Whether you’re a brand-new start up or an established company, visual graphics are one of the most important aspects of any business. From the choices in your signage to your logo design, to your use of symbols, every decision matters. Today, we’re going over the ways you can use visual graphics to grow your business, starting with:
- Logo design
Let’s start with the most essential part of your marketing: your logo. Your logo will be the first thing your customers will see of you and it will always represent who you are as a business. The visual graphics you put in your logo can play a big part in the overall look and aesthetic, if you choose to use them. You’ll most likely have a variety of symbols to choose from – here are some rules you should follow:
- Make sure you choose symbols (and systems) that look professional – ok, this one may seem obvious, but just bear with us. When looking for symbols to use in your logo and advertising, you’ll need to be careful to use ones that look like they came from professional software, not photoshop. Be careful with the platforms you use – but even if you can’t afford the most up to date logo design, try to make sure your graphics don’t clearly show it.
- Make sure you choose symbols that match your business – Think carefully about what you want to represent: do the graphics you’re choosing actually match who you are? And further to that point:
- Don’t use graphics at all if they don’t match what you’re doing – In an article all about how you can use visual graphics to grow your business, this may seem like a strange piece of advice. But it’s true – if you can’t find a visual graphic that fits either your business or your overall design, you should probably reconsider your decision to use graphics overall. It’s best not to cram them in where they don’t belong, or use ones with tenuous links to your company. But an idea for if you’re struggling making connections with your choices and what you want to represent: why not make it a personal connection? You shouldn’t make it too off the wall and random, but having a story behind your graphics can work really well towards making your company seem homegrown.
And if you’re really still not sure about your design choices, there are ways to ask your potential customers what they think before you even launch your business! You could simply hold a focus group, or if you’re short on time you could do an online survey with a platform like Survey Monkey.
- Online advertisements/moving graphics/digital marketing
Digital marketing is one of the biggest ways to grow your business and visual graphics will most likely play a key part in your strategy. The first thing you think of when you think of online advertising will probably be moving images, which can do a great job making your banners look far more dynamic and eye catching. But you’ll need to be careful, as advertisements that are too busy may actually be off-putting and could even trigger people with conditions like epilepsy. Like every other part of your online advertisement, you should choose your moving graphics carefully and strike a balance between exciting and just plain crazy.
The visual graphics you use in your logo should also play a big part in your digital marketing. This of course applies to your use of colour and overall design choices, as your website and social media should match your overall colour scheme – but you can also play on your choice of symbols.
Let us explain in a bit more detail. If you use any symbols or images in your logo, you can develop them further in your digital marketing to create consistency, in the same way you would with a colour scheme. Take whatever the symbol or image is and try to put it in even more content where you can. Bouncing off the point about visual graphics in moving advertisements from earlier, you could even make a moving version of your logo!
Speaking of using this across platforms, it’s always very important to make every part of your brand consistent, as 1. it makes you look professional and organised and 2. It allows potential customers to easily remember and identify your company.
- Graphics in signage
Speaking of your logo (again) (but to be fair it is the centre of your marketing) one of the most important places it will be solidified is in any signage you use. Whether its school signage or the signage of a shop or any other kind of signage, it will be the first thing potential customers see of your space. There are two kinds of signage to consider here, with two different purposes:
Outdoor signage – This is generally the one that will reflect your logo more, as it will be placed outside of whatever space you use and will draw customers in. Large graphics can work great in this context, as they’re great for catching the attention of passers-by.
Indoor signage – Indoor signage will mostly be used to guide customers around your aforementioned space, marking doorways, giving directions and just giving a general sense of clarity. This means that design-wise they’re often more subtle and won’t always need graphics (although they can still help with consistency).
Of course, not all graphics will fit all kinds of signage – but this is where you can get creative! Think of ways you can incorporate the image in a way that works. For example, if you have a steel backing on your signage, but you have an image in your logo that decidedly does not fit that vibe, why not create a cooler, sleeker version of it that will fit perfectly?
So in conclusion, there are multiple ways you can use visual graphics to grow your start up business – these include your use of them in your logo, your use of them in online advertising and digital marketing and your use of them in outdoor and indoor signage.
