Marketing design is very different to editorial design. Grabbing and retaining the attention of viewers is the focus. There are many trends in design and many foundational principles that will outlast the trends. To create an effective marketing design you must understand the importance of having a ‘call to action’ and the ‘look and feel’ that communicate the sales message. Marketing websites need to facilitate potential customers looking for quick and easy to understand information, which is easy to navigate. Websites are often primarily a marketing tool for many organizations as are print based materials such as brochures and catalogues. In any design, it is important that the marketing message is consistent with the overall vision of the business.
Postcards are generally an inexpensive method of communicating your message to prospect not only in terms of design but also printing. You can also produce multiple page brochures, catalogues and information packs. Businesses now need to look more so at information and building a relationship with prospects through marketing material rather than aiming for the quick sale. Your marketing should be a long-term strategy. There are many different options when it comes to marketing design however, having a marketing plan will help keep your business on track. With anything you produce the value you will receive must be more than the cost paid. This can sometimes be hard to measure since you may be building your brand awareness and value and may not see immediate sales. Having an overall, long-term strategy is the essence of producing marketing design with a high return on investment. Prospects are most likely to buy from people they know, like and trust so it’s a matter of building this relationship through the marketing process.
There are many skills graphic designers study to communicate a visual message. These skills are extremely important when it comes to marketing design. While many marketing experts may feel they can ‘do it all’ often they don’t have the graphic design skills in-house, to produce the results you need.
A few things to consider in your marketing design are layout, colour and how to guide the eye through the page. You also need to consider repetition and patterns, which help people, retain information. This will help create brand awareness in the market place. Typography is also very important. The fonts used and how they are used was once a specialist area of design. Now, university qualified designers are trained in these areas. These skills are often overlooked now that anyone can jump on a computer and call him or herself a graphic designer. There are many technical aspects of typography that help legibility and attract more people to read your content. You could also use typography in more creative ways such as making a shape with words or distort or transforming letters into more unique objects.
In marketing it’s the little things that often make the biggest difference. Graphic design is one small element of marketing that should never be overlooked.
This content was originally published on Omnific Design before we rebranded as Uplift 360.