{"id":53506,"date":"2021-03-18T17:23:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T00:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/?p=53506"},"modified":"2021-03-18T17:23:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T00:23:05","slug":"whats-the-value-of-your-creative-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/blog\/whats-the-value-of-your-creative-team\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Value of Your Creative Team?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to creative work, we often want to consume it without paying for it. From pirating media to paying for design and copy work in \u201cexposure,\u201d society tends to devalue creative work monetarily. But what would our world look like without good design?<\/p>\n

Probably like the internet of the 90s<\/a>. Do you really want that?<\/p>\n

While those were simpler times in many ways, they were an aesthetic nightmare<\/a> to navigate through. We have moved way past those blunders of yesteryear. Now, we\u2019re much more conscious of the importance of looks and intuition when it comes to moving through the web \u2014 or the mall. From user experience to graphic design, we all make judgments about companies, products, and services based on the design surrounding them; in the real (non-online) world, we notice product design, billboards, storefronts, layout, experience, and all those factors influence our purchases.<\/p>\n

In a 2018 survey, 48% of consumers said that design is the most important factor<\/a> in determining a website\u2019s credibility. I would wager a guess that at least some of the other 52% still find design important, but simply have other credibility requirements as their priority.<\/p>\n

In a Rice Media piece, Julian Wong explores the value of creative work by breaking down the cost of running a small creative agency and then equating the study and experience of a designer to that of a locksmith or lawyer. Because we don\u2019t intrinsically value creative work financially, many comparisons relate the labor of creativity to that of other professions. Culturally, we have this idea that creative work is always fun. I assure you, it is not.<\/p>\n

So, what is the value of creative work? Well, as a matter of fact, it\u2019s quite a lot.<\/p>\n

Branding + Graphic Design<\/h3>\n

When it comes to branding design, the big-ticket item is going to be the logo. These seemingly simple icons or letter-based images can range from tens of dollars for a pre-made template to thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars for a fully fleshed out brand identity package.<\/p>\n

Branding is the backbone of any company\u2019s visual identity. Instagram, McDonald\u2019s, Coca-Cola, Sony, Nike, Apple, KFC, Disney. Can you not instantly conjure these logos in your mind\u2019s eye? That\u2019s good branding.<\/p>\n

So, what is the price of being memorable? Actually, it varies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Google and Coca-Cola paid $0 for their logos, while Pepsi paid $1 million and Accenture paid $100 million. So, what\u2019s the deal?<\/p>\n

Google used open-source graphics. Coca-Cola had an in-house employee with great handwriting. Not everyone else is as lucky. And since then, even companies that paid nothing for logos have put millions into supplemental design elements.<\/p>\n

Going beyond the logo, I could point you to a 2004-2014 study that discovered design driven companies outperform the S&P by 219% over 10 years<\/a>. (This trend continued in 2015.) This means companies that have elements of good design woven into their business operation makes over 2x as much as those who don\u2019t. Some stats taken straight from that analysis include:<\/p>\n