Designing for Start-Ups

Sitting at this great Baroque influenced cafe (which just so happens to be Starbucks) in Switzerland today, I came across an article from HOW magazine. The feature of this article was discussing designing for a start-up company as opposed to an already established business. Check out the excerpt below (click on blog posting title for full article):

Designing for a Startup

It's hard enough to design an identity for a client that already has one in place—what about designing one from scratch? Three designers give insights about how to design for a new startup business.

Of the more than half-million new businesses that open their doors each year, how many will succeed? While there's no standard method of measuring startups and failures, the Small Business Administration reported that in 2005, some 670,000 companies opened their doors. Sadly 80%, or close to half a million of them, closed up shop not long after.

What makes the difference between success and failure? Capitalization, management, competition and market forces are some of the reasons. Branding, marketing and design also play a vital role—and the designer hired to counsel a startup can often help make the difference between profit and loss. HOW asked three designers to share their insights on designing for startups and to feature the identity systems they've created for their clients.

I was sort of surprised about this article. To me, it seemed to give the impression that designing for a start-up company was more difficult. I happen to feel the exact opposite.

For me, starting with a blank slate is the best spot to be in. I have no image standards to try to uphold - instead, I get to create those standards. There's no previous logo to be stuck in my head - I get to create what I feel meets the needs of the client best. Plus, I tend to think there's a little more room for creativity.

While I understand that some clients that are starting up may not have done their demographc homework, I feel that most of them (at least the clients I've come across) are pretty fluent in this area. In my experience, a client that isn't paying enough attention to these major business start-up need-to-knows, isn't paying attention to design either. Just my two cents...