Quite often I run into customers that truly don’t understand what graphic design services are and what it can do for a business or product. So I thought hmmm good material for blog post.

The term graphic design per Wikipedia refers to a number of artistic and professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols, images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages.
In layman’s terms good graphic design is meant to make things look better to evoke a reaction. To inspire, motivate, call to action, enlighten, understand, explain. A good well designed brochure can inspire someone to find out more information about a product or company. A graphically designed poster can motivate you to take action on a cause. Why? Because the message has been designed to visually speak to you. The composition, layout, typography and information have been combined and crafted in such a way that your eye flows thru the message and triggers your brain to react.

How can graphic design have an impact on your business? Well if you manage to find a creative designer, (ah -hem) that can strategically yet creatively make your product or business stand out – there’s half your marketing battle won. A good graphic designer can begin to build a brand for you. Create a visual message that identifies you and your product and can help you get noticed!

In this current economic downturn, small business owners face the huge task of trying to keep their business afloat. Making sales quotas, meeting payroll and earning enough capital to just run the business are some of the daily challenges. Survival tactics for business owners begin with making cut backs and tightening their spending, however the one thing you shouldn’t cut back on is your marketing!

In times of trouble, advertising and marketing budgets are usually the first casualties, however what business owner don’t realize is that marketing should be considered an investment rather than an expense. You need to key into the customer base you have now, you have to be able to drive your message directly to them and make a niche to your particular audience.

Laura Lake wrote on About.com, during a recession you need to implement SMART marketing which consists of:

• S – Strategize
• M – Maintain market spend
• A – Assess and allocate the budget
• R – Research your customer thoroughly
• T – Target and reach out to them

If you cut your advertising and marketing budget, how will people find you? How will people know your product or service exists? Cutting your marketing budget means basically cutting off the communication to your audience.

Smart marketing tactics are key in a downturned economy. Making sure your advertising dollars are well thought out and well spent will help in the survival of your business.

Chatting with a colleague today we got into the subject of color and how it affects branding. She was working on a new campaign and her client who was in the dental industry wanted to use red throughout their marketing collateral. Ironically, one of the key points in her clients marketing requests was to project a calming, soothing feel. Now I don’t know about you but the color red does not project calm nor does it give a soothing feeling!

Color can definitely have a positive or negative impact on your brand. Back in my art theory class 101, we were always tested with different projects that included evoking certain moods with the colors we chose. Blue was always a secure and trusting color. Banks and law offices tend to use blue. Greens has always been used for money, success. Light greens are associated with environmental. Reds are powerful, energetic lively color. It has been proven that certain bright colors actually activate your pituitary gland and a spectrum of colors have been identified and validate through research. In an article written by Susan Gunelius of Brandcurve, 7 Ways Research Show How Color Affect Your Brand, she highlights some of that research.

Color is very crucial element in brand identity. Depending on your industry or service, your color palette should promote a certain emotion in your branding. Personally I am drawn to earth tones. It fosters in me, a sense of warmth, calm, sophisticated, yet casual – pretty much anything within the earth tone palette catches my eye and I notice I tend to remember the branding systems that have a collection of neutrals and interesting greens and earthy colors.

In searching for color and how it can make you feel I found this Color Personality Quiz. The quiz is meant for color selection of an interior home, a series of questions will give you a color profile based on the mood you are trying to create. I found it interesting that based on my answers, and the mood I wanted to portray…an earth tone pallet appeared for my profile. So make sure the color selection you pick sets the right tone for your marketing and branding efforts.