First impressions matter – we’ve all heard that before but, when it comes to marketing, truer words were never written. Your brand is your reputation, and every aspect of your business should align to support that. A good way to appeal to the masses is through visual imagery. People are drawn to striking photographs, creative design, and genuine sentiments – you can use this to your advantage with branded images! You don’t have to be a professional designer to make it happen, either. The key is consistency, and it applies to several variables.
- Logo
Try to keep your logo small, in relation to the subject of the design or image used. The general rule of thumb, in regards to placement, is the bottom right corner. This is an unobtrusive area, maintaining a presence without interfering with the imagery. Many companies include their web address or social media handle in this area, as well. Once you’ve established good placement, you can think about any text you’d like to add.
- Font
As is usually the case with most typographic graphic design, keep it simple and balanced. You want your brand to shine through without overshadowing the sentiment. One or two colors and a maximum of three fonts should suffice. Make sure your text is easy to read, without ‘fighting with’ the image for attention.
- Color
If your company colors are green, black and white, using photos and graphics which include or even spotlight those colors is an easy way of quietly supporting your brand, in the background.
- Tone
What vibe does your business put out? Are you laid back and chill, or are you scheduled and precise? Does your product or service have a certain feeling attached to it? Be sure the imagery you choose supports your brand’s tone. In many cases, you won’t need to add any text at all and, occasionally, you’ll find photos and graphics that don’t need your logo to get the point across.
- Stock Photos
Unique content is preferred, but we’re not all professional photographers – that’s where stock photos come in. When you need to use photos that are not your own, always remember to make use of stock photos rather than those found through an internet search.
- Apps That Can Help As mentioned above, you don’t have to be a professional designer to make great branded images. Apps like PicMonkey and Canva offer endless template options and fonts which you may not have, locally. These types of applications can help streamline your content creation, offering a sort of ‘plug-and-play’ interface. And, of course, let’s not forget about Instagram and all those filters!
There are a lot of eyes out there, and they’re all drawn to engaging visual content. Let your personality shine through in your branded imagery and your customers will look forward to your next post.
