Tips for good design

Businesses need a recognizable image that usually includes a logo, stationery, a brochure, and a web site. Whether you go with a professional or a friend of a friend, be careful – it’s your company’s future at stake here.

As the person in charge, you may need to talk to several people before you “click” with one. Worry less about price and more about whether they embrace your vision. The design industry is full of companies that will sell you more than you need and sometimes you have to work in more affordable stages.

We all know that good design looks easy, but not everyone who understands a computer program can design a logo, ad, or brochure. Effective design is so much more than simply understanding a program, and a talented designer brings more to the table than technical know-how.

Here are some of the things to be aware of:

1)  A logo needs to be memorable. Unique is great, but if it doesn’t leave a lasting impression, it is a failure. And consider its size; if you only envisioned your logo in one size, and then decided to put it on a give-away pen, the logo might not work in a smaller size. A talented designer considers all the possibilities.

                                                                                              

 2)  A brochure needs to represent who you are.  The brochure you have now may say exactly what you wanted, but the crop marks showed when it was printed, the pages fold in the middle of words, and there are too many type sizes and colors, making it confusing. Eye movement through an ad or brochure is paramount to its success. If your eye is drawn to what’s important, your sales increase.

3)  Everything visual is a reflection of your company and is critical to your image. An out-of-focus logo, slapped partially over a bad picture of your product, won’t produce positive sales – only negative reactions.

                                                                                                                              

4)  Photo placement requires proper care.  Stretched or squeezed photos make objects or people look weirdly fat or skinny. Photos not properly attached to the file look good on the computer screen but are blurry when printed. Correcting a photo’s color is also important. People in photos who are red-faced come across as either angry or overheated, while people with yellow faces look sick. These are things your customers don’t consciously think about; they just turn off and move on – it is subconsciously unappealing. These are eyesores to a professional designer and are fixed or eliminated, all without changing the substance of the photo.

These are just a few of the things that a design professional considers before starting a project and are examples of what we effectively redesign. Don’t risk your company’s success by using inexperienced people. Consider how your time is best spent – hours creating a good image or minutes approving one.