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Posts Tagged ‘Graphic Design’
Monday, November 30th, 2009
It can be easy to get sidetracked and forget about the really important stuff – or even what the important stuff really is. No matter whether you are marketing your business online or off line, you’ll need to consider two very important aspects to every marketing campaign: Copywriting and Graphic Design. Which is more important?
First, it’s important to understand the goals of each. The purpose for copywriting is to get the prospect to take action. If your copy isn’t moving your prospect toward some meaningful action that you want them to take then it isn’t effective. Plain and simple, copy persuades.
Graphic design’s job is to support the copy. Does that mean it is less important? Not at all. It is equally important, but it isn’t the primary goal. If you have pretty graphics and no copy then no one is going to take action. That’s art, not marketing.
It’s important that you focus on the needs and desires of the consumer. Write great copy that persuades and enhance your message with great graphics. You’ll close sales in no time.
Tags: copywriting, Graphic Design, marketing
Posted in Business Writing, Graphic Design | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
It`s normal to try and save money when you are first starting your business, but that doesn`t mean you should cut corners. In fact, some very important areas are going to cost some money, so you`ll need to budget for those right away. Graphic design is one of these necessary costs.
You can save money by going the DIY route with graphic design, or getting a friend of the family to do it cheap. However, chances are you won`t get the best graphics the first time.
It might seem like a good idea to start off cheap with the intention of getting better graphic designs done later on, but this is one area where you really don`t want to skimp. Your logo and any graphics that you have done should be top notch and professional looking, since this is going to be your brand. A poorly done graphic design just points out that you aren`t willing to put everything you have into your business. It looks unprofessional.
Spend the money necessary to perfect your graphic design is well worth it. You`ll be branding your business right from the start.
Tags: Branding, business, Graphic Design
Posted in Graphic Design | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 29th, 2008
If you`ve been in business for a while, it might be time to update your logo and other graphic design elements. While it`s a good idea to keep things the same to a certain extent, keep in mind that some graphics can make your business look dated and out of touch.
Updating your graphic design can be done in one of two ways. You can either change everything completely and rebrand your business, or just update the existing look.
Going for a full makeover can be hazardous. While it ensures that you have the chance to choose a great, timeless design this time around, you are also discarding the branding that you`ve worked hard on. However, a simple update might not be enough for some logos. Since graphic design has a huge impact on how we perceive businesses, it`s a good idea to think carefully about this before you make a decision.
Graphic design works to help you brand your business, but making changes to it can cause problems if you end up going with something completely and utterly different.
Tags: Branding, Graphic Design, logo
Posted in Graphic Design | No Comments »
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Setting up a website can be quite costly, unless you learn to do some of it on your own, which many business owners do. After all, there are lots of free website templates on the internet and you can easily upload them to a host and customize the content, right?
While this is true, it is NOT the way to go. In fact, opting for a free template could well be the worst graphic design mistake you`ve ever made.
You see, those templates are free for everyone. That means the same template could easily be used by hundreds of other websites, eliminating any brand recognition you would get from your own graphic design.
It`s far better to invest the money and get a website that a graphic designer has created just for your business. That way, you can promote your brand and keep it strong, without dilutions from other sites.
Tags: Branding, Graphic Design, website
Posted in Graphic Design | 1 Comment »
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
Do you have a logo for your business? While most offline businesses tend to think of a logo right off the bat, the majority of small internet-based businesses neglect this aspect of marketing. It`s a very important part of branding.
What do you think of when you see the golden arches? Of course, McDonalds . . . that is a symbol that is recognized around the world . . . no sign necessary. What about the swoosh symbol for Nike? Or the leaping cat for Puma? These are logos that have been very successfully used to promote the business behind them and people are recognizing these brands everywhere.
Having a logo will help trigger recognition in your clients` minds. When they see your logo, they`ll instantly think of your services or products. Which is precisely what you want them to think of. A logo is part of the marketing process and it really does help to include this in your graphic design.
Tags: business, Graphic Design, logo, marketing
Posted in Graphic Design, Market Research | 1 Comment »
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
Many small businesses put their all into getting their logo graphic design just right. They spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on that ideal logo, the one that will leap out at their potential customers and make them want to buy. But sometimes that perfect logo isn´t all its cracked up to be.
What a Logo Cannot Do for You
It can´t sell your product. Your logo may draw attention to your product, but even the best graphic design won´t make a bad product good.
It can´t earn back your money. The best of logos won´t bring money in on its own, you need to back it with quality service and great products.
It can´t do your job for you. Your job of selling and providing customer support, that is. While good graphic design can help your logo stand out and catch people´s attention, in the end you are the one who has to sell.
Your logo is important, but it isn´t a magical thing that will suddenly make your business popular. It will help you establish a brand, and catch people´s attention, which is why it´s a good idea to have a professional graphic design artist work on it. However, be careful that you aren´t spending more money than you have to. With a good logo instead of a “perfect” one, you just might be able to afford more publicity and get that logo in front of more eyes, something much more worthwhile.
Tags: Graphic Design, logo
Posted in Graphic Design | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Graphic design is something that has long been hailed as THE method of branding your business. Good graphic design is certainly effective, but there are so many poor examples of it out there that it´s hard to see why it works. That might be partly due to our perception of what constitutes great graphics.
André at Small Business Branding offers a little insight into why graphic design is one of the worst methods of branding these days.
Businesses think nothing of letting the secretarial staff design their materials. This is not the case however if they need legal work done. The books are not handled by the janitor, they have an accountancy handle it and rightly so. Many pass off the in-house design as a way to cut costs. What they fail to see and apparently forget from business 101, is that marketing should communicate their brand message and differentiate them – NOT something that must be accomplished for peanuts, by anyone who knows there way around photoshop. The computer industry defines this nicely – Garbage in, garbage out. Garbage doesn’t make you money. The sad thing is, the lack of response to these amateur materials only strengthens businesses belief that marketing is at best a crap shoot, and the first things to cut in a slow economy.
Branding and marketing are two of the most important things you can do for your business. Without branding, you will have to struggle to bring in new customers every time you make a sale. Graphic design, when done properly, can create an image that people will remember and think of whenever they need your products or services.
As André´s post points out, it is well worth spending some real money on a professional graphic design artist, but you will need to hunt for one who actually knows what he´s doing. Otherwise, you´ll end up with graphics for your ads that just don´t convert and actually look bad. If good graphic design can catch people´s attention and draw them to your business, what does bad graphic design do? It´s worth thinking about the next time you start to hand off that graphic design job to your secretary.
Caroline
Small Business Mavericks
Back to the Blog
Tags: Branding, Graphic Design
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design | No Comments »
Saturday, January 19th, 2008
Though not as common these days, there was a time when the internet was flooded with gaudy websites that featured a mish mash of colors that fried your eyeballs and weird designs. Unfortunately, many business websites haven´t quite made it up to the present with their graphic design and are still eyesores.
A website that is difficult to look at or read is one that no one will come back to. Why would they, with so many other options out there? Here are a few graphic design tips to make sure that your website is easy to read and keep your clients coming back.
- Choose a color scheme that works. Go with complimentary colors rather than opposites that are hard on the eyes.
- Forget the fancy effects unless that is vital to your business presentation. Your graphic design should be clean and neat, without a lot of clutter.
- Go with dark on light for text. There are a lot of website templates now that have white or gray lettering on a black background. While they may look classy, the truth is that this is really hard to read. Try it for yourself, read a whole article this way and you´ll quickly see how annoying it is.
- Watch the flashing banners. For some, graphic design means incorporating a bunch of blinking ads and banners into the website. While this may get people´s attention at first, it also distracts from your business.
- Separate the graphic design elements. Your sidebar and header should be neatly separated from the body of the website for a more soothing effect. Most people like to look at things that are neatly divided, so use different colors or lines to get your point across.
Graphic design can really make or break a site, make sure it´s not ruining your business reputation!
Caroline Melberg
Small Business Mavericks
Small Business Mavericks Blog
Tags: business website, Graphic Design
Posted in Graphic Design | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 21st, 2007
Graphic design is one of the most important aspects of your business brand. You can use graphic design services for your Internet marketing as well as you can for your traditional marketing. The concepts are not much different. The primary difference between graphic design for Internet marketing and traditional marketing is the purpose for the graphics in the first place. But whether you are marketing your business online or off line, you can’t do without some type of graphic design support. Here is a list of services that your graphic design firm can handle for you:
- Sales Brochures
- Corporate Identity Packages
- Instruction Manuals
- Getting Started Brochures
- POP/POS Display Materials
- Posters
- Tent Cards
- Catalogs
- Product Packaging
- Logo & Corporate Identity Design
- Newsletters
- Full Website Development/e-commerce
- Static Websites
- Web Pages/Landing Pages
- Web Graphics & Logos
- HTML Newsletter Templates
- Flyers, White Papers & Reports
- Business Cards & Letterhead
Notice that many of these products are off line products, but some of them are online marketing products as well. The thing to keep in mind about graphic design is that many of your products can be used for off line marketing and online marketing.
Caroline Melberg
Small Business Mavericks
Small Business Mavericks Blog
Tags: Graphic Design, off line, online marketing, products
Posted in Graphic Design | 1 Comment »
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