: More than 50% source design work in-house or do it themselves, while 21% use freelancers, and 18% run crowdsourced design contests on sites like 99designs. Only 7% work with design agencies.
  • Blue is the color small business owners most associate with success: Fifty-seven percent of respondents associate the color blue with success; the second most cited color is green (35%) followed by white (32%), black (29%) and red (21%). Purple was the color male respondents least often associate with success, while women were least likely to select orange. 
  • Apple topped the lists for best logo and best website, while Wal-Mart topped the worst lists for both categories: Asked to name the companies with the best and worst logos and websites, those identified most often were (in order of frequency):
    • Best logos: Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Google and FedEx
    • Worst logos: Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Pepsi, IBM and Google
    • Best websites: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Nike
    • Worst websites: Wal-Mart, Yahoo, Facebook, MySpace and Microsoft
Infographic - Does Design Matter?

This infographic was originally published at 99Designs