Why you need a graphic designer
Whether you have a small business or a big corporation, having a graphic designer on your team can make a big difference no matter how small or large your company is. The right designer can help you create an identity and tell your story visually, in a way that you can be proud of. From branding to advertising to marketing, a graphic design professional can help you establish your consistent brand standards that will be used across all of your digital channels.
Creating a visual identity isn't just about choosing a logo and colors. It's about creating a consistent brand image that will stand out from your local and national competitors. The best graphic designers in the business know that it is always a tightrope walk striking the right balance between brand consistency and design best practices.
While a visual identity isn't a one-size-fits-all approach, there are some guidelines you can follow to make sure your visuals are on point. It's a good idea to create a visual identity style guide, which lays out the rules for using your brand colors and logo treatments (more on that later). You can also reference it when planning work with freelancers and can save you hours and hours of back and forth emails troubleshooting design questions when you work with a print company.
A graphic designer will create a visual identity that is dependable.
A visual identity also has a large number of components, from signage to product packaging to social media assets. It's a good idea to do a bit of research into the media ecosystem your brand is part of before generating your own materials.You might be surprised to learn that a particular industry uses a certain color scheme or a certain style of font to get their message across. Also, you may want to consider the use of a simple design over a more complicated one.
Identifying your target audience is one of the most important things that you can do as part of this process. Knowing who your audience is will help you decide what visuals to use and what colors to employ. A good brand and brand strategy is always one that can connect with your customers first, and should be consistent across all of your channels to help build an ongoing visual recognition with your brand and to establish brand trust. A visual identity helps you build that trust with your customers and helps your customers remember you and you're brand at a glance.
The best way to ensure a visual identity is to create that style guide I mentioned earlier. Creating a style guide can also help you determine which colors and fonts to use, and which logo treatments are appropriate for your brand, and when and where they are used. The style guide is also a good way to demonstrate to your team that you have a vision for your brand that goes beyond a single logo and a single font and ultimately has a cohesive vision that can be duplicated across your identity ecosystem in a way that is visual clear and (ultimately) easily repeatable.
Your visual identity style guide also is a powerful way to reinforce your brand's core values. This guide can help you and your team attract new customers as well as bolster the confidence that your existing customers have in your business. If your brand uses the right colors, fonts and logo treatments, you can help to sell your products or services and create better engagements for potential customers that have never heard of you before. If you don't have the time to create a style guide, you can always turn to Venngage - for a list of free visual identity templates.
A Graphic Designer will help you keep up-to-date with industry trends and make suggestions if you need to pivot.
It is important to keep up with the latest trends in design, but there is a lot to know and sometimes it is easier to hire a graphic designer that knows the ins and outs of this changing industry. Graphic designers work to design visually appealing layouts for websites, social media, and across all printed materials you will need, but the best graphic designers also help to maneuver your brand through the sometimes rocky coastline of the internet. Any graphic designer that you hire must be an excellent task and time manager, able to work on multiple projects at once and collaborate with many stakeholders all while keeping a sharp eye out on what the industry is doing and how things are changing. Working with a professional graphic designer from the very beginning will ensure that you never find yourself in the position of having outdated assets.
Graphic design trends include the use of new technology in keeping your standards current and allowing for even more innovative expressions of your brand’s ideas. Some of these trends include cinemagraphs (you’ve probably heard them called “GIF’s”, online infographic motion presentations, environmental graphics, and augmented reality. These can all be added to advertisements, blogs, and web pages and better establish you're brand as an authority in your sector of business.
Another trend that is important for designers is the rise of augmented reality. This technology is making it easier for people to experience virtual environments through the use of headsets, as well as through their phones. In addition, more and more companies are using social media and video to connect with their audience creating new opportunities to implement this exciting technology in more and more places. As a business owner, keeping up with trends in the design industry is important because it will help you define to your graphic designers where you want your brand to go.
A Graphic Designer will help you generate awareness for your brand.
Using graphic design to generate awareness for your brand is a great way to enhance your visibility and brand recognition. With millions of people online and a multitude of social media platforms for your customers to choose from, it is crucial to create a unique brand identity that sets you apart. This includes creating design items such as brochures, website landing pages, seamless social media posts, business cards, and a host of other resources.
To generate awareness, brands should focus on telling a compelling story. The story doesn't have to be a novel, but it does have to explain a problem and then position your brand or service as the resolution to that problem. When you have a strong story, you are able to communicate your brand's mission and values and also create a pathway for people to engage with your service or products as a logical next step.
Another great way to create awareness for your own brand is by forming partnerships with other brands. This allows you to engage your brand with a larger audience, while still reaching your own target audience. By partnering with another brand, you are not only creating awareness, but you are also increasing your chances of earning new customers with positive perceptions of your brand.
A graphic designer can help you generate awareness for your brand by creating branded collateral, brochures, posters, social media posts, and more. They can also help you to create and maintain a stunning website that emphasizes the key features of your business and products. The designs that you approve should be unique to you and always align with your marketing goals.
Reaching your target audience is key to generating awareness. Whether you're reaching out to customers through social media or print materials, focusing on creating solutions for your customers' needs can go a long way towards ensuring the success of your business.