I used to launch apps from Launchpad but eventually gave up. It became increasingly difficult to locate apps as I installed more of them. Upgrades, un-installation and re-installation would cause the order to become scrambled. Group apps into folders increases the number of clicks.
My solution was to use Alfred, like many of us mentioned - type a few characters to find apps, start with a space to search for files, launch apps/terminal commands/Google searches with shortcuts - so handy, and it never made me feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.