Does any of this sound familiar?
You’re a startup founder or part of a small business that just doesn’t have the budget (yet) to hire a graphic designer, so you’ve been trying to DIY materials but things just look… amateur.
You want to be able to create your own marketing assets that will have an impact (and be proud to show them off).
Design fundamentals were never part of your background training or experience.
If so, don’t worry! As a graphic designer, I’m here to share some insider tips along with a few common design mistakes and how to avoid them. With a lot of free and (relatively) easy-to-use tools out on the market today, it’s more common for people to want to take on creating marketing assets themselves rather than hiring out a designer. However, as someone who has been doing this for years, I can always spot the DIY graphics mixed in my social feeds and emails. Here’s how to not be a newb.
Color
Did you know there is actually a ton of research that goes behind color psychology? Designers don’t just pick something because it looks pretty (ok, like 98% of the time we don’t do this). Different colors can evoke different emotions and resonate differently across demographics. I could go into a lengthy post on this topic alone, but here’s a quick breakdown of what I mean by different colors having different meanings:
https://www.usertesting.com/blog/color-ux-conversion-rates
The other thing to take into consideration with color is accessibility. You want to make sure that colored text on a colored background is readable at both large and small sizes, and even to someone who is color blind. There are free websites like this one you can use to check for this.
RGB vs CMYK. No, that’s not a typo for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. RGB and CMYK are different formats of color and their priority depends on where you plan to use them.
RGB -- Red. Green. Blue. RGB colors are used when creating screen-based marketing collateral. RGB are subtractive colors, as you can see above they cancel each other out to form white. This works well with electronics as monitors, televisions, phones and tablets emit light.
CMYK -- The most common method of achieving color in printing is referred to as CMYK or four–color process. To print a color image, a file is separated into four different colors: Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y) and Black (K). CMYK are additive colors, and paper absorbs light, which is why documents might look differently from your screen to a printed sheet of paper.
Spot -- A spot color is a special premixed ink that is used instead of, or in addition to, process inks, and that requires its own printing plate on a printing press. Use spot color (the Pantone color code) when few colors are specified and color accuracy is critical.
Working with Type
To keep things simple: Serif fonts are ones with the extra strokes on individual letters, and sans serif fonts are without and tend to have a more modern feel. Then you also have script/handwriting, display, and monospace options to use.
Choosing a font depends on the mood you’re trying to create as well as the legibility requirements necessary. Typically, serif fonts are better for reading small text (think newspapers) and serif fonts are better in a digital format.
When you’re creating a graphic, a good rule of thumb is stick to only two fonts (three at the maximum) otherwise it’s messy and lacks hierarchy and brand consistency. You want your use of typography to work in your favor and serve a purpose: help the audience understand which is the most important thing to read first, then the second most important, and then additional details. Also, for the love of all that is holy, please do not use scripted fonts for the body text nor use them in caps lock.
Symmetry & Space
Not everything needs to pop, and the logo doesn’t always need to be bigger. Just as in architecture, balance and symmetry is important in graphic design as well. If there is too much going on all at once, the reader doesn’t know how to process it. Also, people are lazy and if it takes two seconds too long to figure something out then they’re going to keep scrolling.
I cannot stress enough the importance of white space, which is any area of a design that is not filled with text, photos, or any other elements. However, don’t call it blank space because it’s not purely blank. White space is a choice and it serves a purpose to be left open. One of my favorite ways to describe why you need to use white space is by comparing it to your home. Let’s say that you just bought a new house and you’re moving into an empty living room (aka the design artboard on your computer). You add in a sectional couch to be the main focal point (aka the headline), and then some oversized accent chairs, a coffee table, a thrifted chest of drawers, some paintings, some plants, a desk, a rug, another loveseat that you saw on sale, a pool table, an oversized chandelier, some more side tables, a shit load of candles, some photo frames, and so on. Individually all of those pieces are great, but they’re not all great together. Now when you step into your home you can’t even get past the front door because it’s too crowded and looks like an episode of Hoarders. This is the same with graphic design: just because there are a lot of cool elements and effects you could do to a single artboard doesn’t mean that you should. You need to give the most important elements and content room to breathe. You need to be able to walk around your couch without tripping. Don’t be a hoarder.
A few reminders: if you have a text box, it needs a margin. Don’t let the words run right up to the side of something. A logo needs to be legible -- don’t place it on top of a busy background or squish it too close to something else. Sometimes you just have to find a better photo to use. And, less is more.
Trends
This tip is both sides of the trendy coin -- I want you to pay attention to them, but don’t always follow them. Trends aren’t always cool, but it’s important to keep an eye on what’s going on. History usually repeats itself.
Lately I’ve seen a lot of neutrals and pastels in design, and creators of all kinds are jumping on that bandwagon like it’s the last escape out of town. But here’s the thing -- just because it works for someone else, doesn’t mean that’s the best strategy for you and your business. Also, just because you personally might like how it looks doesn’t mean that’s the right strategy for your target audience.
You can always tell when someone is just pulling out the most popular templates from Canva because of the complete disconnect between the aesthetics of the graphic and the reality of who they’re supposed to reach. You know those decisions were based on a whim and not brand strategy. Even if you haven’t done a full, in-depth brand strategy for your biz, still always try to put yourself in the mindset of your audience when creating and writing content.
Jessica “JB” Brightman has been an integral part of the fivefoottwo marketing team since 2018. Check out her website at Bright Thoughts Design or contact her directly at hello@designbrighter.com.
