The Importance of Graphic Design in Marketing: Why You Can’t Overlook It!
What do brands like Google, Nike, Amazon, and Apple have in common? Aside from being giants in their respective industries, they have some of the most recognizable brands and logos in the market. These brands exemplify the importance of graphic design in marketing, as they prove it’s a must-have rather than a nice-to-have.
In a recent study, Design Wanted revealed that 93% of all communications are visual. This is because the human brain processes images faster than text or written words.
Can you see the value of good graphic design for your marketing efforts?
Let’s take a deeper dive into the world of graphic design and how it impacts your current (and future) marketing strategy.
The Role of Graphic Design in Marketing
Many business owners think of graphic design as just the act of adding images to existing assets. However, the role of graphic design in marketing is much more valuable than that.
Graphic design uses a human-centered approach in delivering marketing collateral, such as logos and ad copy for the web. It employs colors, symbols, fonts, typography, and other graphic design elements to communicate your brand to your target audience.
There are psychological principles behind this discipline, which is what we need to learn more about to understand the importance of graphic design in marketing.
What Is the Importance of Graphic Design in Marketing?
Research from Stanford revealed that 75% of web users look at your website to determine the credibility of your business. In addition, 94% of web users develop their first impression of a website based on its design.
These research studies support the importance of graphic design in marketing and demonstrate why it deserves greater focus and attention.
Here are more reasons you must integrate graphic design as you build your marketing strategy…
People Have Short Attention Spans
Research shows that people have short attention spans.
But how short?
About 8 seconds.
Yes, that’s right—brands only have 8 seconds to capture the attention of their target audience and make a powerful first impression. If you fail to do that, and don’t make an impact, you’ve missed your chance. And in each case, it’s a potential customer walking out the door or clicking away from your website.
Humans are naturally visual-driven beings. This fact reiterates the importance of graphic design in marketing, especially strong and powerful visual imagery. In addition, people are also able to remember visual images better than text. That’s why you need to have a firm grasp of your target audience so that you can create visual elements that resonate with them.
Your graphic design approach must demonstrate your key business principles and values in an attention-grabbing way. By incorporating visual aids, such as images and infographics, to accompany your message and words, you can hold on to your audience’s attention longer than without visuals.
Given the importance of good visuals, you might want to consider hiring a professional team to help with art direction (or build your own art direction team if you have people with advanced graphic design skills).
Poor Visuals Suggest Poor Products & Services
Web users make snap assumptions when browsing various websites online. Within 50 milliseconds of your website loading, web users form their impression about not just your website but also the products and services you offer.
Clearly, the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” doesn’t apply here.
It’s a sobering reality, but it also shows the importance of graphic design in marketing. Poor visuals can result in your customers forming a negative impression of the overall brand, leading to a lack of confidence in your products and services.
Your website is like an extension of your company. Therefore, you can’t blame your customers for forming such an impression if you’re being lax with your graphic design efforts.
It’s Key to Brand Recognition
A well-planned graphic design strategy can help boost your brand, and a visually consistent blog or marketing collateral can boost brand recognition.
Companies like Google, Nike, Amazon, and Apple are kings of brand recognition. It’s not just about their logos. The imagery and styles they use in campaigns are always consistent too.
Graphic design is a powerful visual tool that can reinforce your brand's visual identity. The design elements you employ represent your brand. These include…
- Color schemes
- Typography
- Graphics
You must be intentional in choosing these elements so that they align with your branding efforts.
You can use these tips on how to judge design quality to ensure that your visual branding meets your brand guidelines.
It Tells a Visual Story
Visual branding and storytelling should always go hand in hand if you want to make an impact with your marketing message. Look at your graphic design elements as a tool to convey your brand’s authentic story.
A visual story showcases the importance of graphic design in marketing because it captures and keeps your audience’s attention. It also ensures that your message can resonate with your target audience.
Furthermore, stories enable your target audience to make sense of what your brand is about and why they need your products or services. A visual story builds the framework to establish an emotional connection with your brand.
It Can Lead to More Sales
While poor visuals can create a negative impression of the quality of your products and services, quality visuals can do the opposite. Sales visuals have the power to increase conversions and generate more sales. It’s one more example that demonstrates the value of graphic design in marketing.
Videos, infographics, and other visual branding elements have the power to convert your audience. Since humans are visual, your audience is drawn to high-quality imagery and designs. It also drives more people to your website, which helps boost conversions.
It Increases Trust & Credibility
A high-quality graphic design can build trust and credibility among your target audience. It shows that you are a professional company that invests in your branding and image. It also gives your customers the impression that you know what you are doing and that you are good at it.
On the other hand, a poorly designed website doesn’t just result in a poor user experience. It also gives your audience the impression that you are not as invested in your business, which can be a real turnoff.
It Improves the User Experience
Poor or nonexistent visuals can be very frustrating for your customers, especially when they’re on your website. Visuals support any information that you provide your audience when they browse your website for information about your products or services.
If you sell a product, make sure to include high-quality images and videos on the product page. Add some close-up shots so that your audience can get the best idea of what it looks like, how it works, etc. Remember that your customers are shopping online, so you need to give them as much information as possible to make a buying decision.
Visuals surpass language, especially since humans are naturally inclined to process images faster than text. Make sure that you take advantage of visual aids to increase your audience's engagement and make their browsing experience more user-friendly.
Strong Visuals Set You Apart
All businesses have competitors from which they need to stand apart. This is one of the key areas where you can exploit the importance of graphic design in marketing. A strong visual identity will make your brand stand out from the rest.
A distinctive brand visual makes it easy for your target audience to identify your brand from others in the same industry. It also informs your audience about what your business does and how it can help them. In a global business environment that is rife with competition, any distinctive quality is a good thing because it allows you to differentiate yourself.
Takeaway
Your brand might not be as big as Amazon or Google, but you can’t overlook the importance of graphic design in marketing. With branding, the size of a business does not matter. If you can leverage the impact that good visuals can make, you can level the playing field and attract your target customers.
Want to use graphic design to boost your marketing strategy? Sign up for a free consultation with us now so we can get you on your way! Let’s talk about how you can use visual imagery to connect with your target audience better on various channels.
At Viral Solutions we are committed to seeing YOU succeed. It is our goal to grow your business with proven digital marketing strategies that will help your business for the long haul.
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