Good Design = Bad Business?

Does good design really equal bad business?

If you spend twenty hours instead of ten hours on a project to get the design right is that bad business? When you spend thirty hours on a project instead of ten hours is that bad business? Where do you draw the line on cost versus quality?

I don’t have the answer. It’s really something that is unique to each project and business funding the project. I would love to see any statistics available that compare design quality with sales. If you look at the quality of a car design and how it relates to sales I would bet there is a direct correlation. I wonder if the same is true for web design. We are currently working on a large project with a company based in Rochester, MI and there is a huge emphasis on design and usability. This project has been extremely expensive, but is it worth it? I certainly hope so, but i can’t say for sure.

What do you think, is good design really worth the price?