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The internet is a wonderful place for business. I’ve recently been using it with some success to bid on graphic design projects across the country – opening up my customer base by leaps and bounds as I can compete for clients outside of the Brighton, Michigan area.
In doing this, I have also been researching the other graphic design companies who are bidding on these projects. I came across one company that had been bidding on every possible logo design project, at what seemed like an impossibly low price. I went to their website and was immediately hit with the line, “Over 10,000 logos designed.” And I momentarily freaked out. How on earth was I going to compete with someone who not only designed a logo for almost free, but also had over 10,000 logos in their portfolio?
Once I finished freaking out, I realized that I wasn’t competing with these guys. These guys were a huge company, with designers based overseas, and many of the 10,000 logos were very very similar to each other. I doubt they’re giving their thousands and thousands of clients very individualized attention, and whoever hires them probably doesn’t know exactly which of the logos in that massive portfolio were actually designed by the designer assigned to them. And… Turns out the logo that they were offering for this unbelievably low price was in one format, suitable only for a website. If a company wanted a resolution suitable for print, or a vector image, they would have to spend additional money. And for many people who aren’t particularly graphic savvy, this wouldn’t be obvious up front.
Sure, this company will get some of the projects that I bid on. But they won’t get them all. There are people who will appreciate what they get from working with a smaller company and actually knowing who it is that will be doing their work. There will be people who see unbelievably low prices and… gasp… not believe them. There will always be people who want to be an individual instead of one of 10,000. These are the clients I want and am competing for. Which means I am not competing with firms like this one. I am competing with all the other designers out there who provide their clients with personalized attention and a unique final design at a price they can make a living at. And I’m okay with that.
As small business owners have you found yourself trying to compete online with companies that made it seem impossible to compete? What have you done to compete with them?
There’s a cute commercial for a paint company where two kids are tearing through the house at full throttle while their parents paint a room this very cool color of green. Suddenly it’s quiet and the parents turn around to see the kids in the new green room, sitting quietly and reading. While there is in reality no color that will suddenly tame children, it is true that color elicits emotions and can have an effect on our mental state.
This is important in graphic design and marketing. You want the colors you use for your branding and marketing to elicit the right emotional response from your customers. Let’s take red as our first example.
Red is a strong color with a multitude of associations. It can portray danger, love, passion, aggression, heat, strength,urgency, excitement or debt. The color red can stimulate your appetite – for food or for more sexy pursuits. It is a high energy color.
If your company specializes in something relaxing like massage or meditation – red is a bad choice, not relaxing enough. If your company is involved in finance – red is a bad choice, since red in finance means negative. In healthcare, red means emergency. If your company is trying to appeal to patients and make them feel safe, red is a bad choice.
If you are a restaurant, red can be a good choice since it stimulates appetite. A high energy entertainment company can use red to very good effect. A sexy clothing line or jewelry shop can do well with red.
Does this mean that you have to entirely avoid red in all your materials if it doesn’t entirely fit with the emotions you want your customers to feel? Not necessarily. Just use it in small doses, tempered with other colors that do elicit those feelings.
How does red make you feel?
I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think I’m a pretty decent graphic artist. I can make things pretty. I’ve got a handle on color theory, typography, layout… all those things they teach ya in art classes. But when it comes down to it, those things are NOT the most important part of being a good designer.
The most important part of being a good designer is the ability to listen to your clients. Really listen. Listen to what they want. And then listen between the lines to see what they REALLY want.
Now here is the tricky part. Not everyone has the ability to describe what they really want. They may have a vision in their head, but getting it out… well let’s just say that’s not easy for everyone. And being able to get that out of your clients’ heads and onto paper or screen… that is what is the most important skill of a good graphic designer.
Along with sitting back and really listening, you’ve got to ask the right questions. You need to get at the heart of your client’s needs. Who is their target market? What sort of design do they personally like? Are there colors they like/dislike? Are they conservative (not necessarily politically) or do they prefer cutting edge? You need to be able to get a feel for their personality and energy and then match that with their design.
And then comes the most difficult part. You have to do what your client wants to see, even if you don’t personally like it. There may very well be times when you’re sitting at your computer working on a project, telling your coworkers, or your dog, or anyone who is there that you really don’t want to do it this way. But it always boils down to what works for the client. You may be able to explain to these clients how your way works best, or looks best. But if they’re adamant about it. Make em happy. Because in the end, it’s not your design. They paid you for it, and it’s theirs.
What do you think? If you’re someone who hires graphic designers, is it hard to describe what you want? If you’re a graphic designer, is it hard to listen?
Wouldn’t it be great if all small businesses had the budget to just redo all of their marketing materials at once, creating a completely new look for the company every time it was time to update? In reality, a lot of us need to do this updating piece meal. To be honest, even for those of us who are working on our own materials (and at least don’t have the added cost), the very thought of doing them all at once can be pretty daunting.
So how do we update our materials if we can’t do it all at once? If we can’t update everything, why bother? Won’t it be bad to have some items updated, while others are behind?
Having worked with many small and medium businesses in southeast Michigan and beyond, I can tell you that even larger companies with big budgets don’t always update everything all at once. So don’t be discouraged if your materials are in need of a major overhaul and you’ve only got the time or resources for a minor makeover. The most important thing is to not be so overwhelmed that you just leave everything as is.
If your materials need that revamp, start with the materials that are most important. What are seen first by your clients? Where are you getting the most work/traffic? If you get the bulk of your work from your website, start there. If you are a bigtime networker, perhaps your business cards are the first thing for an update. If you need a complete overhaul of everything, maybe you need to start with your logo.
The key is, once you pick where to start, make sure you get that piece right. Whether using a graphic designer or designing the materials yourself, you want to be happy with the look of your first updated piece, then you can base the changes of everything else on that piece. It is vitally important that you don’t update one piece to look one way, and then do something completely different with everything else. As you go about systematically updating all of your materials, they all need to coordinate, or match. They all need to have your “new look”.
Another consideration is timing. If you can’t do it all at once, try not to drag it out too long, especially if the new look is drastically different from your old one. If you know it is going to be a long process, maybe the new look should be something that doesn’t stray too far from your existing image. Much more of an update than a complete redesign. This can accomplish two things… First it can help maintain your brand identity, and second it can make it so that if a client gets two different pieces of your marketing puzzle, they at least look like part of the same company.
What would you change first if you were updating your materials? How long do you think is reasonable to update “everything”?
Many small businesses or entrepreneurs now have a substantial online or digital presence – and not just with their websites. There are your blog site, Twitter, Facebook, email newsletters and a multitude of other online directories and listings. The goal is that if anyone pulls up your company from any online source, they can instantly relate it to any other place your company appears. With so much of ourselves spread all over, how do you maintain your corporate identity and image – especially when other companies control the design of the outlet?
Many online homes and email newsletter creators provide a variety of templates to choose from when creating your page or listing. Don’t just pick a template because you like it. Take the time to look through these and find one that can coordinate with your existing page. If nothing really coordinates, pick the most neutral so that if it doesn’t coordinate, it at least doesn’t detract.
Try to pick a flexible template if possible. There are templates that offer you the ability to include your own logo or images. Use these. In fact, take every opportunity you can to put your logo or images on the site. This applies with sites that offer templates, as well as those that don’t. Use your logo, headshots, any other images you’ve been using to brand yourself.
In the end, you want to make it as easy as possible for your potential clients to recognize you, however and wherever they find you.
What do you think? Have you found it hard to maintain a consistent image throughout your online identity?
Think you need to add a picture to your marketing pieces – always and no matter what? It’s true that pictures draw viewers attention – especially pictures of people. But for your small business marketing piece to be effective, there should be a reason for adding the picture and it should make sense why that is the image you chose.
Networking here in Brighton, Michigan I’ve come across many business cards or advertisements with a landscape photo, or maybe some flowers in the background. Sure, these might make for a “pretty” card or ad, but do the images make sense? Is the business a landscaper, outdoor outfitter or florist? Maybe a meditation coach could justify how these images have anything to do with what they do… maybe. For most everyone else, it would be better to have a different image, or (gasp) maybe no picture at all (more on this below).
Another place where people often misuse images is in the stock photos they choose. Make sure the stock photos you choose are appropriate for the audience you want to reach. For example, there are a TON of stock photos floating around of very attractive young models in business attire. And often these end up on all sorts of business marketing materials. Unfortunately, sometimes these photos really don’t relate to the target market. Say the piece is aimed at reaching people in management… Would it be more effective if those stock photos showed people who actually looked like they might have enough experience to be in management, as opposed to the 22-year-old who put on a suit for their first interview? If you’re trying to reach housewives, do young women who look like they are barely above teenagers really get through to your audience?
So what do you do if you can’t find an image that makes sense for your piece? If you don’t have a photo with a reason to be there, you can still add interest to your piece through the use of other graphic elements. Do something interesting with geometric shapes. Put stylized lines under your headings. Take an element from your logo, and maybe screen it in the background. Be creative.
What are some of the worst examples of images that don’t make sense for a piece that you’ve seen?
Who hasn’t seen a poster or ad that was made up of one large graphic with text over top of it. They’re everywhere. But I’ve gotta say, they can really be horrible. Using your picture this way not only diminishes the effect of the picture, it usually makes the text harder to read. It also means your piece has virtually no white space and the effect is usually a cluttered, unprofessional looking marketing piece.
But, you say, I need that picture in the background in order for it not to be “boring”. Wrong. Find a way to creatively use the picture as something other than just a background. Can it be cropped? Can you use a gradient? If it needs to be smaller, so be it. It’s better for it to actually be readable than to take up the whole page just for the sake of filling space. Another advantage of not using your image for the background… you don’t have to screen it out. Your customers can see it in all of its rich brilliant color and sharpness.
Or, if you still want to make the picture as large as possible, find a way to screen out part of it (and I mean really screen it out until it’s almost not there) and make your words take up less space to fill that new smaller screened out area. Or maybe there’s a part of your picture that can almost work as a blank canvas rather than competing with your text. For example, maybe it’s a landscape photo and part of the sky can hold your text, or a photo of a person who is wearing a monochromatic jacket, or a building with an expansive roof or window, or… well you get the idea.
Turn in tomorrow for part three…
I was recently pulling an enormous amount of hardy Michigan weeds from our flower beds and was thinking that a before picture would be the perfect advertisement for a mulch company (we’re really talking about a lot of weeds). All it would take is a picture of our flower bed and people would flock to buy mulch.
In this case, I think a picture would really be worth a thousand words – or at least worth a few dozen. Often in your marketing materials, a good picture can really make the piece. If it’s used right.
Too often, I have seen marketing pieces with pictures that weren’t done right. Either the picture was too low resolution, or it was covered with text, or it just didn’t make sense why it was there to begin with.
Let’s start with resolution… I try to explain resolution and dpi like this… Imagine that your images are made up of marbles (dots or pixels). You will only ever get that same number of marbles and if you try to make the picture bigger, you just stretch the marbles out and make the picture harder to see. Similarly, if you take a picture that is 72 dpi (dots per inch) that is 2 inches by 2 inches and try to just make it 4 x 4 inches, you’ve just stretched those dots out and your picture is now only 36 dpi.
Most images you see online are 72 dpi. Print quality is closer to 300 dpi. If you pull a picture from online and try to print it, chances are it will be blurry at full size. If you somehow found a picture that is a ton bigger than the size you want it, you may be able to shrink the size and end up with a dpi closer to 300 (think moving the marbles closer together or increasing your dots per inch). Generally speaking, though, it is best to start out with an image that isn’t simply pulled from online (there are also often copyright issues with this, but that’s another post http://blog.greenottergraphics.com/2009/08/14/are-your-stock-photos-up-to-copyright-snuff/).
The jist of all this… make sure your images that you use in your printed marketing materials are high enough resolution to be sharp and clear so they actually say what you want them to say, as opposed to saying “look at that blurry unprofessional picture”.
Come back tomorrow for part two on what not to do when combining text and images…
Last week while grocery shopping in Brighton, I bought a package of 25 bubble tools for my two year old. The container had all kinds of cool looking pipes and wands and I have to admit, I think I was more excited about this than my son.
Well… turns out that most of these complicated bubble pipes and wands made horrible bubbles, if any at all. The best ones in the bunch were actually these miniature wands, that just had a bunch of straight forward bubble holes on them. These wands made hoards of perfect little tiny bubbles. And they were efficient. You could blow time after time without redipping them into the soap.
What does this have to do with small business or graphic design? Well… those little bubble wands are like small businesses. They’re not complicated – at least not in the same way a big firm is. Generally, there are only a few people making the decisions – often only one person. The lack of complication makes them more efficient. Things get done. They move forward. I know when I’m working with a small business that I am working with the decision makers, rather than a go between. And I know that the feedback on my work is really coming from the person whose opinion matters.
I also think small business people are more authentic. They don’t have someone in a marketing department telling them who they are. They know what they’re about – it’s why their business is there. They sell it themselves and they believe it. When you meet a small business owner or entrepreneur, you know what you’re getting. They’re not a crazy bubble pipe with strange little bits coming off the sides – that ends up blowing more air than bubbles.
What do you like about small business people or entrepreneurs?
Back when I first started my own freelance design business, one of the first things I did was to come up with a logo and business cards. Then I got a couple of clients and quit spending much time on my own marketing materials, thinking they would get done eventually. Well, the eventually kept getting spread out further and further. I got the work done for those couple of clients and I still kept putting off working on new marketing collateral.
Finally, after a push from my husband (muse, best critic, person best equipped to give me a good kick in the butt when I need it) I went ahead on my website, put together a leave behind and just generally got the ball rolling again. And I’ve got to tell you, getting that package of shiny new postcards in the mail from the printer – complete with all of my business information and logo – well it really gave me a good boost of enthusiasm to push harder to make my business succeed. Looking at that new website made me proud of my company and really made me want to do the best I could to see it grow. It made me feel so much more legitimate and professional, which came out in my new marketing efforts as well as the work I was doing for my clients.
I’ve recently seen a similar effect for a couple small business clients here in Brighton, Michigan. While they were doing okay at their business, their marketing materials had grown stale and they had lost some of the enthusiasm for marketing themselves. They went through the motions, but just weren’t that excited or even optimistic about it.
It’s amazing how much difference the new updated materials made. In one case, the client was still in the early stages of developing their clientele and had stalled much like I had. In another instance, the new materials gave the client a reason to reconnect with existing clients to help them get those ever so important referrals. And in a third instance, you could just see the client ooze with new found pride in their company, which in turn made me feel so much more pride in mine.
What do you think? What could updated marketing materials do for your company? For your enthusiasm?
