Graphic Design: More than Just an Image

Everyone has heard the popular saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and for a business, that is a very accurate statement. About 65% of the general population are visual learners so when a business’ website is more than just words, it is more interesting and draws in more people. Also, when the graphics are relevant to the business and the services they provide, the business is more likely to be successful. The correct graphics can speak volumes for your business. There are many reasons for having graphics on websites as well as many benefits it has to your business. People do not want to go to a plain website filled with a lot of words, they want to go to an exciting page that pops and speaks to them.

Your Business Strategy & Implementation

Graphic designs should be part of the business strategy and not only finishing touches. It should be just as important as every other step because, in the long run, it will greatly benefit your business’ website and affect your audience’s perception of you. Also, thinking of it and working on it earlier can save you money and result in a better experience for your customers. Using graphics will improve your business’ performance, and result in increased sales, improved market position, a stronger business identity, and even improved customer loyalty. Like digital marketing, when done correctly you can save your business money in the long-run. Your business will flourish and continue to grow, all because you considered graphics in the very beginning and made them perfect for your business. There are many other ways graphic designs can be used on your business website.

A few ways that you can use graphics on your page is to present data, break up text, and as headers. Data alone can be overwhelming, so using an image of some kind can better portray those numbers. One can use a variety of software to create the data they have gathered and better present it to their audience. Using a vibrant yet relevant graphic can also help to break apart the amount of text that you present on your site. You want to inform your audience of everything that you offer but you do not want to overwhelm them with a novel. Having interesting graphics as headers can also help distinguish your business’ website because instead of following what others do, you spice things up and create a website that is fun and still informative for your audience.

On Social Media

Excellent graphics can turn your words into images. If your business has  social media icons, that tells your audience what platforms you are connected to. On your social media pages, your posts should evoke a call-to-action, making people want to visit your site and become interested in your business. Make people want to take advantage of the services you are offering and spread the word to others. Instead of having your audience share statuses and tweets, create promotional graphics that are visually more appealing. Catch their eyes with it so it stands out in their feed. Not having these icons could result in your business missing out on a lot of traffic. On your blogs, graphics should captivate your readers, contributing to the text and/or giving your reader a break and allow them to see what you have done as a business, what you are going to do, etc.

Graphic Design & Digital Marketing

Graphic design and digital marketing go hand-in-hand, for a variety of reasons. When you grow your business, you want to reach as many people as possible. Fortunately, once you go digital, almost everything you post on any social media platform becomes available to anyone and everyone who searches for your business. Because of this large audience, it is important to present your business in a way that stands apart from others and excellent graphics can help you achieve just that. A graphic specifically designed for your business can be a step in the right direction, whether it is a logo/phrase, an image, or even a particular font/text or color(s). Creating a graphic of your business name helps gain recognition – it becomes familiar and distinguishable. A well-developed and appropriate image for your business can also contribute to your brand, which will be discussed in another post.

Graphics can help draw in more people by optimizing your website. Using specific alt tags in your images allows them to pop up on search engines when people search for your business. Alt tags are applied to images to provide a text alternative to those images. If your audience does not have time to read your blog or your ‘about’ page, they can quickly search for images. The images that pop up could be from your website (logo, services) and could be informative enough to the audience that they know you could be the ones to help them. These images also show your audience that they are not duplicates and are specific to your business. With specific keywords and tags, it could reduce their search from random, similar images to more direct and specific ones of your business.

Their Role in Memory

Graphic designs of any kind are easier for people to remember. They might not remember what your latest blog post said word for word, but they will remember the topic of it and the wonderful chart you had with it in order to emphasize your point. They will also remember how well your graphic complimented the text and the website as a whole. It was there to enhance your blog post and it did just that. The audience might also remember that the title of your ‘blog’ section was more than just that single word, the text/font, and color of that particular section really caught your eye and it told you what that particular section was. While scrolling through your blog, they will see how each post has a different graphic, showing the different topics that each post is about and inviting you to read them.

Graphic design is more than just creating images – they enhance your business and help you to stand out. They allow people to recognize you if you pop up in search engines, they help to create a brand for your business, and they make your website more than just words. Amazing graphics can speak volumes and can be more beneficial than words when used correctly. They help you to reach people on various platforms and gain recognition from a larger audience. Remember: there is such a thing as too much, which is why it is important to space out graphics and determine just how many graphics your website really needs.