Written by Marnie Bergan on the 13/08/2008
Common Design Mistakes - Part 1
Whether in start-up phase or well established, the fact is that small businesses can't always afford to pay to have their marketing materials designed professionally. So sometimes they decide to design their own. This is where things can go horribly wrong. Below you will find some basic design tips that will help make your flyers or ads look a little more like you had professional help!
Centering every visual element in your marketing material is not the best approach. Despite the attraction to symmetry being deeply ingrained in us as humans, when it comes to design having your business logo, marketing message, pictures and contact details all in one long-running, centered paragraph isn’t only unprofessional looking, it also looks lazy and boring.
Those corners are just begging to be filled. That doesn't mean you should fill up every other bit of space on your canvas, but instead plan your design strategically, sketch it out on some paper, do a mock up of your sketch, and then play with it until it looks right.
You have a matter of seconds to get the attention of your audience. When they look at your flyer and see a page full of black text and a tiny logo, you've lost a customer. Most people today barely have time to pick up your flyer or glance at your ad, let alone read a whole marketing pitch on a piece of paper. They're not going to waste their time reading something like this, so don’t waste your very precious time making this kind of flyer. Volume does not equal quality. Cut down on unnecessary text and make every word left on your design one that counts.
Clip art is for your kids' projects and garage sales. It should not be part of anything that comes out of your business. Trust me on this one.
As I mentioned above, you shouldn’t try to fill up every pixel of free space. All marketing material needs blank or white space – websites, business cards, flyers and stickers. All of them. It gives the illusion of there being less text to read, makes the text that is there easier to read and generally presents the overall design as clean and neat. Overcrowding your designs with pictures, accents or big bits of text screaming, ‘DON’T MISS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!’ is not going to help with your image.
I like to think I'm a bit of a Nazi when it comes to spelling, grammar and, well, pretty much anything to do with language. So I can't help but notice when I get a flyer or brochure that says, 'We sell used furnture.' Spot the mistake? I can promise you I did.
It amazes me how often this happens, and it's not just on things that the businesses in question have printed themselves – it's also on material that has been printed professionally. Professional printers WILL NOT proof your work. That is your job and you need to make sure you do it before sending off the so called finished files. I know what it's like to have been working on a personal design for 3 weeks and wanting to see the back of it so I can get on with my client work. It's only natural that when you finally get the look right, you're keen to just get the printing over and done with. But not checking your spelling or leaving out a comma where there should be one makes your audience think you didn't care about getting their business enough to double check your work before sending it to them. And who wants to give their money to someone who apparently doesn't care if they get it or not?
I know as small business owners we are all run off our feet and usually very time poor. Sometimes it is easier to just throw a flyer together in Word. But think of it this way: marketing your business should not be less important than doing the accounts or working on a client's project. Without good marketing, you won’t have those clients and your bank account will be sitting still twiddling its thumbs.
When you need to get a flyer done for the next promotion, set aside a decent block of time and plan your design down to the last detail. Once you've planned, try designing it using the tips above. If you need to, look at designs on the web or keep competitors mail-outs and compare your design to them. Don't blatantly rip off their design, but ask yourself, 'What's this flyer got that makes it look better than mine?'
Whatever you do, don't rush to get your marketing done so you can get back to your latest project. This is your business and its image, and that is the most important project of all.
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