Visual design has long been looked at by many of those in business as a coat of paint to be applied to a finished product to help it sell. In this world view design takes a back seat to advertising and its significance as a discipline is reduced.

This is (thankfully) starting to change, largely due to the universal recognition of the importance of User Interface design. Still, design remains a poorly understood and difficult process for most companies. So much so that good UI design can actually be used as an indicator of a company’s health. This was shown rather effectively by Teehan + Lax and their UX fund.

This is because of two things. The first is that good design, particularly good UI design creates a more attractive, easier to use product. Such a product will sell better than something unattractive and difficult to use. The second is that Design is hard. Design is particularly hard for dysfunctional groups or groups made up of individuals with competing visions or interests.

The execution of a well designed product can be seen as a sign or corporate health in that it is the end result of a series of interactions between very complex systems of needs. Only a well managed organization can sort out these complex systems properly. It is a miracle it happens at all.

So the next time you have a particularly easy and rewarding interaction with a well designed product, think not just of the designers, but also of the executives who had the good sense to pay for quality and the presence of mind not to ruin it.