You know those out-dated, chaotic, mish-mashed websites? The ones you squint and cringe at, then instead of reading more about the business – you’re outta there!
Or what about those logos that look like they were made in…errr…Microsoft paint? It doesn’t really shout great service or trustworthy does it now?
For new customers all the way through to your regulars, the look and feel of your website and marketing are the building blocks of your brand identity. Great design has the power to shape the way customers see and experience your service – and whether they decide to give it a try!
The team at 55 KNOTS have put together the top ways they’ve seen awesome graphic design drive customer engagement, connection and success for a business.
1. Makes the first impression count
Whether a potential customer finds you via social media, display advertising or a good old Google search, you’ve got a small window to convince them to choose you. Have they connected instantly with your strong and clear brand logo? Are you using entertaining illustrations? Is the copywriting super clear and concise?
Design isn’t just about content creation, it’s also about enabling a seamless user experience. Ever been to a website and spent ages looking for contact information then gave up? Design helps you put your most important
information upfront first so your customers easily find what they need and have a great first connection with your brand and business.
2. Builds brand consistency
People trust brands they know, they like familiarity. If your business is popping up amongst social feeds in a kaleidoscope of colours, likely, you won’t get noticed for the right reasons. You’ll be remembered by your most unfortunate colour palette. Don’t be that person.
Think about some of the world’s leading brands like CocaCola, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Apple or eBay. You can likely visualise their logos without much trouble. Why do you think that is? It’s because they’re consistent. They stick to their core brand values. They ensure all company communications and customer touchpoints align with their brand’s style. Keep your design consistent to build customer trust and loyalty.
3. Improves User Experience
Effective website design allows your new and existing customers to easily find the information they need about your business. Whether it’s finding more about your services, looking at your portfolio or just grabbing your contact information, it is essential to design your site to be intuitive, clear and concise for customers. For copy on website headers and drop-down contents be sharp, short and user friendly with language – the fewer words, the better!
A website navigation design tip that is often missed is to position your brand logo at the top left hand corner of the site which will link back to your homepage. In a similar vein, having wide, large page footers are a great, intuitive place to link to your business’ social accounts as well as your help,
FAQ and contact information. These elements all fit under the umbrella of design.
Building a new website? For more tips and tricks, read our article 6 Essential Design Hacks to Create a Website Your Customers will Love
4. Differentiates You From Your Competitors
The decisions you make around the look, feel and design of your business will help you stand out from your competitors. Is your point of difference your incredible customer service? Do you want to represent trust and stability (blue) or focus on optimism (yellow)? The colours you choose, the icons, imagery and copy all have an impact on how customers see and respond to you.
Work with a design team to build your Brand Style Guide. This document sets the visual tone, brand elements and rules that will keep your marketing materials and messaging in-line. It incorporates things like a brief outline of your company, colour palette, approved fonts (along with how to use them and where), i.e. headlines, copywriting guidelines, image styles and any other information relevant to your brand style.
5. Cuts Through On Social Media
As people spend more and more time on their smartphones and the volume of social content continues to grow, it’s essential to capture the attention of the right customers quickly! Does interactive content like a quiz cut through for your brand? Would an eBook addressing a customer pain point be the hook you need? Beautiful imagery with your logo? Video content about your services?…and the list goes on. Social content design
can’t just be attractive, it has to be designed to speak to your potential customers to either inform, entertain or inspire.
Tip: make sure you refer to your Brand Guideline when designing social content and be super clear on your unique selling points.
6. Keeps Your Focused On Your Audience
At 55 KNOTS we know that great design starts with a focus and understanding on your audience. When designing content for a brand you’ve got to get inside the minds of potential customers, appreciate the things they love and empathise with their problems. Building your brand identity and marketing collateral with the customer in mind will give your creative and online presence a whole new edge! Is your customer most concerned about price, or do they want to save time? Do they just want a brand they can trust? Designing with this information is essential to building relationships with your customers.
7. Saves You Hours
When business owners spend hours of their time trying to design content for their brand, they are losing precious time that should be spent on growing their business. You do what you do best, so you can let your graphic design team craft beautiful, engaging and compelling visuals that make a creative impact in your industry.
Our 55 Knots Graphic Design Subscription Plans are here to navigate your creative work while you captain your ship.
Need help with your website design? For affordable and consistent design your customers will love, check out the 55 KNOTS Website Packages
