Mr. graphic designer You enter a supermarket selling different products from different brands. Yet every product will have different packaging.
You go to a restaurant and ask for a menu card to order items of your choice. Every restaurant will have a different menu card even though the items may be the same.
Ever wondered why??
You guessed it right. It all comes down to Design. Because graphic designs determine how you perceive a product. Marketing and psychology go hand in hand. Graphics Designing help you feel a certain way or evoke certain responses.
Graphic design for businesses is in effect a visual representation of what the business is all about, what it stands for etc. It is a form of visual communication that communicates an idea, sell a product or persuade a customer to take the necessary action.
What is element of communication ?
Through graphic design elements like logo, flyer, ads, brochures, website etc that acts as a point of contact between the audience and the business.
To put it simply, graphic design help build a corporate or brand identity. Graphic design boosts your branding.
You have probably heard of the terms ‘brand’, ‘brand identity’, ‘branding’ etc and probably even confuse them with each other.
Let’s dig a little deeper and understand what these terms mean.
According to 99designs,
‘Brand’ is the perception of the company name in the eyes of the world. For example, people associate Nike and Adidas with sports and athletics and therefore they are popular as sports brands.
‘Branding’ is the process of actively creating that perception in the minds of the people. For instance, when BMW initially started marketing, it focused on the elite and the premium class as its target market and therefore gradually came to be associated as the luxury car brand.
‘Brand Identity’ is the collection of all the elements the company uses to convey the right image of itself to the consumer for example:- Logo, Flyers, Brochures, Website etc.
Okay, let’s take a short test!
Think of computers. What is the first name that comes to your mind?
90% of the time it’s Apple.
Think of a luxury car and what are some of the names that you can think of?
Audi and BMW, I bet!
Sports wear?
Nike and Adidas.
Want to Photocopy documents? The first name that comes to mind…?
Xerox!
These names are ‘Brands’ and how people have come to think of it is ‘Branding’. For instance, the thought of BMW when one thinks of luxury cars.
Names that have built a strong brand identity that people associate with. There’s no magic formula that they accidentally stumbled upon. It’s the result of years of hard work that go into conveying right message with the product.
Imagine that you meet a person for the first time. You get an impression about the person at first glance. You describe him by the way he looks, the clothes he is wearing, his physique etc. All this information defines his personality. So much without even knowing his name or his profession!
It’s the same for businesses. General impression about your product/brand is driven by different aspects like Logo, website, Flyers, Brochures, product packaging etc. A positive impression is when consumers remember your product long after they have consumed them. Good brands are memorable.
But what makes a good brand?
Of course, product and customer services matters but what is it that creates the first impression? And you don’t need me to tell you that first impressions are often the last!
A good design is what matters here along with everything else. Not that you can justify a poor product with an excellent design and packaging but nevertheless….
Good Design Keeps Your Brand Memorable – When we talk of graphic designing what we mean here is everything that represents your business or brand i.e. company logo, product packaging, advertisements etc. All these elements combined make a good brand. A unique concept, choice of colors to represent your brand, layout, the content of your marketing material like flyers, brochure etc, everything has an impact.
Product Packaging can alter Perception- A classic example of this is a cooking show. If you’ve ever watched a cooking show you probably remember that chefs put a lot of effort into presentation once the dish is ready. There’s an old adage that says “You eat with your eyes”. The same is true for products too. The product packaging should be such that it makes the consumers want it simply by looking at it. The choice of colors, the message, package design, etc should be in accordance with the message that you want your product to convey. If you are marketing a premium chocolate bar, the package should be such that it conveys a sense of luxury, colors like black, brown, golden, etc would work.
3. A Good Design Makes Your Content User-Friendly – You give out product information through ads, flyers, newsletters, company website, etc. Simple design, clear layout, and a good UI go on to play a major role in determining whether or not your users consume the information that you present. Keep your content short and crisp and your layout simple so your content is simple and easy to skim through.
A design with too many images or text or small fonts will make your content appear cluttered and difficult to read at a glance so the user will likely ignore it or trash it. Your design should be such that the content can be read at a glance especially for online customers.
4. A Good Design makes a Good First Impression – Now this is a no-brainer. When you stroll through lines of shelves in the supermarket or browse through an online catalog, you encounter hundreds and thousands of products and brands vying for your attention. Which product catches your attention? That’s right- a product with attractive packaging. Of course, you may change your mind later but a good design is what catches your attention first and creates a good first impression.
The attention of the customer is roughly 50 seconds. Which means a brand has just about 50 seconds to capture the user’s attention? So it’s important that your product packaging is attractive and conveys the right message to the right audience.
5. Design is not just about good looks – A lot of people tend to think that design is just about how a product or a particular document or online website looks. Well…let I tell you, you couldn’t be more wrong! There is more to design than just that. It’s about what the product or brand in its entirety tries to convey.
More than looks it’s about how the product/brand communicates to the audience. A designer’s job is not just to make your flyer; document, logo, and ad look good. A good designer takes into account your brand persona, what your company is all about, your content etc. They decide how to present your content so as to leave a maximum impact on the minds of the audience.
6. Helps Your Content Shine – The whole purpose of graphics is to make the content stand out with the help of some design. A good graphic designer will make every effort to make your content understandable clearly and effectively. In fact, the graphic design should be so good that the customer’s attention goes straight to the content and not to the design, colors etc.
7. Enhance visibility of your Campaigns – Digital media is crowded space these days with thousands of companies competing for attention. There are hundreds of campaigns running and the only way to make yours stand out is with the help of creative, unique and stunning graphics.
What we mean here are not just the images, rather all the elements combined that make up a campaign viz. the ad creative, the theme, ad copy (text), headline etc. People are more likely to click on ads that they find attractive to the eyes, with relevant products/service and the right message.
8. Drives Conversions and Increases ROI – As stated previously, graphic designing is not just about images and looks, it’s the combination of content and design. Graphics is everywhere in business. Website, ad campaigns, flyers, brochures, restaurant menu, product packaging etc. all are products design.
A good website does not just look good but also has easy navigation and a great UI. People will only click on ads that attract their eyes and capture their mind with the right message.
Small children will only gravitate towards certain boxes of cereals or biscuits because they are attracted by the packaging. Similarly, flyers, brochures, menu all serve to tantalize the customer’s senses and urge them to take the desired action. This drives conversions, sales and therefore ROI.
The graphic design plays an important role in today's modern competitive global environment. The graphics designing has become an integral part of any business and occasion. For a customized website capable of providing all your need, the graphics arrangement on the website should be appropriate as well as look attractive and adorable. The graphic designing is important in almost every field that includes- marketing, magazine layout etc. A good graphic design should effectively communicate the message of the sender to the target audience using tools of visual communication.
Benefits of a Good Design
There are various reasons for which we need to pay attention towards the effort put into the quality of designs.Gains Attention: A sophisticated and an old design do not attract the customers. The first and foremost thing that a customer looks for is the design of a product. For e.g. - a person went to a shop to buy a pair of shoes will first look the design of the shoes. If the design stands out well among others then it definitely has to be his choice.
Career Options in Graphic Designing in India
There are lots of opportunities within the design world from which a person can choose to pursue a career in graphic design. Following is a list of various career options:- Logo Design, Newspapers, Magazines etc.
- Website Designer
- Art Director
- Advertising
- Book Designer
- Illustrations Designer
- Brochures for Marketing field
- Corporate Reports
- As a Freelancer, and many more.
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