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Design Dos & Don'ts and One Major Mishap

 Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Graphic design can have a powerful and exponential impact on how people experience your brand. Whether you want to grow your business or enhance your brand, it's essential that your design stands out and speaks to your audience.

Some graphic design elements are so bad, there’s been comedy skits about their use. Some may think this only applies to low budget businesses but it actually happens to businesses of all sizes. Read on to learn about the big design mishap that was approved by a big budget business.

Aesthetic appeal impacts people and plays with human psychology, so your imagery should have a meaning before creating graphic design elements. If what's created for your brand stands out, it automatically grabs the audience's attention – which is what we all want for our business!

However, creating a unique and captivating design requires knowledge, not just fixing a few things here and there. The following guidelines will help you plan winning graphic materials to communicate with your audience and emerge as a professional business. Take a look and learn how to identify the dos and don’ts of graphic design.

8 Dos and Don’ts of Graphic Design

The purpose of graphic design is to communicate effectively with the audience. It should always be both welcoming and informative but also professional! Many things can go wrong when designing for this dual role.

Here is our list of dos and don'ts to have consistent and on-point graphics for your business:

1. Check the Alignment

Yes! As simple as it sounds, alignment is everything when creating a design. Failure to ensure cohesion in your work makes a mess. The viewer might not follow through with the message written when the structure is confusing.

2. Add Images

A stunning design should have an image, and this does not mean you overload it with them- one clean shot with an impressive background should be enough.

Images should either be unique, licensed and or copyright-free. Even if they are royalty-free, avoid getting images with copy and paste off of the internet, as resolution settings typically are not high enough for items such as print.

3. Don’t Mess Up Your Color Scheme

As per a study, colors add a terrific aesthetic to your logo and web design, so be careful when choosing them. The colors you select speak volumes about your brand; therefore, check their meaning before embedding them in the design. Take your time and ensure the color palettes are a good combo.

Selecting suitable colors may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, Pinterest makes your work easier. Search for various color schemes and choose the one you like. You can also check the color schemes of Fortune 500 and other top-performers in your industry to make an informed decision.

4. Be Illustrative

Make your brand logo self-explanatory. This means using a design that viewers and readers can easily interpret, so they know what you're trying to convey in just one glance.

Remember, people do not like lengthy blocks of text. It's a wake-up call for you to present the graphics in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

5. Don’t Use Generic Fonts

Many font options exist, so do not just tie yourself to the generic fonts. For your design to be catchy, use distinctive fonts from other brands.

No matter your project type, there is a font that will resonate well with it. However, do not use two different fonts in the same design – it aggravates people’s eyes.

As mentioned above, big budget business make big design mistakes too. A great example of this is the Papyrus font. It’s a standard font that has been used on way too many low budget designs. Papyrus font being used is such a joke in the industry, Saturday Night Live even did a skit on it. You can see more here!

6. Pay Attention to Space

How much space is between your letters? If there’s too much, your work won't be readable, and the viewer might end up misinterpreting the message.

Similarly, it will be hard to comprehend your work when the words are so close. Also, check if the borders around a text are equally spaced.

7. Don’t Make Any Content Errors

Go through your website copy thoroughly. This may seem obvious, but you are bound to make slight errors. Ask someone else to review your content.

Errors in graphics are common and can be easily overlooked by business owners or their design team. Start reading the menu at the next restaurant you go to and you’re bound to see examples of this.

Must Read: 5 Tricks to Catchy Headlines! We Promise You’ll Like it!

8. Be Consistent

If you have a brand and want it to stick in people's minds, then make sure the designs are harmonious. Do not stray from the initial concept; follow the usual style guides and formats for any new looks you want to create. Otherwise, you may confuse your audience.

If you’d like to fresh’n up your marketing and or branding, talk to Walibu about ways to help build a stronger brand and enhanced marketing. Contact us here to get started.

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