We, as marketers, can all agree that design (use of graphic elements) is an important part of marketing communications. This is true because we, as humans, are extremely visual. We judge others based on the way they dress, assume colorful edibles are delicious and often consume products that have a fancy packaging. When deciding on the graphic design of a marketing piece, print or web, do we all consider if the design is truly functional or just decorative? Probably not.

More than often, I would see  billboards or a banner ads that are visually stunning, but not understand the message and/or who is conveying the message. That is because the graphic design for the piece only serves a decorative function… it only makes the ad look pretty. In addition to visual enhancement, functional graphic design also tells a story and reinforces the brand semiotics.

It is extremely important that the graphic appearance of any marketing collateral we distribute is professional looking and visually stunning enough to capture attention. You can’t tell someone a story if they are not paying attention. As marketers, it is important to have control over anything that communicates to customers and prospects. If you happen to design your own work, please let others critique it… if there is any doubt, consult with or hire a professional designer. If you are a hands on type of marketer, you can also sharpen your design skills (check out these sources provided by Seth Godin).

Now that you have a graphically stunning piece, does it convey the intended message? Conveying a message is basically telling a story… the story of why someone needs your product or service. There are two parts to visually communicating a story successfully: connection and control. People tend to only like stories they can connect to. Pay attention to the use of imagery, color and text. Does all three element appeal to your target audience? To consistently tell the same story to everyone in your target audience, you must be able to control their vision. Is there a focal point the viewer starts at? Is the piece meant to read from right to left or top to bottom?

image source: http://frazer.rice.edu

For example, viewers will first notice the nude girl with yellow tape around her (focal point) and then move their eyes across the page to read the text. 

The third and most challenging part is reinforcing brand semiotics. Does the overall design of all your marketing collateral build upon and reemphasize what your brand stands for? Do specific elements within the piece also remind your audience of your brand image? Would your audience know the ad is produced by your company before seeing the logo? The point is, what we communicate and promote to the public directly reflects the brand image. Coke and Nike do a fantastic job reminding the public about their brand image with their TV ads. You can always tell if an ad is produced by these two brands before their names are revealed at the end. Brand semiotics is a broad and complicated topic that cannot be covered in one blog post, so I am not going into any details.

Before you make the final decisions on the design of your next marketing communication piece, just ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is there anything that can be done to improve the visual appearance of the piece?
2. Does it tell a story that appeals to the target audience?
3. Is the overall design consistent with the intended brand image?

For more insights on graphic design from marketing, check out these links:
Brand New Blog
Bad & Good Graphic Design
Clever and Creative Shopping Bags
Seth’s blog post on graphic designÂ
How Graphic Design Plays a Vital Role in Marketing
More Kick A$$ Marketing Promotions Part 1 

Will V.