Non-Profits (And Small Businesses) Should Focus More On Design

We love great products and services even more when they are designed well. Among the many reasons for our appreciation of good design is that it helps us understand things better. Design can simplify the mission of an organization or the purpose of a product. As a result, design helps us engage.

I had this in mind a few weeks ago during a meeting with the leaders of a new nonprofit organization. They were asking me for feedback on their mission statement and the way their website was organized. While their purpose was noble, I was struggling to really understand what they did. To put it bluntly, their design was horrid.

It saddened me to hear that they “didn’t have time to focus on design” because they were a nonprofit. Since when was design just a luxury? Some new nonprofit organizations have proven that design can be THE core strategy for success. The best example that comes to mind is Charity Water. As one of the only nonprofits I know that employs a full-time designer as a senior leader of the organization, Charity Water has raised a tremendous amount of money and attention for a very worthy cause: clean water where it is needed most. I encourage you to take a few minutes to review Charity Water’s website, and you will see what I mean. While there are many nonprofit organizations with a similar cause, Charity Water has a competitive advantage: design.

I was recently discussing the concept of design-powered business with Matias Corea, Behance’s Chief of Design. Matias has always taught me that design is about much more than the visual aesthetics or form of a product. Design also determines the way something works and what it means. Simply put, design can single-handedly make a message or cause compelling.

Whether you admit it or not, your product or service will only succeed if people are engaged by it. Design is a means to that engagement. Reconsider your emphasis and investment in great design as a core part of your business.

**Image by Esther Havens; Charity Water well in Rwanda.

***This article is based on research by Scott Belsky and the Behance team. Behance runs the Behance Creative Network, the 99% productivity think thank, the Action Method project management application, and the Creative Jobs List.