Graphic Design for Business – Best Ideas and Helpful Tips

As an entrepreneur, you may have a thousand concerns related to your business operations. And in this whirlwind of daily activities, the need for professionally devised graphic design for business might not seem crucial. However, today we are going to talk about how the quality of the graphics can be an integral part of the process of establishing and maintaining a successful business.

You must have heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, in the case of business good graphic design business ideas can be worth a thousand dollars. Graphic design is much more than simply aesthetics. It is the medium through which you communicate to your audience. Businesses that use professionally designed graphics in every stage of the marketing funnel are much successful as compared to those who don’t.

Graphic Design for Business – the Basics

In 2005, a study was carried out by The Design Council in which they studied over 63 portfolios of Financial Times-Stock Exchange companies. The result was that those who put an emphasis on graphic design for small business fared much better than those who didn’t. In fact, they beat the FTSE 100 index by 200%. If we talk in a more layman-friendly term, then every £100 a design alert business spends on professionally designed graphics increases turnover by £225. So, investing in design is almost like making way for future profits. It may seem a bit heavy on the pocket to hire an expert graphic designer, but a few months down the track, you’ll be glad you did so.

Observe the graph below to see how much better design-conscious companies performed as compared to their counterparts.

Let’s move forward and take a look at 10 reasons why graphic design is important for any business to increase brand reach and profit turnover.

1. Make Strong First Impressions

Thanks to the increasing competition in the online world, customers hardly take about 50 milliseconds to form a first impression of your website. In 0.05 seconds, a visitor will decide whether he or she likes your website or not.  Hence, it is vital to understand the importance of visual design to attract the right customer.

If you want your business to make a positive and lasting impression, then it is time to start working on your graphic design for business. Start with professional logo design, the sales page on your website, online ads, business card, social media posts or even product packaging.

Any new customer is most likely to do quick research your brand online before they make a purchase. Your online presence should reflect your brand story. Are you using bright colors with whimsical fonts or a neutral color palette with sleek fonts? All these elements reflect your brand’s story, which brings us to our next point.

Tip: Take a look at all popular websites of your business niche and observe their landing pages to see how they create magic.

2. Tell a Story

You can’t expect a customer to get a feel for what the business does only by looking at the name. The graphics of a nursery should be totally different than that of a law firm. Carefully crafted graphic design template evokes the right brand image in customers’ mind.

Consider the example of a Beecher’s, a small cheese company rooted in Seattle. Their logo and packaging design evoke the artisanal nature of the company, by bringing in historical imagery and a traditional color scheme.

3. Gain Consumer’s Trust

Today, the first encounter you’ll have with your customer will most probably not be through a brick and mortar store, but via the company’s website. This, plus the fact that many businesses are 100% online means that your website should create a lasting first impression to gain a consumer’s trust.

According to a study, a poorly designed website are abandoned after a short visit. Low-quality graphic design for business and user interface are often associated with rapid rejection and mistrust from the visitor’s end.

See this eye-opening comparison between these two online retail websites. One is clean and pays attention to design, while the other is haphazardly put together. No matter how great your content is, poor website design will bring it all crashing down.

The key to designing a professional looking website is to pay attention to layouts, user-friendly navigation aid, interesting banners, catchy photography, font size, quick loading flash introductions, etc.

4. Create a Memorable Brand

If you want people to remember your brand as unique and exciting, then don’t hesitate to invest in good graphic design for business. Brand design goes much deeper than the outward appearance of your product. It is almost like discovering all the small parts of a person’s personality when you get to know them better.

Memorable brands are created by a strong brand strategy which focuses on all the small details such as the logo colors, font choice, and other visual cues. In fact, research supports the fact that certain colors can help in improved memory performance. By using these colors in your brand identity, you can increase the chances of creating a long-lasting and memorable brand image.

Take a look at Leather Skin Shop, a website that sells jackets online. By using a clean interface earthy tones, they depict the feeling of leather through design.

5. Explain Difficult Concepts Easily with Graphic Design for Business

For businesses that deal with a lot of unique concepts, numbers and other sorts of data, it can be tricky to put forth their message in words. This is when good graphic design business ideas come to your rescue and help visitors visualize information rather than reading a long bunch of words which barely make sense.

According to a study, 65% of people are visual learners and are able to understand concepts much more quickly when information is presented in a visual form. Not only is good graphic design for business helpful in explaining your idea to the customers, but can also look very professional. Visual aids that are well-designed can bring a big boost of professionalism to your business meetings and website.

Hubspot reports that cleverly designed infographics are three times more likely to be shared on social media than any other type of content.

6. Makes Your Brand Stand out From the Crowd

Let’s face it. No one will buy from your brand if it looks boring and just like the rest. It is natural to feel drawn towards a product that looks nicer and is more aesthetically pleasing than the rest.

So, if you are offering a common product or service, a great way to attract more customers is to set yourself apart with the help of sleek graphic design for business. Consider this example of Blk Water. As the name suggests, this company came up with the unique idea of selling bottled water that was black in color. The color supposedly comes from added nutrients and minerals. But this was the factor that set them apart from the rest. Take a look at their creative water bottle packaging.

7. Helps Generate Consistency

Another way to gain credibility in your industry is to provide consistency in your brand image. It may seem like a simple and easily applicable rule, but it is only possible if you have a strong design base, to begin with. Consistent content creation will help you build a dedicated fan following who trust and believe in your message.

A brand that is inconsistent is easily forgettable. Think about “Coca-Cola” and  “Nike.” Does your mind create a visual image or sound based on these brands? That’s the secret behind a successful brand.

Read this blog about the marketing and design evolution of Coca-Cola and how it has managed to become a cultural icon.

8. Target the Right Audience

Any new business works hard on establishing their target audience. It can be easy to develop a well-rounded target market on paper, but it can be tricky to apply it in real life. This is when the graphic design for business can help you save the day.

Once you know the demographics, likes, and dislikes of your audience, you can create a better brand image to suit their requirements and needs. The design is a universal language, and it makes the process of attracting the right audience so much easier!

9. Promotes Social Media Sharing

You can’t underestimate the power of social media in this age. It is a huge part of maintaining and promoting your brand image. Well-designed and powerful graphic design for small business that provides useful content is more likely to be shared on a social media platform. Whether it is a thought invoking quote, a photograph which captures the attention of your customer or a blog header image all these things can go viral if they have a thought process behind them.

Content sharing is the new big thing, and multi-million dollar websites like Pinterest are dedicated to it. Try to create content that strikes the right balance between information and visual aesthetics and who knows, you might rank number one in search results!

A survey by Bufferapp clearly indicates that tweets with images receive 18% more clicks as compared to those without any.

10. Alter Your Brand’s Perception

Ever noticed how a chef puts tons of efforts into the presentation? There is no doubt about the fact the “you eat with your eyes.” All five senses are used when it comes to eating food and marketers rely on the same formula when marketing food on the shelves of supermarkets.

Package design plays an important role in how people perceive your brand. Marketers all over the world are pushing limits when it comes to standing out from the competition with graphic design business ideas.

Take a look at this bold marketing stunt done by KFC to support the Aussie cricket team. Every logo, billboard, storefront, and packaging was changed to green and gold instead of the usual red and white which otherwise represented the English team their competition.

This courageous step which KFC took in favor of Australian pride resonated well with the crowd and made headlines. Needless to say, all 333,000 buckets sold out, and sales were increased by 178%!

Graphic Design for Business – Final Words

If you want to create a brand that evolves with time and proves to be timeless even after decades, then start taking graphic design for business seriously from the beginning. Instead of going through a complete design overhaul after many failed DIY attempts, paying for a good design once is a better option. It might seem a little expensive at first, but it saves you money in the long run. After all, it will be much less expensive than paying for subpar designs multiple times.

Consider the tech giant Google, in this case. All of us are familiar with the iconic Google logo. The homepage was relatively similar when it was first launched in 1998. But a few tweaks more here and there and the Google logo is still very recognizable to the one we see today. Take a look at this-this quick video which shows the changes in Google’s logo and homepage made over the period of time.

So, don’t think that you won’t be making any changes in current design after getting it done from a professional graphic designer. It’s not set in stone but there will be minimal changes and the key to creating a timeless brand is to embrace change rather than fighting it.

If you are a small business owner, then start focusing on the value of great design. Not only will it set you apart from the rest of your competitors, but will also support professionalism and brand authenticity in the long run. Let us remind you again, don’t be stingy when it comes to spending money on a talented graphic designer. As David Ogilvy says, “Pay people peanuts, and you get monkeys.”

Have you invested in creating professional looking graphic design for small business? Did you see a change in your conversion rate or website visits after doing so? Let us know in the comments below