Graphic design plays an important role for your business. All of the visual elements representing your business give prospects an idea of the type of company you run. From your logo and website to the layout of your brochures, your graphics say a lot about you. Are you visually delivering the right message? Does your business look more attractive than your competitors? Now is the time to analyze this and determine if your business needs to step up the professionalism of your brand. Professional graphic design can really set your business apart with a quality message that reassure prospects that your business is the one to trust.
Especially in a competitive market, clients want to make good investments with their time and money. More than eye-catching, your brand should clearly 
communicate with your ideal customers. Are those prospects:
- Conservative or edgy and risk takers?
- Trendy or foundational?
- Typically male or female?
- Millennials, Generation Y, Generation X, Baby Boomers or members of the Greatest Generation?
- B2C or B2B buyers?
Your logo in many ways should embrace these same characteristics so that prospects see (and even feel) alignment with your company’s brand. As your company grows, you may find that you need to adjust the definition of your ideal customer, especially if you change strategic plans or decide to focus on a new offering. At those points, you likely need to refresh your branding with the help of a professional graphic designer. Graphic design helps your business connect with your target buyers and a hasty or lackluster job with your graphics poorly reflects on your organization.
Business Reputation: Graphics that Show Professionalism
Graphic design also helps businesses with a common look across marketing channels. The shared visual identity unites your company. Have you ever spoken to two different people about one topic, but the two stories sound quite different? The same idea applies to a business without brand standards or loosely defined ones. Brand standards are the guidelines that explain the voice of your company as well as how the logo, colors and other visual elements should be used to showcase your business.
We often see companies using logos in different colors and fonts, depending on which department oversaw the logo use and in which year the particular piece was created. Unfortunately, that haphazard treatment weakens your brand and the impression you make on potential buyers. In contrast, a business with a consistent look across business cards, email signatures, promotional products, website, marketing collateral and office signage reassures prospects of its professionalism. The dedication to your business’ reputation is not solely tied to its graphic representation, but the graphics simply cannot be overlooked for long.
Graphics that Stand Out in the Crowd
You’ll likely recall the adage that people need to see your business name at least seven times in order to remember you. This concept, thought to have been developed by the American advertising industry in the 1930s, came about well before social media. With so much advertising “noise” today, many believe that prospects need to see your brand even more than seven times in order to break through the clutter. Furthermore, your brand needs to make a good impression each of those times. Attractive branding that resonates with your target buyers can strengthen that memory and brand recognition, leading to more leads.
Easy on the Eyes
Additionally, graphic design helps readers glide through your content―whether a detailed proposal, a blog post or website content. Graphics visually break up text to add interest and further explain the writing. Consider how many graphics you glance at each day versus how many long write-ups you really read. Good graphics help communicate your message without weighing down the readers.
Help your business stand out and be remembered in a professional way by investing in good graphic design. While some companies try to save money by not hiring a professional graphic design company upfront, those same businesses tend to pay more long-term when design work must be redone. Subpar graphic design will reflect poorly on your company and discourage customers from purchasing your products or services. Capitalize on your organization’s brand and tell customers what you represent and believe in with powerful graphic design.
