Why beautiful branding isn't frivolous for professional services firms

I've been trying to write about beauty for months.

We were discussing our website redesign internally, and I was droning on about strategy or customer pain points.

But Zack, our lead designer, spoke up and said, "The work needs to be strategic, but it also needs to be beautiful."

And he was right. It sent me down a philosophy rabbit hole I wasn't prepared for. I listened to a lecture on Aristotle. I read about Tolstoy's beef with Plato, that beauty did not equate to goodness.

Thinking about our customers brought me back. You want your website to generate leads, but you also want it to look cool. You want merch you'd be proud to hand out, that you'd be proud to wear.

But you feel a little guilty about it, as if aesthetics are frivolous. It isn't. I found that the philosophers agree on almost nothing, except that beauty is valuable.

Because your prospects make snap judgments. They respond to language and design they see before considering meaning. They notice if you pay attention to the details, if it feels right. And if what they see feels dated, generic, or patched together, they've already decided — before any meetings or any proposals.

Beauty attracts. Part of the way you show your expertise is by conveying it thoughtfully, simply, and with purpose. In other words, beautifully.