Design appears everywhere. From global brands, websites, billboards, tv adverts, catalogues and brochures, to the business card you receive from a supplier. Poor design can leave bad impressions, confused messaging, and can indicate a lack of knowledge and quality. However, when done right, good design is a valuable tool, helping to win business, inspire confidence and improve communications.
Here are four ways to measure if your company’s design is up to scratch:
Brand Awareness
A brand is more than just a logo—it’s a suite of marketing materials containing your image, your online presence, your tone of voice and all things in between. Everything you put out into the public eye AND internally should reflect how you want your business to be perceived and where your company is heading. Your brand should be considered, well-designed and instantly recognisable through consistency.
Professionalism
A well-designed brand and supporting materials will suggest a sense of professionalism, experience and consideration. It will help to promote confidence in your ability to provide a quality service and develop trust with your existing customers and new prospects.
Communication
Strong graphic design helps to convey messages in an attractive and efficient way. Good design acts as a visual aid to communicate better with potential prospects, existing clients/customer and employees. When information is portrayed well, it is easier to read, attracts attention and shows clarity of your message.
Productivity
As well as appearing visually more attractive and delivering a stronger message, graphic design can improve productivity. A good graphic designer will approach each job in a bespoke way depending on the context of the design and the way the end-user will interact with the deliverables. For example, a poorly designed website with confusing navigation could potentially lose you custom and cause the user to visit a competitor’s site. In addition, a design style that fits one brand or company, may not be relevant to YOUR company and ethos. Hence moving away from a pre-made, templated solution to an essential bespoke design approach is always the best route to take.
The benefits of making design a core part of your business are many. The Design Council’s recent research shows that amongst other benefits, every £1 invested into a business’s core use of design led to an average of £20 of increased revenue, so can you afford not to? [article]
Your brand and marketing communication materials should reflect your company’s values and demonstrate your expertise within your specific market. If you need help with your visual communications, whether for print or digital, we’d love to help.
