Good design absolutely makes a difference, but good design can mean a lot of different things. It doesn't necessarily have to be beautiful. Understanding the

Good design absolutely makes a difference, but good design can mean a lot of different things. It doesn't necessarily have to be beautiful. Understanding the user, what they're trying to accomplish, and how they want to accomplish it is just as important (if not more so) as making something look good. I think it speaks to the progress of the software industry more than anything: Where before, everything was function and something actually working was close to amazing, the software industry has become so mature at a technical level that design has become a key differentiationg factor.