As a design professional, clients sometimes ask, “How can I break through the clutter?” When we are bombarded by myriad messages and images on mobile, broadcast and print each day, how can you stand out?
Using design is one answer.
Now, the other question is, how do you best use design in your marketing materials and campaigns? In this article, you’re going to be introduced to best practices of design in marketing.
Identify your objectives
First, you should ask yourself some questions: What are you trying to say? Who is your audience? What do you want to happen? The answers can help you develop a strategy.
Establish your brand identity
Understanding your goals will help you establish a foundation for your brand. Starting from scratch, think about the look and feel or the image you are trying to project. Then consistently incorporate elements people can recognize, including but not limited to:
- Your corporate identity or logo – For some people, it could be a type treatment; for others it will be an icon or symbol that employs colors that represent your brand or company.
- Fonts – Typography is a subtle messenger. The fonts you choose reflect your company’s personality and position in the marketplace. Whether sophisticated, modern, classic or edgy — different fonts resonate with different audiences. Whichever direction you choose, be mindful to make your message easy to read.
- Color palette – Your colors can immediately identify who you are. Choosing colors that complement or expand upon your corporate (logo) colors will allow design flexibility while controlling the way your image is projected.
- Guidelines for imagery — Determine rules for using your distinctive palette of components to reinforce the way you present yourself. This could include how you use photos, illustrations or typographic treatments.
By creating a visual palette that includes the logo, fonts, colors and images, your marketing messages develop a recognizable personality. Work to reinforce your look and feel across all channels so you can build equity and recognition in your brand’s presence.
Reinforce a consistent aesthetic
A specific color can act as a beacon for your brand. Although a marketing effort can encompass different types of messages, the format—including type treatments for headlines, text and images—should work within a flexible framework that can accommodate variations that could take place.
Keep it simple
If you are creating a communications piece — whether digital or physical — resist the temptation to cram too much information into whatever space you have. Instead, try focusing on one idea or product and think about the simplest way to get your point across. By eliminating clutter, your marketing messages will be clean, accessible and easily understood.
Hire professionals
I feel it is a mistake when clients try to do everything themselves. There are some individuals who are actually capable of defining strategy, developing the creative concepts and content, and executing everything well. But just as you would not want to represent yourself in court, you should also consider the efficacy of hiring professional talent.
- Everyone has a computer, but owning PowerPoint or Word is not a good reason to create your own marketing communications.
- Everyone has a digital camera, but that doesn’t mean you should shoot your own photos or videos.
- Everyone can write a sentence, but it doesn’t mean you should write your own marketing materials.
Professionals know how to combine text, images and colors in an aesthetically pleasing way. They understand the importance of using consistency to build equity in your brand recognition.
Draw upon the experience and wisdom of your designer (or creative team) to help you make the right decisions to accomplish your goals. By seeking the help of professionals who are facile with the tools of the trade, you can position yourself in the marketplace and increase your chance of breaking through the clutter.
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Good points. Sometimes it seems like a lot of communicators don’t know the basics.
Thanks for the feedback here. Some of this information might already be known to some of the readers…but I wanted to provide an overview “just in case!”
Terri, this sentence stood out for me: “By eliminating clutter, your marketing messages will be clean, accessible and easily understood.” Less is really more in marketing.
Dear Carol,
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment.
No matter how many times people hear the phrase, “less is more,” I think the inclination is to throw in everything but the kitchen sink.
Taking a lesson from companies like Apple, it’s easy to see how a clean look and feel can be inviting and effective.
So nice to see you here on the SMedio site! Thank you again!
Cheers/Terri
Another great article that completely hits the mark. Many points well made.
Hey, Ray!
Wow, thank you so much for reading, and for posting a comment.
The actual creation of a company’s branding can be an incredibly long process, but the article touches on some of the more important considerations and will hopefully provide a starting point!
I really appreciate having you stop by, Ray. Many thanks again.
Cheers/Terri
Establishing a brand identity is something I’ve been trying to figure out over the last few weeks. This article definitely puts me on the right path.
Hi, Troy!
Thanks for reading and for your feedback here!
There is something about old sayings like Keep It Simple (or KISS) that ring true.
An overly complicated logo can be the first bad thing a company puts “out there,” along with an overly complex or abstract company name.
Good luck with your project, and thanks again for the comment, T!
Cheers/Terri
Concise (following the rule to keep it simple!) and entertaining, full of helpful info. Thanks for the advice to go to the professionals rather than take a do-it-yourself approach!
Dear Melissa,
Thank you very much for taking the time to read and comment here!
I think there is a perception that it’s expensive to hire a professional team, but it’s possible to obtain assistance even with a limited budget. I also believe the outcome of working with pros will yield more positive results than muddling through the process on a DIY basis.
Many thanks again for the feedback!
Cheers/Terri
The key takeaway for me here is about keeping the aesthetic consistent especially across multiple mediums such as websites, business cards, brochures. We’ve just been through a re-branding exercise in our company and it was surprising to see how much of a disconnect had crept into our marketing materials over the last few years. Great post Terri.
Hi, Greg and thanks for reading and commenting.
You’re correct about the importance of a consistent look and feel. It amazes me to see a companies invest money to buy marketing space/time, only to come off as schizophrenic.
How is a customer supposed to recognize your messages when they are visually
all over the map?
A unified identity requires adherence to defined conventions. The result is a recognizable brand and conveyance of a personality that resonates with your customers.
Best of luck with your rebranding efforts!
Cheers/Terri
This is an excellent recap of the importance of maintaining brand standards throughout. Everything – billboards, marketing pieces, YouTube videos, magazine ads, product packaging, promotional tchotchkes, tweets, Google ads (and the list goes on and on) – must adhere to brand standards. You talk about the importance of simple, clean and uncluttered. That less is more. My experience supports you insights over and over again. I tend to do things a bit out of bounds. Your advice provides a good reminder that the bounds established by the brand standards are sacrosanct and it is far better to leave design to professionals who are able to work outside the box and within the constraints of the brand. Your post is succinct, clean and engaging. Thanks Terri.
Dear Meg,
Thank you for adding to my post by including specific examples. Working outside the box can be done successfully if the creative team has an inherent understanding of the brand, what it represents and the take away that needs to prevail. Deviating from branding guidelines can work when there is sufficient saturation. Through repetition, any confusion about the focus of a communications message can be mitigated.
I appreciate your contribution here, and thank you for taking the time to read and comment!
Best regards,
Terri
Thanks Terri Nakamura for the post. Wonderful points most people wrote in this article… Great items… I think you have made some genuinely interesting elements.
Kinex, thank you for reading and commenting. This post approaches the question in a general way. There will always be cases where the rules might not quite fit!
Best regards,
Terri
Thanks Terri for this post. Concise and enlightening for anyone involved in marketing and communications.
Dear Ale,
Your opinion is important to me, so I really appreciate that you took the time to read and comment.
Thank you so much for your feedback! I look forward to connecting soon!
Warm regards,
Terri
“Everyone has a computer, but owning PowerPoint or Word is not a good reason to create your own marketing communications.”
Best quote.