​Humans are visual creatures by nature. Our eyes are drawn to images, colors, and other elements of design. That is why graphic design is essential to your overall marketing strategy.

Here are 4 elements of graphic design to focus on when designing marketing materials:

1. Color
Color is one of the most important elements of graphic design because it can evoke certain emotions. Since humans are emotional creatures by nature, appealing to these emotions can lead them to take actions to further engage with your business.

For example, you may have a button that connects to your contact form on your website’s homepage. If this button is a bright color, like yellow or orange, people will be more likely to click on it. Then, they have the opportunity to contact you to learn more about you.

However, color doesn’t just matter for individual features of your website or other design. Color is an element of your branding that should be reflected in your marketing materials. The colors you choose should reflect the products and services you offer.

For businesses related to health and wellness, like pharmacies or fitness centers, green is a color you should consider using as it’s associated with health. Meanwhile, if your business is food-related, red is a color you should consider using as it is related to hunger.

2. Images
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. There is nowhere that this statement is more true than in your marketing. The images that you use should reflect your product or service as accurately as possible. Include people in your photos as viewers can relate to them better.

If you’re going to use these photos on a website, make sure that file sizes are small enough to load quickly while not affecting the quality of the image. Remember that large images can affect your website’s performance, including search engine optimization (SEO).

Fortunately, website photography is something that you can handle yourself with the right equipment. However, if you don’t have time to take photos yourself, there are plenty of stock photography websites out there you can find images to use for free or fairly inexpensive.

3. Text
The appearance of the text on your marketing materials matters as much as the messaging. To make your marketing materials as easy to read as possible, consider using sans serif fonts like Arial or Helvetica.

This is especially important in web design as it increases the accessibility of your website for people with disabilities. Certain fonts, like those mentioned above, work best with screen readers and other similar devices.
Also, consider the color of the text used. Black text on a white background is easier to read than white text on a black background. Since many people skim through your marketing materials, they should be as easy to read as possible.

4. Composition
Once you’ve decided on the design elements you like best, it’s now time to consider how they will work together. All of your design elements should be organized in a way that is logical and easy to navigate, especially if they’re being used on a website.

While you may want to include a bunch of different images and other elements, the simpler your design is, the better. Removing unnecessary design elements and using whitespace can greatly improve your design.

Remember, every element of your design should have a purpose. Buttons should lead to contact forms or other pages on your website. Images should represent the product or service you’re featuring in your marketing materials.

Designing a website or other marketing materials can be equally exciting and overwhelming. There are so many possibilities that it can be challenging to pursue one design. If you need help with contact Links Web Design for a free consultation today!

Links Web Design is a graphic design agency in Bangor, ME, and Fruitland Park, FL.