Visual elements are the first impressions for prospects that engage with your brand online. Designing graphics that draw them in, rather than deter them, are essential for cultivating an effective online presence. For instance, Kimbia, a growing nonprofit fundraising company, refreshed their company image and marketing. By implementing strategic graphic design practices on the Kimbia website, they experienced a 21% increase in traffic and dropped their bounce rate from 65% to 45%.
Why is good graphic design important?
Every part of your graphics should visually communicate your business’ product features, benefits, differentiators and branding. Strategic communication goes beyond the written word–it must be implemented into every part of your online presence. Creating a strong brand identity for online channels with a consistent look and feel results increases brand recognition. If buyers can pick your brand out of a lineup, they are more likely to invest in your products and services.
In addition, with 65% of the population being visual learners, grabbing audiences through eye-catching design is incredibly important. Posts and content that include images have a 650% higher engagement than text-only posts. A well-designed website and portfolio make the online medium easier to navigate and draws the buyer’s eyes to what you want them to see.
Graphic Design Tips
Design for your audience
Different audiences have different tastes—for example, look at the difference between Zoom’s home page and Oracle’s home page. Both are B2B-focused businesses, but because they serve different audience types, everything from their color scheme to the distribution of information is different. Zoom shows their product in action, while Oracle, which has a much more technical product, communicates the benefits of the product before showing how it works. Understanding the industry your business falls into is just as important as the audience you serve. For example, media and public relations companies curate a different look and feel than technology companies.
Simplify your design
No matter how interesting and creative your graphic design on your website is, if a potential lead can’t easily navigate it, your content can have a limited impact. Making graphics, landing pages and emails intuitive and easy to consume help focus attention on the right content with the most important information first. A pitfall that many B2B businesses fall into is presenting too much information at once which can overwhelm audiences and leave them confused and frustrated.
Simplified design also supports stickiness. With less to remember, it’s easier to keep the most important elements top of mind. Focus on the big points—whether it’s the most stunning statistic or the most critical messaging point. Choosing ease of navigation over pleasing design can be a potential tradeoff that will keep your audience from losing interest. While aesthetics is important, it is even more critical that your visitor can accomplish their goals.
Demonstrate your brand’s voice through your art
Use design to also communicate your brand’s personality and position. Your branding should be distinct and recognizable in comparison to the competition. In a world oversaturated with content and digital brands, consistently communicating your value through your design is crucial. For more insight, check out Launch Marketing’s guide to key design elements of corporate branding to understand why consistency matters, and how it can create an accessible look and feel for your brand.
Create brand guidelines to ensure that visuals highlight and emphasize your brand’s voice consistently across all channels and regions. This encourages buyers to associate a certain color pallet and design with your business. Plus, consistent branding across all channels increases revenue by 23%.
Keep in mind the 5 key elements of good design
Balance, alignment, repetition, contrast and hierarchy. These five elements are the recipe for good design and form the building blocks to create eye-catching and pleasing designs. Focus on implementing these key characteristics in your design elements.
Don’t forget the element of emotion
Color psychology is a crucial practice in graphic design and has major effects on how the design impacts your audience. For instance, warm colors evoke feelings of passion, while blue represents reliability and green has a more calming effect. Think about what your colors are trying to convey about your company and make sure those colors are noted in your brand identity guidelines. Any graphics, or content that includes imagery, should include these colors to effectively communicate your brand consistently.
Implement buyer-centric design
Lastly, ask yourself: What are the needs of your buyers and how can you fulfill them through design? Designs that have the buyer in mind at all times are often the most successful. Strategic communication through design must connect with your audience. For example, if your buyers commonly access your website on a mobile device, ensure that your landing pages are polished and optimized for mobile. Catering to buyer behaviors like this can give your organization a competitive edge.
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