IBMs chief executive Watson Jr. once said, “Good design is good business.” It is acritical aspect of business strategy and marketing that will help your customersidentify your company’s visual brand. Not only will it help create a first impression ofwho you are, but it will also distinguish yourself from the competition.

First impression  occurs when a potential customer looks at your logo, visits your website or sees your product. Companies or brands literally have only a few seconds to connect with their customers. When landing on a website, people tend to make a decision regarding an organization in as little as 1/20 of a second—and that judgment of credibility is largely based on design. This is a critical stage of development, and companies that consider design as part of their business strategy have a upper hand among the competition.

Design is an essential strategy that allows organizations to express their vision, values and culture through visual communication. From Apple’s iPhone and Starbucks’ in-store experience to Disney’s entertainment venues, we connect with brands because they resonate with who we are and what we believe in by first connecting visually.

As a society, we are visually stimulated and motivated, and first impressions are important and critical.Visual communication surrounds our life on a daily basis. Between the Internet, constant connectivity to social media and the overwhelming competitive market of products and services, we live in a world of information overload. If it’s on our drive to work, on public transportation, on our smartphones or in stores, branding is promoted visually. The saying that “A picture speaks a thousand words” can been seen in the impact that Instagram has had in the social media world.

We perceive the world we live in through our eyes, and our sense of sight is the most used out of the five senses. Our visual awareness associates symbols, colors and shapes with products and services that have become a part of who we are. From the moment we wake up, visual communication begins. The way we see the room we are in, how we interpret the colors in our breakfast, the way we drive to work, how we communicate with people, the books we read, the products we choose to buy, the clothes we select to wear and the places we want to visit all rely on the sense of sight.

Design has been a part of our existence and has influenced the imagery that surrounds us. From the Lascaux painting to the hieroglyphics on the Egyptian pyramids, design has always been used to communicate our history and stories.Through time it has influenced fashion, architecture, products, services, art and innovative ideas. Design is the reason the cup we use every morning for coffee and the chair that we sit on exist. Everything that surrounds us is influenced by design. Design is driven by the same human intuition and inner connection that is used for survival. It determines how things look, work and function. There is not one thing created by man that has not been influenced by design.

If you ask yourself why design is important and why it should be part of a business strategy, it is because design helps us communicate better.Design also unlocks better business by ensuring that your message and visual brand are clear and consistently applied across all communication channels to drive positive sentiment and trust.