From Scratch: Good design. Get some.
I admit it, I have one consistent gripe about the world of complementary and alternative medicine. It’s bad design. I’ve recently gone to two separate websites which represent two separate women who are total geniuses at their chosen modalities. (For the sake of kindness, and because I respect these women, I’m not going to give links to their sites.) These are women who’ve built a huge name for themselves because the work they’re each doing is so innovative and needed. And yet, I get to their sites and I cringe. I worse than cringe- I do a full body cringe. Hideous stuff. Terrible colors, zero usability, great info that’s buried in weird places. Ugh!
The thing that really bugged me when I sought out these sites only to be disappointed is that this happens all the time. I know we’re not trained to be artists or designers, and we don’t have to be. However, what we do need to do is to value design as the tremendous asset it is, and to hire those who can make it happen for us.
I think it all boils down to Cherry On Top Syndrome. The symptoms of those suffering from COTS are a belief that if their work is good, then good design is an unnecessary added bonus that’s not needed. If you have the time, energy, and money- you go right ahead and plop that cherry on top. If not, good work is good work, right? If you’re a good practitioner, it will shine through, and that’s what’s important.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- doing the best work you can possibly do is absolutely crucial. I would never argue against that. However, the people who are seeking you out don’t know that you’re an amazing acupuncturist, or massage therapist, or whatever. When they find your site what they’re looking for is a signifier that your work is good. That signifier is good design.
Good design can make you seem bigger than you are. It can indicate to potential and current clients that you’re serious about your work, which they read as great at your work. This can’t be underestimated.
I have a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design and I still hired someone to design my new Rolfing logo. Even with a degree from a bonafide art school, I haven’t spent the last several years creating logos, so I wasn’t going to go there. Leave it to the pros- it’s too important to do an amateur job and botch it. Nette Gaastra designed my New Haven Rolfing logo and I’m delighted with the work she did. Reese Spykerman has designed my re-written ebook (to be released within the next two weeks- stay tuned) and it’s totally stunning- light years better than the DIY crap I churned out on my own. Now I can feel proud of spreading that resource around.
This lovely little site is about to get a total overhaul. The Well Practice, as a name, is a snooze-fest and the design looks dour and depressing to me. It was a good first shot- better to launch something and tweak as you go than never launch at all- but it’s time for it to more clearly reflect my goals. Stay tuned. I’m very excited.
To upgrade your own design- I highly recommend both Nette and Reese. Two other options are Crowd Spring and Elance. Yes, you’ll spend some money up front, but it’s far more expensive to limp along with bad design than to invest up front in work that will convey the quality of your work. Remember, most people visiting your website or glancing at your business card have a very simple subconscious formula going on: good design = good practitioner, bad design = bad practitioner. It may not be fair, but it is what it is.
Tags: brand and identity, design, logo, web design
