Good Design, Good Business
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.
