“Design is one of the most powerful forces in our lives,” according to Alice Rawsthorn, author of Hello World: Where Design Meets Life, a book of essays that examines the role of graphic, product, and interactive design in our life choices. “Design can empower people,” she says.
What about your graphic design? Do you view the design of your printed materials as simply a way to communicate with clients and potential customers? Or do you view your design as a motivating force to empower potential customers to action?
Regardless of whether you run a multi-million-dollar corporation or a local small business in downtown St. Louis, you have a tremendous opportunity to empower people and grow your business by printing materials in St. Louis that include effective graphic design. Here’s how.
Graphic design is about more than just what looks good. Your favorite color might not be the best representation of your brand. Your logo is most likely the first impression a customer will have of your brand, and it should be on everything: brochures, letterhead, banners, and signage.
Before you design, ask yourself exactly what you want that first impression to be and what target audience you are trying to reach. Ask yourself:
Choose graphic design that is not overly trendy. Once you’ve established an effective brand, you want to get many years out of it.
But brand goes way beyond logo design. Your brand is your voice. Think of it as the message you want your graphic design to convey. What are your favorite brands and what makes them effective? For example, the Nike “check” symbol represents more than a shoe company. It represents quality, athletics, achievement, and success. Similarly, your graphic design should visually speak to customers in these three ways.
Grab your potential customers’ attention with well-designed brochures; they’re a good sounding board to express how you feel in a visual way. Talk about your history and explain your view of customer service.
Once you’ve defined your brand, focus on the creative aspects of your graphic design. Constantly refer back to the brand traits you identified earlier, each time you design a new piece of your marketing campaign. You want to consistently communicate the same message and reinforce your brand again and again.
Let your brand personality guide everything, including colors, word choice, font style, photo placement and logo design. For example, is your brand friendly and personable or high tech and modern?
Font choice will play a huge role in communicating those traits. This is especially important when you are designing items that are meant to be read from far away, such as banner displays or advertising flags. Car magnets are a branding technique that is effective when implemented with strategic graphic design that is simple but memorable. Making your design too complicated will result in drivers not having enough time to read it and get the point. You want them to glance at your magnet and immediately get your message.
The layout of your text and the font chosen plays a critical role in empowering potential customers. According to HubSpot, “Well crafted typography has the power to capture attention, instill emotion and reinforce your brand message.” The marketing gurus add, “font for your marketing material should never be left to chance.”
Does the layout in your promotional materials send a clear message, empowering the customer to act on what she hers? Here are some tips to make sure that happens.
The various elements of graphic design, such as font size, color choice, and image placement seem fairly straightforward. However, using design elements that communicate your brand and motivate customers to use your product is where art meets function. Reach customers in St. Louis through effective graphic design.