every so often i read a book that makes me stop and ponder for a few days. robert brunner, stewart emery, and russ hall jointly authored the book: Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company, and it’s had me thinking for going on 10 months. consider the following three quotes:

“an ipod is not just and object. The object is an icon that is a portal to an experience.”

then,

“…design [is] the overt, thoughtful development of the interaction points between you and your consumer.”

finally,

“if we boil down this idea to its point of intensity, effective design establishes the emotional relationship you develop with a brand through the total experience, to which a service or product provides a portal.”

at LFB, we’re in a bit of a unique situation being that we have to both create design for ourselves that will serve as a portal of good experiences for our clients, and we have to create design for each of our clients that will aid them in giving their consumers enjoyable experiences.

i think this is one of the reasons good graphic/web/illustrative design* is often hard to find. it’s practically impossible for a design company with a poorly designed structure themselves to produce effective design for their clients.

so, do you matter? do your clients/customers care if you’re around next month? does design, as defined above, serve as a catalyst to make people want to interact with you? i’ve found it helpful to answer these questions about every month or so to stay sharp and focused.

*to qualify for good graphic/web/illustrative design according to LFB, it’s got to be  beautiful, memorable, truthful, and useful.