Three cheers for stating the obvious – at long last

I certainly agree with everything John Mathers said about the Design Council’s latest study into the relationship between the effective use of design and corporate financial performance (Letters, DW 19 March).

However, it will be at the smaller end of the market that this study will really impact.

Most business-focused designers have always been aware of this relationship and have produced work accordingly. The same goes for the majority of large corporations, who know only too well how powerful design can be in shaping people’s attitudes and perceptions.

What is particularly useful about the study is convincing the small and medium-sized companies that good design really does work!

Here in the South West there’s an abundance of creative talent, yet compared with other regions, particularly the South East, ‘large’ companies are thinner on the ground, with most business squeezed from tight budgets for specific projects.

I see the Design Council’s study playing an effective role in the educative process, which tends to make up a substantial part in selling design, particularly to the SME market.

Like Mathers, I would like to congratulate the Design Council in finally putting in black and white something we’ve all known for years. This report will not only encourage designers to go and get more work, but raise the profile of design as the essential business tool it is and always has been.

Lee Mayor

Client services director

Lionheart Marketing Communications

Exeter

EX5 1AG