Branding relies heavily on visuals. Graphic design services can be the make or break element in effective business promotion. Be it the design of your products or the look of your advertisements, logos or website; brand recognition begins with great design.
Once you have the design looking fresh, brand promotion strategies are your next step in business promotion, but considering how much information people are exposed to these days, you have only a few seconds to catch their eye and entice them to dig deeper. The old rule is out the window; books are undoubtedly judged by their covers when it comes to business.
Your graphic design plays a huge factor in the success of your business and how you convey your message to potential customers and run your marketing. So with that in mind, let’s delve a little deeper into how graphic design helps your business promotion.
Making your brand identity stick
Your brand’s identity is the best way to make a mark and stand out over the crowd, especially if you are in a niche market, and your graphic design is the most crucial element in this. You need to show people you are trustworthy and dependable, while also being professional and on trend. Your design or theme needs to be unique and memorable while also conveying a sense of your personal identity so people can relate to you.
A lot of this also has to do with your messaging and the tone in your copy but works in tandem with the design elements. If you think about your logo, a natural place to begin, you need to carefully consider colors, typeface and aesthetic and the emotional response it may draw from your target customers.
Did you know that Cadbury owns its particular shade of purple? No other business can use it, and that shade is unmistakable for that business, anywhere in the world. Understanding who your customer is and what they want or like is essential in getting all of this right.
Know where you stand
Along with understanding your customers, you need to understand your business. What is your current position? Do people already know who you are or are you starting from the ground up with a blank slate? This will play a determining role in how informative your design needs to be, maybe you can ease back on the info and play more with the design being a little ambiguous if you are a bit more known? Or perhaps you need to introduce yourself?
This is particularly important in terms of your website. Minimalist design is trendy right now but how minimal can you afford to be? Think about the information that you absolutely must get across and see how that will work alongside the stylish, minimal design that people love right now.
Pro tip: The reason WHY people love minimal design is it simplifies things and the easier you can make things for your user the better.
Stand out from the crowd
Have a look at what your direct competitors are doing and do something different. Cloning their ideas will not help you. Sure, it’s easy to say “well this is clearly working for them” – but that ship has sailed. It would be best if you were unique.
Your market is no doubt, highly competitive, so potential customers will pay more attention to something fresh, even quirky. Consider the key features of your products or services and create a distinctive image of your business via the design and marketing materials.
You can do this by focusing on a unique concept, keep it relevant to your business but perhaps pull an idea from a different industry that hasn’t been tried in yours yet. Think about your social channels and the millions of different people all over the world that you can potentially reach. There is no one method that will appeal to all of them, and this means you can relax and dare to be a little different.
Graphic design and promotion
Tie your design in with the channel you are on. LinkedIn, for example, requires you to be a little more professional than Facebook, where you can lighten up and be more creative. Advertisements need to be visually attractive and appealing while still keeping the audience in mind.
The various elements of your design – color, typeface, symbols, slogans, and definitely images should work cohesively to help increase sales. A professional and talented graphic designer will be able to help you with this, and all of the above and you should consider investing in this side of your business, the returns will be significant if you do!
How to choose the right designer
To choose the right graphic designer you’ll obviously want to see some portfolios and also understand your budget, but you’ll also want to consider someone you can form a long relationship with. Being able to collaborate with your graphic designer means you have a go-to resource who can get things done quickly without too much direction needed from you, saving time and money.
The level of quality of the designer is somewhat subjective; you may love something that another considers terrible. Find design styles that match the visual or ask the designer what they think would be an excellent visual perspective for your business, if you like what they come up with, chances are you’ll be happy with their work moving forward.
Whomever you choose, ensure you have a clear list of your expectations, set some clear parameters and always keep the lines of communication open, and you should be in for a good relationship with your designer!