Those in charge of some websites may think that content is more important than design, that a good design is “a good investment,” but not vital. Mike Monteiro, co-founder and design director of Mule Design, a studio whose clients include ProPublica, All Things D, and Mint.com, disagrees. “Design is core,” says Monteiro. “It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s plumbing. It’s foundation. You don’t invest in design. You can’t exist without it. A website without design isn’t a house without art, it’s a house without a bathroom.”

+ “I’ve always felt that if I had a demonstrably better product than competitors and could only afford to implement one marketing element, it would nearly always be sampling,” writes Michelle Greenwald (Forbes)

+ How StubHub plans to sell tickets by establishing an editorial voice and packaging knowledge (FastCompany)