Discover what the benefits of graphic design for businesses are and how a professional graphic designer can help your brand cut through the noise in today’s digital world.
Graphic design is integral to providing a brand with a consistent visual identity, from portraying a message to creating meaning.
Surprisingly, the origins of graphic design can be traced back to 15,000 BC, when visual communications were first used.
Fast forward thousands of years, and these simple symbols and pictographs have evolved into stunning visual aids to support the marketing mix.
Today, the graphic design market is worth a staggering £15 billion, with brands from all over the world using this skilled art to differentiate their product, service or message on a variety of platforms.
But is it right for your business? And is hiring a graphic designer needed? In this blog, we help you answer these questions by covering the following points:
• What is graphic design?
• The benefits of graphic design for businesses
• Why do you need a graphic designer?
• The importance of graphic design in marketing
• Is a graphic designer needed in your business?
What is graphic design?
Graphic design is a craft, art, or profession which helps you communicate messages through visual images or typography. For example, logos, pictures, icons, text, infographics and designs. Graphic design is often entitled as a form of art with a “purpose” or “attitude”.
The main objective of graphic design is to communicate messages, meanings, or ideas visually. Several industries directly involve graphic design, particularly within marketing, publishing, and web design.
Graphic design involves a variety of roles, from print and web design to animation and logos. It was once defined by print media, such as magazines, billboards, and posters. But since the dawn of the digital world, graphic design is now more concerned with websites, animations, and mobile apps.
These advancements in technology have given rise to more opportunities for graphic designers.
There are several different elements to graphic design, which include:
· Colour · Texture · Shape · Size · Space · Form · Line
There are also principles of design a professional graphic designer must consider, such as balance, movement, proportion, contrast, emphasis, white space, repetition, and alignment.
Now you know the what, it’s time to talk about the why.
The benefits of graphic design for businesses
Hiring a professional graphic designer has multiple benefits for businesses. Keeping up with the latest design is important.
Graphic design is constantly evolving. To ensure your brand remains relevant in today’s swipe-crazy era, you need to think about hiring a graphic designer. Research suggests that 73% of businesses invest in design as a way of competing with the competition. So, if you’re not doing it, your competitor probably is.
Are you willing to take the risk?
To further solidify the benefits of graphic design for businesses, here are some key points for your consideration:
Brand identity
To build loyalty and trust, a brand must create a strong, unique, and consistent identity. Graphic design is integral to this process.
Oberlo reports a brand’s revenue can increase by 33% if it maintains consistency. You see, being consistent and displaying a positive brand identity can help improve the culture of a company. In exchange, this type of culture can reward a company with increased employee productivity and pride in the business.
Better visuals, better engagement
The better the visuals, the better engagement you'll generate. A graphic designer can provide impressive imagery and content to increase a brand’s online presence, whether through social media followers or website views.
SocialMediaToday discovered that content with relevant imagery generates 94% more views than content without relevant images.
Quick communication
With the abundance of digital messaging across various devices, our lifestyles have become awash with information. So much so, our attention span is more limited than ever. Brands now realise they only have a matter of seconds to capture the attention of their consumer.
InkBot Design states that it takes only 0.2 seconds for a consumer to form an opinion about a brand based on their website. I know, right?
Graphicdesign can convey a message faster and bring some compelling content to life.
Why do you need a graphic designer?
Recognising the many benefits of graphic design for businesses is one thing. But doing it well is another challenge altogether. A quality graphic designer will not only save you time and money, but they’ll also give your brand a visual purpose.
Trying to save money doing the graphic design yourself with free tools like Canva won’t give you the bespoke elements you need to stand out from the crowd. You’ll only damage your reputation and cheapen your brand. Remember, as Paul Rand once said, “Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.”
The importance of graphic design in marketing
An important aspect of marketing is to generate leads and create conversions. Graphic design now plays a big part in the user experience (UX). Exceptional graphic design in marketing has the power to create emotions, tell stories and convert customers.
Here’s how:
Web design
A leading graphic designer will use their graphic design expertise to elevate your website. Whether it’s via smart explainer icons or eye-catching typography, graphic design is the key to adding flair to your website design.
As a digital shopfront, web design is vital for the customer experience and making positive first impressions. UX requires easy navigation and quick loading times. A web design also needs to be smartphone friendly to ensure customers stay engaged. A top graphic designer will help you tick all the right boxes.
Social media
With over half of the world’s population now on social media, communication is usually image-based. Buzzsumo claims that social media posts with images receive 2.3 times more engagement than stand-alone text!
The demand for engaging imagery, graphics, and animations on social media has become part and parcel of the phenomenon. The right graphic design on social platforms will connect users with brands, generating brand awareness and recognition.
Email marketing
The improvements in technology have also resulted in increased rates of customer engagement through email marketing. Graphic design has helped emails become much more interactive and interesting.
Emails can now generate more leads with conversions, and it has the graphic design to thank for its success. With the help of personalisation, master templates can even be adapted to specific designs suiting individual targeted customers. Clever, huh?
Is a graphic designer needed in your business?
The simple answer is yes. Now you know the importance of graphic design in marketing, it’s time to invest in quality.
For a brand, the significance of having a professional design coupled with graphics at the ready for social media and email marketing campaigns is hugely valuable.
You’ll save money, generate leads, create brand consistency and cut through the noise in a highly competitive digital world.
If you require some expertise in graphic design, get in touch with Design in the Shires. We specialise in everything from website and brochure design to brand logos and social media graphics.
We pride ourselves on providing our clients with professional, captivating and creative graphic design services. We’re here to help your business stand out.
