Sloppy design, broken experiences, inconsistent visuals or careless details signal low quality, whatever the product's real quality.
People judge the book by its cover. Every first impression tells them how good the product is before they ever use it.
Markkula's third Apple principle, Impute: "People DO judge a book by its cover... if we present them in a creative, professional manner, we will impute the desired qualities." Jobs credited the lesson for Apple's packaging: "When you open the box of an iPhone or iPad, we want that tactile experience to set the tone for how you perceive the product. Mike taught me that."
• Typos, broken links, stretched logos, mismatched templates, an unboxing or onboarding nobody designed.
Owned — An outdated site next to a premium price.
Earned — Low-res assets in press kits.
Paid — Off-brand ad templates.
Analytics — High first-visit bounce.
AI — Unreviewed AI images with visible artifacts.
• Audit every first-impression touchpoint (homepage, ad, first email, packaging, onboarding) against brand standards.
