Whichever path you take, we urge you to “think design” in every aspect of your business, from product development to marketing. Good design should permeate your company— buildings, processes, structures, products, the whole works.

5.3. Design for Everyone

“Everything that needs to be created needs to be designed—not just products and marketing, but processes, experiences, organizations, forms, materials. At its core, designing simply means thinking through a problem and finding an elegant solution. Anyone can do that. Everyone should.

Being a good designer is more a way of thinking than a way of drawing. It’s not just about making things pretty—it’s about making them work better.

You may not even need anyone to draw or make aesthetic choices. For example, take naming. It’s an issue all businesses face. But rather than calling in a naming or branding agency to pick a name for you, sit down and approach the problem like a designer:

Who is your customer and where will they encounter this name?

What are you trying to get your customer to think or feel about your product?

What brand attributes or product features are most important to highlight with this name?

Is this product part of a family of products or is it stand-alone?

What will the next version be called?

Should the name be evocative of a feeling or idea or a straightforward description?

Once you come up with a list, begin to use the names in context.

How does it work in a sentence?

How do you use it in print?

How do you use it graphically?

The process of convincing someone to buy and use your product needs to respect the customer, needs to understand their needs at different points of the user experience. You can’t just shout your top ten features at people in a billboard and a website and packaging just like you can’t simply hand someone your résumé at an interview, then lunch, then on a date. Sure, you’re giving them important information, but different moments in the journey

require different approaches.

Your message needs to fit the customer’s context. You can’t say everything everywhere.

I’ve found that people don’t naturally think in terms of specific behaviors, and this tendency trips up almost everyone.

People use the word “goal” when they are talking about aspirations or outcomes. If someone says “goal, ” you can’t be sure what they are talking about since the word is ambiguous. For that reason, “goal” is not part of the vocabulary in Behavior Design. Use either “aspiration” or “outcome” for precision.