Types of Design that Your Small Business Should Be Engaging With
June 13, 2018
When you are a small business owner, you have so many different things to focus your attention on. At times it can be difficult to know where your priorities should lie. Now, one of the most important aspects of any business is creating products and putting them out there for people to sell. So let’s focus on these two areas to start with. Both involve design, so here are two types of design that you should really engage with.
Product Design
When we pick items up from store shelves, or browse their product images on websites and add them to our baskets, we rarely consider the sheer amount of time and effort that has gone into their production. This, however, is something that you will have to take into account as a small business owner. The product design process is what helps your thoughts to be put on paper and into blueprints that will allow the product to be made and take a tangible form. The longer you spend on the design process, the higher quality the outcome is likely to be. In order to design products as well as you can, you will need to invest in design software. This is more effective than simply drawing your ideas down on paper, as it will be able to be transferred digitally to anyone who forms a part of the manufacturing process. Say you design printed circuit boards – you should invest in PCB design software from a reliable source like Altium.com. This is truly an area that you should invest time and money into, as it will have a direct impact on the products that you are going to make and that you will need to sell in order to make profit.
Web Design
If you have a small business, chances are that you either have a website or are looking to set one up. This goes for those of us who have brick and mortar stores, as well as those of us who are operating solely online. Why? Well, operating online gives your business an edge and means that potential customers can access your store at any time of the day or night. This allows you to still make sales twenty-four hours a day, without having to worry about having store opening hours that exceed the standard nine to five when most consumers will be in work. You will really minimise missed sales! It’s also good to bear in mind that by setting up a website, you open your company up to a worldwide audience. Anyone located anywhere can access your wares as long as they have an internet connection and all of these people can purchase products from you as long as you offer international postage. However, when you set up your website, you seriously need to focus on web design. Web design is the process that ensures that your website is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. Unless you have a thorough knowledge and understanding of CSS and HTML coding, you will have to collaborate with professional web designers who will be able to take care of everything from colour schemes and landing pages to navigation, banners, pop ups, and more.
As you can see, both product design and web design are crucial aspects of any business’ success. So, make sure to focus your time and energy on them!