If your jaw doesn't fall from watching the video below'check your pulse, you may be dead.
We are often given opportunities to design the smallest of things (think: logos) and at times it can be hard to prove the value of something small. Right?
Consider this idea. Would you expect to pay more for the design of a postage stamp or the design of a 36-page magazine? Does one take more time? Perhaps the magazine does, in actual hours. But precise nature of designing a postage stamp is a unique expertise.
Would you pay more for one?
Think about it for a minute. What are you paying for in the design? The hours? The technical challenges in a design? The visibility of the brand (so the larger the brand, the more they pay?). The result or expected outcome (how much the design will deliver in revenue increase or cost decrease?). The size of the object (icon vs. billboard?). Or what it cost in the past to do something similar (similar to how homes are valued?).
It is a complex subject and one we've decided to face head on, because it is important to the success of design as a practice area and our business in particular.
One answer: We have taken investment stakes in situations where fiscal performance is the expected measurement approach. Which has been successful for us with a vodka from Slovakia. But, we have also seen the challenges from this method, as it may not payout soon enough and it is likely challenging to relate the outcome to the design effort.
We value design from the beginning, and that ties in to how we value design in it's final form. We would like to hear from others on this subject.