If you’re a leader or manager in an organization, have you discovered the power of professional graphic design? If not, you might not know what you’re missing.
In today’s business world where every budget line item comes under intense scrutiny, it might seem easy to dismiss the idea of engaging professional graphic design. But not so fast—even if your design budget is small, it’s worth making some level of investment. And here’s why: Good graphic design can give you and your company that professional edge that indirectly contributes to your bottom line.
What makes graphic design worth the investment? Whether you’re tasked with marketing your brand, driving sales, attracting and engaging employees, or building relationships with customers and partners, here are four reasons why you should invest in professional graphic design.
Effective graphic design enables you and your organization to:
- Communicate concisely, clearly and effectively. The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” may be trite, but it’s true. A well-designed document, whether it’s a marketing brochure or an internal PowerPoint presentation, can convey messages more powerfully than pages and pages of words ever could. Using images instead of, or in addition to, words—along with laying out your content in a more easily readable format—really helps to drive your message home.
- Grab stakeholders’ attention. Before you can successfully communicate with your stakeholders, you need to first capture their limited time and attention. A talented graphic designer can help you do that, by bringing your documents and messages to life in creative ways most of us would never dream up ourselves. A visually impactful document stands out from the clutter of information that inundates your stakeholders, shouting “Look at me!” without saying a word.
- Reinforce your brand. Professional graphic design can help you build brand equity by showing a consistent and distinctive face to the world—literally. Your graphic designer or team can help to ensure that every element of your documents, from color and font to choice of imagery, consistently reinforces your desired brand image in the minds of your various stakeholder groups. Brand equity might be intangible, but it’s also invaluable—just like the contribution graphic design can make to your business.
- Enhance credibility. If the documents that represent your organization look polished and professional, then by association, so are you and your business. Professional graphic design can lend all of your documents, from employee portals to client whitepapers, a sense of authority and professionalism—another intangible that’s worth every penny!
With the new year just beginning, it might be time to take a new look at what professional graphic design support could do for your business.
Coming soon: Look for the second post in this two-part series, How to Make Graphic Design More than Just a Pretty Face, for tips on how to make the most of your investment in professional graphic design.
Author: Kate Tomasco