You might think that, with the graphic design on your logo, website, social pages or print publicity materials, a little rule-breaking would be encouraged. To an extent, you would be right, as you could struggle to carve out a niche with your brand’s visual identity otherwise.
However, this wouldn’t strictly be your cue to discard the graphic design rulebook entirely, as there remain certain graphic design rules – like those listed below – you should always avoid violating.
Keep your marketing activities visually consistent
You might have various means of getting the word out about your organisation – from maintaining a website to distributing brochures, flyers and business cards. However, once your brand has forged a distinctive visual identity, this should be threaded through all promotional avenues you go down.
That way, your target audience will come to strongly associate your brand with particular visual motifs – and, as a result, recognise that brand more easily when it later re-targets these people.
Make sure the text is always legible
It would rather defeat the point of using graphic design to more effectively convey a specific message if its recipients have to squint to figure out exactly what that message is. Some people might lack the patience to do even that, leaving your visual marketing potentially squandered.
This is why you should carefully consider which fonts would resonate with both your target audience and the brand. So, don’t be afraid to enlarge and bold the text for older audiences.
Combine colours that complement – rather than clash with – each other
Another tried-and-tested way of rendering text more readable is contrasting its hue with that of the background. However, it is possible to try too hard with this strategy, as you could find some colour combinations somewhat jarring to see.
Red text on a green background, for example, can leave the text looking as though it is almost vibrating – whereas pale yellow text on a purple background can stand out in a more soothing way.
Keep all of a design’s graphic elements and text nicely aligned
These objects shouldn’t simply be randomly placed on the design like shreds of paper untidily strewn across a desk. Messy designs, far from achieving the cheekily quirky look you might reckon they capture, come across as unprofessional – it’s not difficult to align those objects properly.
One good rule of thumb is to take note of a line on your digital canvas and then aim to align all of your graphics and text – whether horizontally or vertically – with it.
Limit each design to just three different fonts
Trust us, you shouldn’t excessively mix up fonts on a graphic design project like you might adventurously mix up lots of fruits in a blender to create smoothies.
The trial-and-error nature of trying to get graphic design right, at least if you are new to it, is one reason for you to seriously consider outsourcing your organisation’s responsibilities here to our graphic designers. Just call us on 01325 582112 to learn more about how they could help you.
