Your brand and your digital identity rely heavily on design. Graphic design is something you can’t expect to understand overnight, and even with years of education and experience, the rules change, and you have to relearn best practices. However, we have compiled a short list of graphic design principles that you can quickly learn and implement to give your marketing a facelift.

1.) Know your colors. Color theory is one of the most important aspects of graphic design, and for good reason. Using color can deter or attract your audience’s attention and exude feelings of anxiety or calmness. HubSpot has a great explanation of color theory, but we will explore the basic feelings behind color.

Color vs. Mood

• Red – Feeling of intensity or warmth. Red is a bold color and sometimes represents power. It can also evoke feelings of aggression/rage.  
• Orange – Feeling of energy and happiness. Often used for uplifting messaging. Some find orange overwhelming.
• Yellow – Feeling of brightness, strength, and hope. Be mindful that yellow also can provoke irritation.
• Green – Feeling of safety and calm. It can represent nature or money and has been associated with being lucky.
• Blue – Feeling of peace and tranquility. However, it has also been associated with isolation and melancholy.
• Purple – Feeling of creativity, mystery, and fulfillment. Too much purple, however, can produce feelings of anxiety, impatience, and arrogance.
• Black – Feeling of power and thrill. Also associated with death and mourning.
• White – Feeling of freshness and virtue. However, many people associate white with feeling cold and impersonal.

2.) Text style or typography can also affect your graphic design success. There are two main types of font that you should focus on when designing your visuals.

• Serif: Fonts like Times New Roman, Playfair Display, and Montserrat. These fonts represent “authority, tradition, respect, and grandeur.”  
• Sans-Serif: Fonts like Open Sans, Lato, and Robot. These fonts are considered “clean, minimal, friendly, or modern.” 

When determining what font type to use, consider what message you are trying to convey and who your audience is. If you want to brand your marketing as traditional and timeless, a Serif font may be for you. If you want to position your brand as being innovative and modern, you may want to try a Sans-Serif font.

As you start designing different visuals for your marketing, you may wonder what fonts pair well together and are pleasing for your viewer. Luckily, there are many websites that pair fonts for you. Skip the guessing and try a website like HeyReliable.com. This website allows you to sort by Serif or Sans Serif and pick the feeling you are going for, including “modern, striking, eccentric, classic, minimal, neutral, and warm.” After making your selections, you can browse examples of different pairings, and they even allow you to download the font pair right from their website if the font does not come standard on your device.

3.) What is graphic design without imagery? The images you use need to communicate the point you are trying to make. There are four types of images that are used in graphic design.

• Photos
• Illustrations
• Drawings
• Graphics

Many websites offer stock images that incorporate each type of image listed above. Websites like Canva or Piktochart provide free options for image downloads that you can use in your marketing. Other websites like iStock and ShutterStock charge a small fee but offer a wider variety of images.  

When you begin to establish a marketing plan, it is crucial that your imagery stay consistent. Like your typography, decide what mood you are trying to convey, then find the imagery that fits that style. If you are trying to express professionalism and expertise in your marketing, a cartoon illustration or funny drawing may not be the imagery for you. Instead, stock images of cityscapes or pictures of office décor might be the right fit. Choose the style of imagery you feel most comfortable with and start creating a repository with these stock images so you can stay consistent with your marketing.

There are far more concepts to consider when it comes to graphic design, including hierarchy, spacing, lines, and more, but we hope this short list of graphic design “must knows” helps get you started. If you want to avoid going down the rabbit hole of graphic design and would rather have someone do the work for you, we may have your solution. We pride ourselves in having the “know-how” for financial advisor marketing including lead generation, lead nurturing, and client engagement tools. To learn more about our Done-For-You marketing services, reach out to an Executive Marketing Consultant by phone (844) 949-9497 or visit our website.