Good design plays an important role in the success of your business. Your visual content – whether a logo, a website, a product label or a social media ad – often influences the first impression new customers have of your company.
Well-designed materials create a cohesive brand identity and reflect your professionalism, expertise and trustworthiness. Poorly designed materials do the opposite and can actually harm your brand’s hard-earned reputation.
Not sure what makes a design good or bad? Start with these five simple tips, and learn how to make small changes to improve your company’s graphic design.
1. Embrace White Space.
White space – or negative space – is the area left blank around, between or within design elements. It’s easy on the eyes, giving your audience a visual break as they take in your message.
When a design is packed with too many images or words, viewers feel overwhelmed. They have difficulty
processing all of the information at once, becoming distracted or strained. Think of how you feel when you try to read a document full of dense copy or tons of charts and graphs. White space is a relief from this visual noise and stress.
2. Simplify Your Fonts.
Less is more when it comes to fonts. If you incorporate multiple different fonts into one design, the end result will be cluttered and disjointed.
A good rule of thumb is to select fonts from within the same typeface (a.k.a. type family), not using more than two typefaces in one design. For example, you might choose the Avenir typeface for all of the copy in a design, using a few distinct fonts (like Avenir Bold, Standard and Oblique) from that one family to create a consistent aesthetic.
3. Find the Right Color Palette.
Don’t underestimate the power of color in graphic design. Color brings emotional significance to your content, influencing your audience’s mood and perception. You respond very differently when you see the colors bright red, powder blue or jet black in a design, for instance.
The colors you use also have practical implications, affecting factors like readability and brand recognition. Opt for a color palette that uses contrast to highlight important elements of your design and communicate your message effectively.
4. Build a Hierarchy.
Not every element of your design should pack the same punch. Determine what the main focal point is. What do you want to grab your audience’s attention right away? What do you want them to remember?
Apply scale or color to objects, words or other features to emphasize them and build an order and hierarchy within your design.
5. Get Aligned.
Alignment refers to how elements are organized within a design – whether centered or ordered along the edge of a canvas (on the left, right, top or bottom).
Be intentional about how you align the components within a design. Proper alignment gives content a professional, polished look, emphasizing balance,
structure and clarity. An intentional break in alignment is also a way to add surprise or contrast to a design. Do you need help creating professional, eye-catching graphic designs? Get in touch with Hollystic Marketing for your design needs.