It might be easy at times to think of your brand’s use of graphic design is something approaching an ‘optional extra’; after all, how often does the world send out messages to us that it’s so much more important to be of practical use, than it is to look good?
But business graphic design is very far from a matter of simply ‘looking good’; what a target customer sees of your brand is likely to be their first point of contact with it, and they will form all manner of impressions on the basis of that contact. It might even determine whether they decide to buy from you – to a greater extent than you first imagine.
So, no responsible online marketing agency in the UK will ever encourage you to see graphic design as a mere ‘extra’. Instead, they will urge you to take seriously just how powerful the visual side of any brand is, which might be a principle that applies even more strongly online.
What, then, are just three of the elements your own organisation’s graphic design approach ought to have, whether or not you work directly with an agency like PENNInk Productions?
Simplicity
As the late, great design engineer of Lotus Cars – Colin Chapman – reputedly stated as his philosophy: “simplify, and add lightness”.
Granted, we are not Colin Chapman, but we like the principle – although it might apply to graphic design in a somewhat different way to how it applies to a racing car. In the world of graphic design, simplicity helps make content more visually impactful, as well as easier to understand and navigate.
Simplicity in your graphics will help the viewer to focus their eye and mind on the right elements, and to not become confused and distracted; as a result, it will also help you to get them to take the action you wish them to take when they are on your site.
Emotion
You might not instinctively associate graphic design with a great amount of emotion. But what we’re really referring to here, is the fundamental part that colour psychology plays in graphic design’s power.
There’s a lot of much more extensive reading that can be done on this subject, but you might already know some of the fundamentals; that warm colours like red and orange are associated with passion, for instance, while brands that wish to convey reliability might choose a cooler colour such as blue. Green, meanwhile, is often evocative of nature and a sense of calm.
So, before you even get started on the creation of important graphic design elements in partnership with an online marketing agency in the UK like ours, you should think carefully about the colours you might choose to note in your brand guidelines, and what emotions those are likely to convey to your target audiences.
A buyer-centric approach
Of course, you might expect us to say that your business’s graphic design elements should be ones geared towards your target audiences, including what you already know they will like. But it’s also crucial to think about what your audiences will respond to in their capacity as buyers of your brand’s products or services.
Graphic design that aims to get the audience to specifically buy from you is likely to be more successful in helping to grow your business online. And that includes making sure your graphic design works well with the rest of your site design, such as by looking good and being easy to understand for those who visit your site on a smartphone.
Would you like to take those first steps to achieving captivating graphic design with the assistance of the PENNInk Productions team? If so, our online marketing agency in the UK can be contacted by phone on 020 8144 7931, as well as via our convenient contact form.
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