It never truly occurred to me, until recently, that I needed to dig deeper in understanding the value of design. In the course of a day we run across a thousand and one designs. Why is one better than the other? What makes an Apple better than a PC? Why is my iPhone so damn cool? Does Apple have an equation or formula for great design? Better yet, how did they arrive at being a great designer?

As a Designer of more than a decade I think I have a good grip on what makes things great and what totally blows as a product, logo, site experience, etc. But, does the way I measure it match up with the common population? Can I explain it? Is there a tell-tale metric that would convince nine out of ten people? 

This is what I’m talking about. Here’s an article from Business Week a year or so ago trying to do the same thing.  Harry Rich, deputy CEO of the London-based Design Council, had this to say, “It’s not good enough to expect clients to have faith in the power of design,” he said. Without a cohesive strategy, “every decision you make becomes a battle where you constantly have to justify yourself.” Since he’s from Britain, I say, “bloody hell!” You have to justify yourself. Is this not the hardest thing we do? Ouch.

I’ve always gone with gut instinct, hard-work and a sound design discipline to feel confident that what we’re showing is of high value. Yet, behold the business person—what an unusual species! What with their sales sheets, clean shoes and sharp look and quick questions.

So what to do with this shiny haired, well-mannered lot? Get metricated. I’m out to find value propositions for design, for ideas, for concepts and the quality with which they’re produced. Wish me luck. I’m sure I’ll run into a few business types along the way.