When people hear the word “design” they usually think of drawings, paintings, or some other art form heavily associated with childhood but I can assure you design plays a much more prevalent role in your life than you realize.

Have you ever stopped to just admire the box that your iphone came in? If not, enjoy this pic. It’s truly a magnificent box and it was designed that way on purpose. It was designed to be unique, modern, “exclusive” and most importantly, it was designed to make you feel as if you’re opening up a gift when you purchase an iphone.

Rest assured this designer knew what he/she was doing and did it well. It is one of the very reasons Apple continues to dominate the market.

It’s kind of like if you appear luxurious and act rich, people will view you as “rich”. So, if your brand is designed to “look rich” & you provide an at minimum decent service/product to back it up, people will be willing to pay top dollar prices because they assume you’re a luxury brand.

And if you don’t believe me, surely Anna Delvey will prove my statement. The girl who had virtually no money but fooled hundreds of New Yorkers into thinking she was loaded because she appeared rich, acted rich, and used $100 bills to back it up.

What I’m trying to say is you can have an average product but attract high paying clientele with the right appearance.

Another great example of how design has helped a business dominate the market is Starbucks. If you’ve never had the pleasure of enjoying Starbucks, let me enlighten you.

You walk into a cafe that smells like coffee beans, you hear the sounds of coffee grinders & workers preparing drinks, you also get to admire the curated interior design along with all of the other Starbucks customers who are either typing away at their computer or conducting a business meeting.

This, is the Starbucks brand. Everything from the smells to the interior and simple on brand cups is designed to provide a premium coffee experience. This premium appearance is also what allows them to maintain their upscale coffee reputation and charge “above average” coffee prices.

In conclusion, if you’re only making $1,000 a month, that can change but only if your brand’s image improves through good design.

You can turn trash into treasure by changing perception.