I had the pleasure of attending a NextNY event last Wednesday with Carrot Creative’s own Kristin and Maury in Time Square. The Topic - Does Design matter to Startups? The discussion was led by designers Crystal Beasley, Kevin Kearney, Nicole Tecco Reece, Dagny Prieto, and Stefan Lawrence. The meet-up was to help entrepreneurs better understand the role of a design team (often looked at as a wild, type-loving troupe of hippies) in the greater scheme of things while running a business.

So, will bringing on designers really matter, or does having your product or service “work” outweigh how it looks? Here are some insights from the discussion.

• Startup entrepreneurs seem to have 101 concerns before they start carving out their budget for color schemes and visual hierarchy. But how much emphasis should be placed on design? Kevin Kearney says that it all depends on how your team defines the importance of it. Good designers are not brought along just to make things pretty – they are an integral part of a successful, problem – solving team. They are concerned about the overall business strategy and make aesthetic decisions based on the improvement of the company. Designers should be there for you, offering suggestions and fighting for your ideas. Consider hiring a designer as hiring your own personal George Foreman of Photoshop. Your Rocky Marciano of Mockups. Your Mike Tyson of Face Tattoos…er, never mind.

• The topic of the Common Misconceptions of Designers brought along a warm, fuzziness inside because I could relate to everything that was mentioned. Stefan Lawrence brought up a common fallacy that all designers can get anything and everything done in less than 24 hours. Thankfully, he begs to differ. While it is our job to come up with design solutions, it doesn’t just come to us in an instant. Like any other line of work, time must be reserved for research, contextual insights, and necessary planning. Hasty designs with hurried planning often turn out to be nightmares. Startups allowing designers to contribute early on in the game can minimize the damaging effects of a rushed, impersonal project.

• Nicole Tecco Reece also tackled the misconception that all designers fear limitations and work best with 100% creative freedom. While we do love freedom to make our own aesthetic decisions, constraints and requirements are what drive us to be successful. It’s these limitations that help wrangle wayward creativity and help us zero in on what is best for the client, what is best for the target audience, and (perhaps most important of all) what is realistic.

IMHO, I feel that design is just as important as any other aspect of starting a new business. Allocating a reasonable amount of your budget toward a stellar designer/design team is an investment that can help will breathe life into your idea. Design is much more than a cute logo or strategic button placement – it is the ongoing communication of your brand and your target audience on a personal level. Stand out from your competition by making that experience memorable, carefully crafted by a quality design team from the start.

A huge thank you to Crystal for organizing this event, and to everyone who lead the conversation and offered their input. Look for me and more members of the Carrot Crew at future design meet ups all around NYC. We’ll also be planning an event ourselves so stay tuned for more information on that.