Good Design is your Brand’s Secret Sauce to Success
More and more, high quality visuals are becoming the norm on social media, websites and storytelling platforms, and they can be powerfully effective tools in communicating a message. That’s why basic design and visual skills are not just an advantage anymore; they are becoming vital ingredients to digital communication.
“In most people’s vocabularies, design is a veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product.” – Steve Jobs
Good design requires thought and planning. It’s not random, and you’re not “born with it.” It can be learned. Whether it’s a photo or an advertisement graphic, you must imagine yourself as a visual tour guide for your users, leading them on a journey through your message. You must consider what they should see first, second third, etc. and learning some elements of design will help you achieve that goal.
Composition
First of all, you must consider your design’s overall composition. Composition is the arrangement of each element of your design, from words to objects to natural lines within a landscape. Designers and photographers can use different design concepts to place these elements in a visually appealing and effective manner. Take a look at Zevia’s Instagram photo below:
This is a beautifully designed photo because it makes use of design elements. Nothing is random. Everything was carefully thought out, from colors to the placement of each citrus fruit to add to the overall composition.
According to David Kadavy (designer, entrepreneur and host of the podcast Love Your Work), understanding design principles are the “secret sauces” that really make something look attractive. Let’s take a look some key terms and see how some brands are utilizing basic design principles to achieve effective visual branding:
Dominance / Emphasis
As a designer, you can use dominance to establish a focal point, or emphasis on a certain area of your image. You can do this through size, color or other factors like texture. When you make a specific element dominant, you are communicating to your viewers that that particular object is most important. Take a look at Adidas’ Instagram photo below:
Create a dream and live it.James Harden told his family "IMMA BE A STAR" 13 years ago, and now he's making it come true.
Posted by adidas on Monday, 21 November 2016
In this image, Adidas made it very clear that James Harden’s sneaker was the most important element, and it should be seen first and foremost. In this instance, Adidas obviously utilized size to create a sense of dominance, but you can also use color, texture, shape or other elements to do so.
Similarity
When elements of a composition are similar to one another, your overall composition becomes more visually appealing. That’s why simple, clean designs are often the most effective. Designers who use similar shapes or colors throughout their images convey a sense of unity and organization. Check out Staples’ photo below:
In this example, the design is visually appealing because colors aren’t clashing and users can see a pattern throughout the image. Each crayon has similar swirls and font types. Using these elements, Staples effectively communicated a unified image.
Contrast
Contrast is the opposite of similarity. In many cases, a visual artist needs to communicate two objects are unrelated. Take the following Instagram photo from Ford, for example:
In this situation, Ford is making a very distinct separation between the beautiful, yet rustic truck bed and the rough, brown wood. The photographer even used a natural line to differentiate the two. Designers can use size, color, or even font types to create a strong contrast between two dissimilar objects.
Balance
Objects in your composition should be arranged in such a way that the overall picture is balanced. Take the image below from Topo Chico, for example:
The lines from this suspension bridge not only create a sense of direction and perspective, but they are arranged equally on both sides of the shot. This creates a calming, organized sense of balance. Not all images must be symmetrical to feel balanced, however. The initial example from Zevia uses the design element of motion with negative space to establish a sense of balance, even though it is asymmetrical.
Direction
Sometimes, the placement of your elements in an image can create a sense of movement. Check out the example from Vans below:
Within this composition, the photographer is using perspective and natural lines to establish motion. In addition, the subject is looking in the direction of the leading lines, creating an even stronger sense of direction. This is usually most helpful when documenting a runner, cars going by or other subjects that move in a specific direction.
Once you start practicing a few of these design principles and integrating them into your work, you will notice the difference in your visuals. It takes time and patience to learn the nuances of design, but as you practice, you can start developing effective visual to gain attention on social media and around the web.
