It goes without saying that graphic design is a greatly diverse and exciting field, and it influences our decisions on a daily basis. Design can be seen everywhere - from more blatant examples like branding, all the way down to subtle nuances such as app icons.
Many things have been affected by the ongoing ripple effects of 2020, and the way in which we consume content on a daily basis is no exception. Our consumption of global online content has doubled in 2020, and with digital PR having more prominence than ever, it is worth noting how to best optimise accompanying visuals to the best of their ability.
Here are my top 5 tips to optimising your graphic design in digital PR:
1. No waffle
As much as we hate to admit it, our collective attention span is shortening thanks to the information overload we have at our fingertips. Ensure your visuals are bold, memorable, and straight to the point. Use them as an effective segway into your story, or an aesthetically pleasing summary of the message you want to convey.
2. Read the room
Do your visuals match the tone of the brand your story is representing? Will simplistic, cartoon-like vectors work well with a brand with a more mature audience? Pre-emptively commit time to researching your brand of choice’s existing marketing content and it will pay off in the long run. Our Premier League of Links article is an example of encapsulating a brand’s tone through design without missing the bat.
3. Design for all sizes
Currently, more than half of web traffic is mobile, and though as designers we often have the luxury of producing works on larger screens, producing work for digital PR is an exercise in empathy, imagining how works will be seen on smaller handheld devices. Take this into consideration when adding details to pieces, and perhaps streamline visual information which may already be in the accompanying story.
4. Testing, testing, 1,2,3
Following on from point number three, see first hand how your beloved work operates on a phone or tablet first if either are accessible. Testing this out yourself is a great way to put yourself in the shoes of your consumers, and perhaps notice any potential flaws which might have gone undetected when working originally. Remember, once it’s out there in the world, those amendments can no longer be done!
5. Keep things recognisable
We all know them right, the swoosh tick, the golden arches? Iconic visual elements and brand colours give our subconscious mind instant connotations of a particular brand, quicker than we’d like to believe, evoking an emotional response from consumers and establishing brand loyalty. Relay your design for digital PR back to your brand’s iconic attributes such as fonts and brand colours, and you’ll make your story that much impactful for it.
Contact Motive here to see how we can help push your digital PR stories with great design.