Remember how a picture tells a thousand words? Whether you are looking at a photograph, a work of art, or an ad in a magazine, that image is saying something. Since we’re talking about promoting your products here, let’s focus on how you are going to show the best of your business and tell the story that will appeal to your ideal customer with images you use for every part of your business.
In most situations, you want little to no text on graphics. Social media is definitely one place where this is highly encouraged, but even those graphics you use on your website, products and other promotional materials are usually better without text. The images, design, and colors you use should show the message you want to get across.
Text Tips
A few choice words can be beneficial as long as they are words that help your message be clear. Use these points as a guide to using the right words in the right way for the homeschooling market on your graphics.
- Speak home education language, not institutional education language. Avoid references to common core or alignment to state standards. If you are serving both markets, then be sure to have a page or section of your site that is geared towards homeschoolers and adjust graphics and wording as needed.
- Have the text complement the rest of the graphics with the use of color and font to agree with the style and mood of the message.
- Have 2-3 brand fonts that you use across all your graphics and branding on all platforms.
Image Tips
The overriding goal of your graphics should be to create content that stands out with visual elements that are memorable. For every type of graphic you create, start off by determining the purpose of that graphic and what you want to show and tell. Here are a few questions that can help you center in on the goal.
- Where will this graphic be used? You may have multiple placements in mind for one design.
- What do I want people to do in reaction to this graphic? It is best to keep this to one or two actions like visiting your website, remembering your business/product, commenting/engaging with a post, etc.
- What emotion or mood do I want to create with this design? The answer to this will guide you in what to choose for each element of the design: the colors, images, typography, and shapes.
With your goal in mind, you can get in front of your image editing program or a graphic designer and start creating. Read through these quick tips that will help you develop and design graphics that tell your story and represent your brand.
- Select fonts based on the personality of your company. Read Louise Myers’s article on font personality to delve into this subject further.
- Serif fonts are best for print. Sans serif is best for digital. Limit your design to a maximum of 3 fonts.
- Pick a pleasant color palette for your designs. Then use this color scheme in all your graphics and branding. You can use Adobe Color CC online tool to help determine the right colors to use together.
- Set the color profile to RGB for graphics used digitally and CMYK for graphics used in print placements in your graphic design program.
- Effectively add to the message of the design with diagrams, images, illustrations, and words. If some element isn’t telling part of your brand story then remove it.
Learn more about these tips and other design directions like hierarchy of elements, simplifying your design, and using negative space with advice from Elle & Co.
See more articles on the blog about designing your promotional material.
