The Importance of Graphic Design to Your Business
Graphic design is more than just a merger of cool shapes, stylish fonts and pretty colours; it's a crucial part of any business. Whether you're a hip and modern marketing agency, a traditional and esteemed legal firm or a down-to-earth, family-run cleaning service, design is an indispensable tool in your company's locker.Design plays a huge role in the success of your business. Great design has the power to capture peoples attention, draw them in and potentially convert them into a customer. On the other hand, poor design can just as easily turn people off, drive them away and cost you a sale. By investing in graphic design, you encourage people to invest in your business.Graphic design isn't limited to your marketing and promotional efforts, though. It encompasses every aspect of your business operations, from how your storefront or website functions and how customers purchase your product or use your service, all the way down to your content, communications and customer support. Design helps to establish your brand identity, enhance your product or service, expand your audience, and boost your bottom line.Heres why graphic design is so important for any business.
First impressions count
It's trite, but true. The jury is out on exactly how long it takes to form a first impression -- some experts suggest it takes 30 seconds while a study from the prestigious Princeton University found that it takes just one-tenth of a second! -- but one thing's for sure: you don't have a whole lot of time before someone forms an opinion of your business.This tiny window of time has a huge impact on what people think of your company. In a matter of seconds, your logo or website can encourage people to engage with your brand, learn more about your product or service and potentially convert… or it can completely deter them from ever interacting with your business! A recent study found that 94% of consumers' first impression about a website is design-related, so it's crucial that your visual identity is up to scratch.Treat graphic design like you were getting ready for a first date. You wouldn't show up looking sloppy and scruffy, would you? By putting your best foot forward, you improve your chances of success.
It grabs peoples' attention and makes you stand out from the competition
This one's obvious, but no less important. Graphic design is one of the most powerful ways of grabbing peoples' attention and making you stand out from your competition. Whether it's your logo, your website or a brochure, being bold, creative and thinking outside of the box can help to pique peoples' curiosity and set your brand apart, especially in a saturated market.This is important for start-up businesses looking to build their customer base, as well as established companies seeking to expand their market share. The added bonus of great design is that it can raise peoples' opinion of your product or service before they've even seen or sampled it. A high-quality logo suggests a high-quality business.
It captures your brand message
Graphic design is an incredibly efficient form of storytelling -- a picture paints a thousand words, as they say. Through design, you can convey your brand's message, values, history, philosophy and personality in a much more effective and succinct way than forcing them to read thousands of words (although there's nothing wrong with great content!)Think of McDonald's famous golden arches or Twitter's tweety bird (which is apparently called Larry the Bird, named after the former NBA player Larry Bird!). By capturing your brand's identity through design, you can appeal to your desired demographic's senses and sensibilities, and attract the right people.
It can influence peoples' behaviour
Graphic design is about more than just looking good; it can directly influence peoples' behaviour. There's been a lot of research into how different colours trigger certain psychological and emotional responses in people -- for example, red tends to evoke feelings of passion or urgency, blue is associated with calmness or trustworthiness, while green is synonymous with nature and the environment.A recent consumer study found that 92.6% of consumers say that colour dimension is the key factor affecting their purchase decision. Therefore, something as simple as the colour(s) of your logo can tap into the human psyche and turn casual observers into loyal customers.
It improves the user experience and customer engagement
These days, many businesses create their own content, whether it's blog posts, social media videos, email newsletters or brochures. Graphic design is a great way to level up your content.By incorporating things like infographics, charts and pull-out quotes, you can make the content more engaging and user-friendly while leaving a deeper impression on your audience's mind. One study found that after three days, a user retained only 10-20% percent of written or spoken information, but almost 65% percent of visual information.By providing your audience with content that's both valuable and visually stunning, you're able to strengthen customer loyalty while impressing new/potential customers.
It's especially important in today's digital age
Graphic design is perhaps more crucial than ever in today's digital age. Competition in the digital space is intense. On social media, people are flooded with a constant stream of content, conversations and controversy (and the occasional meme). Graphic design can help you to cut through this noise. Did you know that tweets with visual assets generate 150% more retweets, while Facebook posts with images get 230% more engagement?These days, people are most likely discovering your business online, whether that's through a search engine, social media, an ad banner or your website directly, so it's important that your virtual storefront is sleek, enticing and easy to navigate.At Design Cloud, we understand the importance of graphic design to modern-day businesses. With our unlimited subscription service, you get professional designs in 1-2 business days for a low monthly fee -- with as many requests and revisions as you need included in the price.By taking care of your smaller, day-to-day design tasks, we can help you to supercharge your output, free up your design team and meet your graphic design demands in a quick, convenient and cost-effective fashion.Book your Design Cloud demo here, or get in touch with us at hello@mainroommedia.com.