{"id":6634,"date":"2019-03-01T14:32:02","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T14:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vexels.com\/blog\/?p=6634"},"modified":"2020-02-27T04:54:39","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T03:54:39","slug":"what-a-graphic-designer-should-know-when-entering-digital-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/what-a-graphic-designer-should-know-when-entering-digital-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Marketing for Graphic Designers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest post by Raul Harman<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Graphic design is an inseparable aspect of any solid online branding strategy. It gives online businesses the opportunity to build a memorable brand presence, create banner ads for advertising<\/a>, increase people\u2019s awareness of their brand, and present their content in an engaging and original way.<\/span><\/p>\n

For graphic designers, entering the digital marketing industry is a lucrative, but extremely challenging move. As online marketing is changing at an astounding pace, you need to keep pace with the latest trends and implement them fast to keep your clients satisfied. Most importantly, you need to learn to adapt and tune your designs and creativity to specific client\u2019s needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more about how to use Design Templates to create a Memorable and Unique Branding for your Business.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Here are a few tips that may help you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding a Client is Key to Building a Memorable Brand<\/span><\/h2>\n

As a graphic designer, your goal is to help a client build a recognizable and memorable brand image across multiple channels. To do so, you first need to get to know your client, understand their market, and use that information to depict brand personality through visuals. <\/span><\/p>\n

Think of your graphic design ideas this way. You cannot paint a portrait without one\u2019s photo or write a historical novel without doing research. Similarly, you cannot build a strong branding design strategy if you don\u2019t understand a client\u2019s business values and personality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Talk to Your Clients<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

The first thing you should do is schedule an in-person meeting with a client and have a nice, long conversation with them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ask them about their marketing efforts- what kind of content they create and what emotions they want to evoke in their target audience. Above all, talk to them about their target customers and their brand identity. Is there anything that makes them special? What kind of personality do they want to build using visuals? Do they want to establish a bold and youthful brand that appeals to Millennials or maybe an authoritative online personality that resonates with industry professionals?<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, keep in mind that many businesses don\u2019t understand how graphic design works. Chances are they will come to you unprepared, expecting you to read their minds and create an awesome visual representation of their brand. Talk to them about <\/span>the importance of psychology in design<\/span><\/a> and how important their business uniqueness is for creating a memorable brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Design<\/p>\n

Do Market Research<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

When the client\u2019s brand personality seems clear and you set branding goals, it\u2019s time to do market research. It helps you understand the specific market trends and peculiarities that may impact a client\u2019s branding success.<\/span><\/p>\n

For starters, research a client\u2019s major competitors to understand what tactics work or don\u2019t work for them. This is one of the most effective ways to understand what kinds of logos, images, or resonate with a client\u2019s target audience and focus on them.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to understand that graphic design is not always about art or personal preferences. To align your creative thinking with a client\u2019s needs and their target market\u2019s expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, whether you\u2019re <\/span>building a full-out rebranding strategy<\/span><\/a> for a client or you\u2019re helping them establish an online presence from scratch, you need to test your tactics continually. Be sure you provide them with multiple design solutions and choose the one that works based on the audience\u2019s reactions. <\/span><\/p>\n

Design with SEO in Mind<\/span><\/h3>\n

There is a common misconception among graphic designers that SEO and design have nothing in common. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not true for a simple reason. <\/span><\/p>\n

Namely, SEO is not all about keywords and backlinks. This is perfectly explained by the New York-based SEO company, Four Dots, <\/span>in their recent infographic<\/span><\/a>. They claim that, in addition to solid keyword research and link building, brands can also gain new visitors through the intuitive website design, high-quality content, target audience segmentation, flawless customer support, and killer social media campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, that\u2019s exactly where SEO and graphic design collide. <\/span><\/p>\n

For starters, the collaboration between content developers and graphic designers is key to achieving consistency in blogging. Once they create exceptional blog posts, content developers need to familiarize graphic designers with the purposes of the content and its target readers. They should explain what kind of visuals they want to insert, where they will add them, and what brand message they want to send. <\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for creating visual forms of content, such as infographics or charts. For example, when creating infographics, don\u2019t go into details. Instead, focus on a few key points and separate them with subheadings. This way, you will make them easily loadable and visually appealing on all devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should also work with an SEO team on optimizing visuals for search engines. Remember that, in today\u2019s mobile-first era, online searchers expect to get holistic user experiences. This means that you need to choose the right formats and create responsive visual content that loads fast and looks and feels the same, irrespective of users\u2019 devices. <\/span><\/p>\n

You should optimize social media, too. Different social media platforms require different image sizes. For example, the preferred size for a vertical event image or post image should be 1920px x 1080px. A LinkedIn banner image should be 1584px x 396px, while Twitter header image should be about 1500px x 500px. In addition to some traditional forms of content, you should also create infographics, quote graphics, visually appealing data and statistics, and event graphics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, optimize email newsletters wisely. To engage recipients and inspire them to visit a client\u2019s website, spice things up. For example, add movement to newsletters by using animations or gifs. You should also add layers and patterns to your newsletter to make the text stick out. <\/span><\/p>\n

Create a Consistent Brand Image across Multiple Channels<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Branding\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to building an authentic and recognizable brand image, <\/span>it\u2019s all about consistency<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just think about that for a second.<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter if you\u2019re buying your favorite coffee or ice cream, you will be able to spot them right away. Everything detail in packaging and design, from a logo to colors, sticks in consumers\u2019 brains and impacts their purchasing decisions. <\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for online branding. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your goal as a graphic designer is to collect the above mentioned information and <\/span>create detailed brand guidelines<\/span><\/a> based on them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just like their mere name says, brand guidelines determine the creation, design, and general look and feel of a client\u2019s brand online. They dictate the use of logos, website content, social media content, visuals in paid ads, making sure that the branding efforts remain cohesive across all these channels.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pay attention to numerous factors that may impact your visual content creation. For example, buyer personas dictate what kind of visual content you will create, what colors and fonts you will use, and how you will use filters and branding assets on social media. The corporate mission statement is also important, as it ensures that every piece of visual content you create works towards the same goal of your client.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few crucial elements you should include in your brand guidelines:<\/span><\/p>\n