mirage design

In a society that worships consumerism as its king we are constantly bombarded by information. So immersed are we in this information swamp, that we stop seeing it around us, not even noticing the thousands of images that we see on a daily basis. Television, the internet, magazines, newspapers, signage, packaging and billboards all compete for our attention and if they don't get it instantly we just move on to the next one. As someone trying to let people know about your services or products, how do you stand out from the crowd? With so much to choose from, how do you get anyone to stop and look at your ad, read your brochure, click through your website? The answer is to get some good advice from a designer. They have a professional contribution to make to your business with valuable advice that will ultimately save you time and money.

So how does good design really help you? After all, you can always whip something up on the computer yourself (or get your next door neighbour's cousin to do it). Why pay a designer? Because good design is about visual communication. And as with any form of communication, you need to know the language.

A good designer understands how to communicate your message to the people you want to hear. They do it by understanding how people interpret the thousands of images they see each day. How they use associations to file the information in their brains, including how they relate to colour, how they read and what they assume when they look at a graphic or font style.

Case Study

Let's consider a hypothetical example. You're renovating your home and you need a plumber to come and install some fittings. You're thinking of a complete renovation of all wet areas (bathroom, kitchen, laundry and toilet) so you are looking at spending a sizable investment. A builder you know has passed on a couple of business cards of plumbers he recommends...

What does the first card tell you about your potential future contractor? See image to the right.

Certainly it's loud enough to attract our attention, but would you trust this company to build you a sleek, modern bathroom with a price tag of over $20,000? Probably not.

Whilst this card contains all of the vital pieces of information you need, its not very easy on the eye. The script-style font suggests a dance school rather than a solid tradesperson and the contact's name is lost in the company name. The graphic directs the reader's eye right off the page and the colours flare and seem to vibrate against each other, making it difficult to read. It makes the company look cheap and amateurish. Definitely not what you were looking for in trustworthy tradespeople. So you discard it (almost instantly) an go on to the next card. See image below.

This one feels better. You'd feel confident that this company would do a good job and won't go under between now and the bath installation. All the information is essentially the same, so what is it that makes such a difference to our perception of this company? Both cards have been designed to be printed in full colour, so it didn't cost any more to have this one printed. The only difference is the design.

This is by no means a high cost design job - just the very basics. There's been no logo design included and there has been no text treatment. Notice that the most important information is easy to find and easy to read.

The name has some white space (or in this case blue space) around it, making it stand out more and the phone number is a different colour, so its easy to pick out from the address details. The graphic suggests high quality and the colours are comfortable to read in a reassuring blue (with a hint of aquamarine to reinforce the theme).

Tailor-made design

Good design is about conveying a consistent image at a glance. The copy, the graphics, the paper and the colours should all work together to produce a cohesive message. And make sure you have that message right. The most important part of the design should happen before a mouse is moved or a pen put to paper. Design should consider where your business shines, how it is placed in the general industry, who your current clients are and what your competitors are doing. It should speak exclusively to your target market and should be as individual as you are.

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© mirage design. By Jane Long of mirage design. Please visit www.miragedesign.com.au for additional articles and resources on marketing and design for small business.

Labels: graphic design, marketing