Why Consistent Graphic Design Makes Marketing Effective

Consistent graphic design is the key to a successful marketing strategy. Learn how consistent graphics help you build a strong brand and market your business.

You’ve probably guessed that good graphic design is necessary for marketing, but there’s more to it than that. When weighing their options of where to get graphic design work, many small business owners consider freelancers due to their flexibility, versatility and affordable hourly rates.

However, working with several freelancers at the same time can make it quite difficult to keep marketing graphics consistent and unified.

And why is it important to have consistent graphic design in marketing? Read on to find out.

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Building brand image and awareness

Just in case you’re unsure about it, here’s a couple of terms you should be clear about before you start working on your marketing strategy:

• Brand identity: the term that encompasses the look of your brand (logo design and everything else), your mission, vision and values that you communicate to your target audience.
• Brand image: the view other people have you, how they perceive your brand identity.
• Brand awareness: the recall factor associated with a brand; what are the first things that come to mind when people think of your brand.

While you need to create a brand identity and a branding guide before you start, the other two are highly dependent on your marketing efforts—you need to get people to hear about your product or service in some way, right?

There are many technical aspects that can increase your brand recognition (how many people know about your brand), such as search engine optimization for your website or detailed targeting on social media. But once you get people’s attention you need visuals that will help them form an impression about your brand.

If you Google McDonald’s ads, you’ll see plenty of different and creative designs, sometimes with very clever copy. But the basic idea is always the same: you’ll always find their iconic product in the center and the signature red and yellow combo is used almost exclusively.

Creating loyalty and trust with your customers

It’s 5 times more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones. That means you’re much better off nurturing existing relationships than constantly chasing new ones.

One way to do this is through consistent marketing design. People who’ve purchased from you previously will respond well to the same design elements that may have prompted them to make the initial purchase. It shows them that what they see is indeed what they get, and if it worked once, chances are they will remain loyal customers.

Of course, don’t mistake consistency for lack of creativity. A great example is Coke’s famous, Share a Coke campaign. The iconic packaging that so many people recognize and love was given a simple twist by adding names to personalize the experience of drinking and sharing a Coke. The brand design was still intact with the red color and the signature logo design, but this little element did a lot: this campaign is credited with an impressive 11% rise in sales in the US!

Providing a better user experience on your website

One of the key elements of a positive user experience (UX) in product and website design is consistency. Consistency allows people to feel in control while using a service or product and makes the outcomes of their actions easier to predict.

That’s why brand consistency is especially critical in designing websites. Not only does it enforce your brand identity and help build awareness, but the importance of graphic design here lies in the actual way users interact with the website.

We’ll use our own website as an example. From our homepage, to our solution pages, and even our blog - everything is designed using the same color palette, style of images and illustrations. When we use stock photos, we make sure to add filters or backgrounds to ensure a consistent look.  

More importantly, our custom design management app follows the same design guidelines (e.g. the color of the buttons, layout, etc.). So, the prospective customers who land on our site can quickly become proficient at using our product (design app). 

A brand guide saves time and money

How to stay consistent in graphic design? 

The answer is a brand guide. This document outlines all the design elements used in branding and digital marketing, such as colors, fonts, usage of logo and photos. It

Whether you’re creating your own graphics, or outsource design, brand guidelines will help make the design process faster. If you’re paying a freelance designer per-hour a faster design process means cutting down on design costs.

If you’re designing your own visuals, a brand guide will help you stay on track with your marketing strategy.

Better social media

People nowadays experience a visual overload on social media. So, how can you make your business stand out?

The point of consistency in graphic design regarding social media is to attract the right target audience. Eye-catching and outrageous social media graphics can stop people from scrolling. But a visual consistent profile will encourage them to follow you for more. 

Just take a look at Slack’s Instagram. They post a lot of different content - from video tutorials, to short tips, as well as memes, jokes, and motivational quotes. However, everything fits their recognizable visual design: the color palette, use of emojis, and simple sans serif font.

The content itself entices you to follow them. The consistent graphic design helps to nurture a powerful brand image.

Images communicate faster than text

Did you know that people remember only 20% of what they read and 80% of what they see? In other words, if you want people to remember your brand, you’ll need to communicate visually.

Moreover, visual communication is often a way to bridge language barriers if you’re marketing to a global audience. No matter where you come from, or what kind of local knockoff you used to drink as a kid, everyone has a similar response to a “sweating” bottle of Coke on a hot day!

Absolute vodka had one of the most successful and longest-running campaigns in history. From iconic city landmarks to a nod to Andy Warhol’s art, these ads were created to sell the same product to different target audiences.

Thanks to consistent graphic design (using the distinct shape of the vodka bottle in different ways), this campaign had huge success and helped Absolute become the market leader in the US.

Conclusion

Consistency in graphic design is one of the most important elements of a successful marketing strategy.

Still, don’t forget that marketing design projects range from LinkedIn ads to TikTok videos. So, it can be quite difficult to ensure consistent design across the board. 

Working with a professional graphic design service can eliminate the stress and help you get the marketing visuals your brand deserves. At ManyPixels, you can get all your graphics in one place at a flat monthly fee.

Get started today or book a call with us to see how we can help your business!