The Cost of Bad Design
I recently came across this article by Stephen Bradley, titled “Why Quality Impacts Your Bottom Line. While this post about is not about interior design specifically, the author provides some intriguing thoughts on the topic of quality that applies across disciplines!
Bradley’s discussion of the subjective sliding scale of quality and the idea of return on investment are elements that Interior Designers face with our clients' projects every day. We guide our clients through decisions of putting in a little to gain a higher quality vs. put in a lot only to add a minimal amount of quality.
For example, recommending a high end piece of furniture or an unnecessarily costly finish material in a client's back-of-house space such as a storage room would be not only foolish but would incur a higher investment for the client with a very minimal return in terms of brand development. It could also cause the client to lose out on the opportunity to invest in an area with higher impact because they are putting unnecessary resources into an area that will not bring them as much return on investment.
“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
As a designer, I am constantly walking the fine line between balancing investment and return on a clients' behalf. That balance is of paramount importance in this industry as in many others. We always want to provide improved quality, but at the right cost. There has to be wise investment for all parties (client, user and designer) to be satisfied with the bottom line and the perception of added quality in a space.
I think Bradley hits the nail on the head when he includes " helps your business stand out" and "builds a stronger brand" as the crescendo to his list of benefits of improved quality. As he states "While making a high quality product [or branded interior environment] probably has limited short term gain in the bottom line it can have greater gains over the long term as it impacts your brand.".
And to the quote "If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design." by Jaguar CEO, Dr. Ralf Speth, which was included in the article, I say an emphatic "AMEN"!
