Starting a business is an exciting yet demanding venture. It involves a lot of brainstorming: business names, brand image, and reputation development. There will also be a lot of legal requirements and sorting through paperwork. However, it doesn’t stop there. The aforementioned elements will build your business from the ground up, but a start-up isn’t one of those “if you build it, they will come” projects. To set yourself apart from competitors, you need an effective tool that will truly make you stand out.
That crucial tool for the development of your start-up is graphic design. Graphic design creates a lasting impression and a huge impact on your company’s marketing. It helps promote your brand through your logo, your business website, promotional materials, and the story you’re selling.
Logo and Package Design
Your brand’s logo is the face of your business. Often, it’s the first thing prospects and customers will notice about your business before they move on to your products and services. That’s why established brands spend a huge chunk of their budget when they want to edit or make changes to their logos. According to BBC, the world’s top companies spend millions of marketing dollars on their logos alone.
Therefore, it is crucial to have a logo and cohesive graphic design that embodies your brand. That way, you will be proud to consistently use it as the image that you desire for your company. Your logo creates the initial impression as you use it across multiple media to advertise your offerings. Details such as colors, fonts, and shapes are important as they ultimately convey your brand’s message, forming the perception of prospects and customers.
Additionally, the same goes for the design of your products’ packaging. Packaging design instantly creates brand recognition and communicates the quality of your merchandise. It presents both the values of your business and the benefits of the items you’re selling.
For instance, what is the personality of your brand? This can be easily conveyed through colors, textures, and fonts. Good packaging uses all of these elements to convey your brand’s story, desirability, and perceived value.
Promotional Materials
Graphic design conceptualizes and creates advertorials that help promote your brand. After all, printed materials are the backbone of any marketing effort. They’re the best way to advertise your company right in front of your customers.
One way to boost the appeal of your company’s branding is through customized promotional products, It’s a cost-effective marketing tactic that presents value to prospects. Promotional merchandise is usually novelty products or daily essentials that consumers with your brand’s messaging or company logo on them. They make for convenient, effective, and long-lasting advertisement.
For instance, do you want people to be reminded of your brand all year long? Design, print out, and give away free calendars to new customers. Many established companies design and print out stickers to give away during expos, trade shows, and events. Learn from them! These stickers either have quotes or interesting images on them that people love, with the brand’s logo at the side.
According to the print design experts from the CMYK blogging platform, well-designed flyers, brochures, and business cards also engage customers to know more about your company, products, and services. Start-ups with corporate brochures that exhibit great design benefit from these materials as they’re tangible pieces of information about your brand and what you’re selling. They also act as references your customers can go back to time and time again.
Engaging through storytelling
In a competitive and oversaturated market, customers are more likely to purchase from brands that connect with them. This is because your brand’s story adds authenticity and unique value to what you’re selling. Telling your brand’s story through graphic design is effective in appealing to the emotions of customers. Subtle yet powerful details like the colors, fonts, and lines in your brand’s design matter. These elements make your story clear and simple, or bold and striking. Specific colors also tell different stories. This is because the colors you use convey individual meanings and play a key role in the purchasing decisions of consumers.
For instance, take a look at McDonald’s. Their world-famous slogan is ‘I’m Lovin’ It.’ Yellow and red are their brand’s primary colors. Red is an effective attention grabber, and yellow evokes a feeling of happiness. These graphic design decisions help make their customers feel happy and excited about purchasing their products.
Make Graphic Design a Priority for Your Business
For start-ups, great graphic design is a necessity. When you have stellar graphic design projects that nail down your products and brand identity, you boost the memorability and appeal of your business. Great graphic design makes a positive impression, and a lasting positive impression is important when you want to stand out and make a mark in your industry.
