How to Make Graphic Design More than Just a Pretty Face

January 20, 2017

This post is the second installment in a two-part series. See Four Reasons Why It’s Worth Investing in Graphic Design .

If you’re a leader or manager who has decided to invest in professional graphic design, kudos to you. (If you’re not yet convinced, see the first post in this series, Four Reasons Why It’s Worth Investing in Graphic Design.) Once you’ve made the decision to allot budget dollars for graphic design, you might be wondering how to gain the most business value from your investment. Simply making your documents look nicer isn’t a bad idea. But is “pretty” what you’re going for? Or are you really looking for “powerful?”

By taking a smart approach to managing your design effort, you can turn graphic design into more than a pretty face for your documents. The tips below will put you on your way to working with a graphic designer or art team to deliver powerful, effective communications that support your business objectives and reinforce your message and brand.

Look at the bigger picture. A seasoned graphic designer or team can examine the overall “look and feel” your organization is projecting to its stakeholders, and make recommendations for improvements that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Maybe your brand is lackluster, or it’s inconsistent across markets or business units. A professional designer can give you a cohesive new look and feel across the board, and they can ensure you are following your company’s branding standards, too, which might be a better investment than graphically enhancing documents one by one. Especially if your budget is limited, consider having a designer create corporate graphic standards or templates that you can use and reuse to project a consistent image that promotes your brand.

Prioritize based on business value. No organization has the time or money to graphically enhance all of its communications, so be strategic and selective. Use your business goals as a guide. Reintroducing your brand? Invest in design for some key “flagship” communication pieces that will represent the new face of your company in an attention-getting way. Making a significant change within your organization? Use design to communicate the change to employees in a clear, fresh and engaging way. Communications are most powerful when they’re aligned with your business objectives, and that’s where the return on your design investment is greatest.

Give specific and clear art direction, making sure that you know and clearly communicate to your designer the answers to some key questions:

What is the business objective of the document or design project? What do you want people to think, feel and do in response to this communication?
Who is the audience for the communication, and how will they interact with it (i.e., in-person or self-running presentation, download to read independently, etc.)?
Are there corporate graphic standards (including templates, colors, fonts, logos and image banks) the communication must follow to support the company’s brand?
What specific design elements are needed to convey your message? If the new logo needs to be more contemporary, or the photos in your PowerPoint must appeal to engineers, be sure to impart this invaluable knowledge to your design team.
If there are a few different possible design directions, have the designer provide you with partial mock-ups of a few possible styles to choose from. That way, you avoid investing a lot of design time in an approach that doesn’t work for you.

With the right approach to managing graphic design, you can make sure your design budget is money well spent and that the results are not just pretty—but powerful.

Author: Kate Tomasco

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Eight Work-From-Home Etiquette Tips

Eight Work-From-Home Etiquette Tips

Whether telecommuting is old hat or something you’ve been forced into as part of the COVID-19 shutdown, here are a few tips to make the experience run smoothly for both employers and employees.

Managing expectations

Successful work-from-home strategies always begin with clearly communicated expectations. Make sure your employees have any necessary equipment, tools and resources. Will they need to track their time? Participate in regularly scheduled meetings? Be available at certain times of day? For employees, know what you’re accountable for and clearly communicate any challenges you’re having.

Constant communication

Keep the lines of communication open and be accessible. Check in with employees regularly through apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and Skype, or even an old-fashioned email or phone call. Be genuinely interested in how they’re doing but don’t overdo it. Foster a feeling of trust by not micromanaging.

Nine to five…ish

While having a daily schedule is ideal, it may not always be practical right now. Make sure your people know when you need them to be available and try to offer flexibility at other times. They may be juggling school schedules as well as work schedules and working at “off-shift” times may be necessary. Be mindful of employees in different time zones as well.

For employees, try to work when you’re at your best, and not when you’re exhausted by kindergarten playtime and fourth grade math. Make sure people know if you will be unavailable at certain times.

Taking a break

Getting up and moving clears the head and helps with creativity and problem-solving. Whether it’s a walk around the block or a break for lunch, make time to get away from your desk throughout the day.

Signing off

Working from home does not mean being available 24/7. Set an actual end to the workday if possible. Don’t send and respond to messages at all hours. Sign out of messaging apps and close work programs. Understand and respect these boundaries.

Location, location, location

When setting up a home office, think about where you will have the fewest distractions – for yourself and for those who may be seeing you and your background on a video conferencing platform. Try to avoid busy spots that may include semi-clad people walking behind you, barking dogs and kids vying for your attention.

Conferencing and calls

Be clear about whether you expect people to turn on their cameras during meetings. If so, be clear about how they should be dressed. During calls, mute your phone when you’re not talking to avoid background noise. Headphones can also help with call quality. When speaking, pause frequently so others can participate in the conversation.

Social engagement

It’s ok for managers and employees to have some down time together, which may help ward off feelings of isolation. Keep up your normal level of interaction, perhaps with a virtual coffee break or happy hour. Managers should set the tone for how casual to be. Let employees choose what they would like to share, and never pry into areas that were off-limits before.

Author: Erin Alderfer