Category: Branding

The colour orange is a colour that radiates the warmth of red but also the happiness and optimism of yellow making it a colour of joy and youth. Like a youngster, orange holds the characteristics of an untainted soul of optimism, uplifting, spontaneous, independence and adventure as well as strength in bouncing back from difficult situations. In this post, I will look in-depth at the meaning of orange, how different shades have different meanings to us and when we should consider using the vibrance of orange in our branding. Continue “The colour orange and its meaning”

The colour red is a very powerful and vibrant colour that seems to demand our attention, only one other colour, yellow, holds this much dominance in gaining our attention and we know that the reason it does is that in nature the colour red signifies danger. Some animals display flashes of red to warn hungry predators that they are poisonous and this is where the basis of this colour’s psychological meaning stems from. In this post, I will look in-depth at the meaning of red, how different shades have different meanings to us, how it relates to our spiritual self,  nature and more. Continue “The colour red and its meaning”

The monocle, the sign of a true sophisticated gentleman also showed the wearer as an intelligent and mature human being. Where has this piece of clothing gone? It takes utter class and confidence to wear something such as this and the design (of which this blog is all about) is nothing short of gold plated genius. In this blog post, I discuss the design of the monocle and 10 famous people that have worn or do wear one. Continue “The monocle , the sign of sophistication and 5 gentlemen who wore them”

Pro-immigration or anti-immigration? It’s something that has been hitting the headlines in the UK since UKIP emerged from the dark recesses of middle earth, immigration has been flooding the minds and news reports of every British television channel, most of which, have a negative slant. This, my friends totally aggravates the living daylights out of me and for many reasons! In this post, I will try to discuss both the pros and cons of immigration but also how it affects a country’s productivity and creativity. Continue “Why being pro-immigration boosts a country’s creative powers”

Advertising has been around for a very long time, from some of the earliest forms in the Roman empire displaying Caesar’s head on a coin to modern website banners. Adverts are all vying for our attention and to influence us, the more businesses that are being founded the need to make successful advertising is growing even greater. Knowing how the human psyche works give advert designers a little head start in creating something that stands a chance of convincing the viewer that they need the product or service in question. This is where AIDA comes in.

Continue “AIDA the process mind goes through in successful advertising”

Creating a colour scheme for your brand should not be taken lightly, colour has a huge psychological power over its viewer than has been with us in nature from the beginning of time. It’s not simply saying ‘I want it to be yellow’, you need to consider what shade of yellow as a vivid bright yellow has a different feel, mood and meaning than a dark mustard yellow. Here is some basic information about the meaning of the main shades of colour.

Continue “How to choose a colour scheme for your brand”

Recently I had a message from a young Graphic Communication students about to graduate in need of some current designer’s viewpoints on her dissertation topic. Being someone who likes to help people whenever possible I answered her questions. This is the conversation that unfolded : –

Hi there! I was wondering if you would be able to answer 4 quick questions for me if you have a spare moment? I’m a third year Graphic Communication student and would really benefit from designers like yourself answering a few short questions to help me with my Dissertation!!Hope you can help! Thank you

Can you describe what ‘persuasion‘ means to you in terms of design?

Sure, persuasion for me is a subconscious effort when it comes to design, you don’t necessarily persuade people consciously through design you simply create a desire that is so immense that it becomes so unavoidably attractive that you are persuaded to act on the design whether it is a new product, a message or an interesting new architectural design. Persuasion is about tapping into our human emotions of desire and/or the hunger to improve our lives :).

 Can you describe what ‘manipulation’ means to you in terms of design?

Manipulation is similar to persuasion as every time we design something we are trying to manipulate people to act, we want to almost control the actions and thoughts of the viewer with our designs. Designers want to convince consumers through their own emotional experiences in life that they simply cannot live without our design, knowing it may correct a problem they have or have had,make them become more desirable or simple make them feel happier with their life. As designers we try to manipulate the customers to buy our product or service to enhance their experiences of life, albeit sometimes artificially.

 Describe a situation where you think you have been persuaded & manipulated by design

I am not sure when or if I have been persuaded by design. Being trained to think creatively, artistically and analytically you are constantly aware of design so it is difficult as a designer to be persuaded by ‘concious’ persuasion as we know that we are trying to be convinced to buy. Saying that, if a product is well designed ergonomically and I can see it is manufactured well then I am drawn to it more rather than through clever branding such as apple.

Maybe I have been persuaded or manipulated by design but without actually knowing about it because the best graphic design will only subtly persuade you without the viewer actually realising it is doing so. An example of this subtle manipulation is the marketing message in the Budweiser advert.

Example of subconcious manipulation in advertising

Budweiser used to sell mainly to white middle class Americans but they wanted to expand their market to include the young ethnic market so they released the wassup advert.

In this video every actor has a funny conversation where each friend says wassssuuuup and every one of these people are from the new market group targeted. The fact the advert is funny attracts everyone regardless of race and subconsciously makes it acceptable for people other than the white middle classes to drink Budweiser, a clever design by the advertisers of Budweiser.

Conclusion

There are many times when I look around and can see many manipulations and persuasive messages on billboards and shop windows that are so consciously trying to persuade that they have no effect on those who are creatively trained but like the advert above I found it fun and remember saying wassup to my friends yet didn’t realise the subliminal message that the company wanted to portray that their beverage was for everyone.

Therefore it is possible to suggest that we are being manipulated and persuaded to every day, whether a small advert on a website or a poster on the tube or told a believable marketing messages such as ‘Apple is the best in creating technological advances’, all things that we have been persuaded or manipulated into believing by advertisers and marketing firms.

So next time you are out and about just take a moment to study what you are looking at and be more prepared to analysis what the message is that is trying to be communicated to you to make you act in a certain way.

What are your views on persuasion and manipulation in design? Please comment in the box below.

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If I see another little 3d white man with a huge spherical head on a website or as a Twitter profile image I think my head will explode with creative madness ! This little man is soooo over used by small businesses that it shows a lack of understanding of just how important branding and graphic design plays in your potential customers decision making.

Why stock images are bad for business

This may sound like I am being extremely harsh on the little white man and please don’t suggest I am bullying him but your business is a unique entity, unlike this little fellow. By using common stock imagery you are : –

1. saying that you are just the same as the next business.
2. you don’t care about your company’s image and marketing message.
3. and worst of all you are also saying that your service is cheap and untrustworthy!

Consistent brand message

Most medium sized to large corporations will have what is called a branding style guide and it must be adhered to at all times. Some of the elements in the guide can include what fonts should be used, their spacing & curning, the exact RGB, CMYK colours of the brand and the typical images and marketing message that should be considered as part of the overall look and feel of any marketing collateral whether digital or offline.

I realise by using stock images that look the same you think you are being consistent but if that image is seen again and again throughout the web on different websites that aren’t your own business then you are damaging the possibility of selling your product or image to the target market.

When I see people using unaltered stock images online it really disheartens me and puts me off using that business service or product, it makes me feel I can’t trust them and I will disregard them from my retail choices.

Alter the stock images

Don’t get me wrong stock images are great in helping graphic and digital designer gather elements you need to create unique graphics but if you use them as the sole way to “picturize” your website you will simply be putting your potential customers off doing business with you as although may you think the images you have chosen look good the majority of people will see an unprofessional website that shows lack of care, does that really reflect your business goal? I doubt it, your business has personality so show it off to the world!

Other stock images to avoid

The little white man doing various activities is my no.1 thing that makes my creative blood boil to see people using on their digital platforms, I mean, why!?!

But it also gets worse, pictures of random actors trying their hardest pretending to be business people standing in line are common place, avoid them or use sparingly and never use them for your main brand image that is simply a big no no!

Hire a designer

It is probably better to have no images at all if you are going to use unaltered stock images that are damaging your online reputation with potential customers. If you need unique images communicate your message verbally through correct use of heading styles, and contextual information and then hire a graphic/digital designer when your business budget can afford it.

It may seem like an extra expense your business doesn’t need and maybe the cost will seem heavy at first but if the graphics communicate your business message in a unique and imaginative way compared to your market rivals then when people are looking for your service/product they will remember you and see that you are indeed a very highly professional business worthy of doing business with as well as increasing the worth of your business.

I am JAWILSONDESIGN a branding, web and graphics specialist that can help you improve your company’s image in a unique and imaginative way if you should need any help updating, improving or creating a new brand image please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I am regular subscriber to several marketing email newsletter from various sorts and one caught my eye. It discussed how businesses fail and half of the points raised relate to the creative industries I am in. In this post I will discuss with you why every business owner shouldn’t see designers as expensive commodities but as creative geniuses that can add real monetary value ( with examples) to your corporation and prodigious intrigue to your potential business leads.

The three creative parts of your business that if not invested in will doom your business to fail

By refusing to pay a designer for a professional logo, they looked amateurish. People don’t trust amateurs.

Before even developing an online presence, website and marketing collateral, probably the number one key element of a brand is its logo.

Without a professionally designed logo that has taken time to develop and evolve by a consummate creative professional you ARE damaging your business. Sure, you can ask your friends kid to have a go, they learn that kind of stuff at school or why not employ someone on the infamous bidding websites like freelance and get someone in India to do it for a cut of the cost a western creative would cost, they look good enough… don’t they?

The best creative professionals will have been trained in the arts by other creatives with many years expereince and taught to think differently than an average person. Everything in a creatives mind is thought about on a deeper level than just whether you like something or not. To a creative everything has a story, a meaning and a message that needs to be communicated with the medium they know best.

A great creative will know that particular symbolism will have strong influence in your business industry as will the colours and composition of your logo.

You really should value the work of the creative not as an expensive commodity but as a product enhancing necessity.

I ask you, consider three brands right now and what comes into your mind? McDonalds? Apple? Nike? Do you see a description of these companies in your minds eye or their logo when you read the above text? That is the power of the corporate logo, we are visual creatures and a logo is the heart in your business monster, without a well designed one your monetary blood simply won’t flow as easily.

By refusing to pay for a professional looking website, they lost sales leads and looked like amateurs.

Every brand or company whether providing a service or product needs a website. I don’t care whether you are an app developer, an alternative therapist or a builder and ‘things simply aren’t done that way in your industry to generate leads’ because basically that is a load of old hat!

Most people now ‘google it’ to find products or services

Most customers and businesses now look online or ‘google’ it to find what it is they need to solve their problem and if you aren’t online targeting these people then you are missing the opportunity to be found and make sales.

Not only this but your website should be generating new content weekly, if not daily so you can share it on social media ON EVERY PLATFORM. A lot of social media organisers may disagree with me and that is fair enough as some social media platforms are used more by different target markets than others but it is in my belief if you generate content and then share it everywhere you are allowing your potential customers a chance to find YOUR BUSINESS regardless of gender, creed, colour or class which surely is a good thing if not just for increasing brand awareness.

Websites are a business asset

Owning a website can seem expensive but again THATS A LOAD OF RUBBISH!!! A website is NOT expensive, the designer might charge you, for example, $2000 to set it up with a domain name, hosting, a designed UI, navigational structure that works, code it with html, css, php, add graphics and functionality, include social media AND show you how easy it is to add new content to the site without worrying you will mess up the design, look and feel of the site and NOT NEEDING TO KNOW ANY CODE!

A website might sound scary but it shouldn’t be, a website designer can sit down with you for a small fee to just show you that a website can be the best and most enjoyable part of your business to manage and you will never look back once you own it.

Website adds value to your customers but also to your business valuation

Plus it really DOES ADD REAL MONETARY VALUE to your business. My website, only 10 months old is worth around $7000…as I designed it myself I had no initial outgoing in terms of design but even if I had paid $2000 for a months work to develop a good website I would still have made made a $5000 increase in my initial investment.

(If you are interested to see what your website is worth type into google ‘what is my website worth’ into google)

By refusing to hire a copywriter for their marketing, their response rates were 100′s of percent lower than they would have been.

As a dyslexic man copy writing is not the skill I write home about ( dya see what i did!? Huh! Huh!? 😀 ) but I still see it as a creative and highly skilled talent. The right words really are the write words and these guys know how to communicate your product verbally like a master word ninja.

Work with a copywriter to get the content ‘write’

Of course, YOU SHOULD EXPLAIN YOUR BUSINESS AND WRITE THE CONTENT FOR YOUR WEBSITE but you should also consult a copywriter to ensure the words you are using are not too complex for your market. It is really important you get your message across in a simplified manner, the best website will give the visitor the information they want and need without having to think too hard. I think the key message is to explain things like you were speaking to your grandma, another words simple words, simple comparisons and simple call to actions.

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Example of a website design cost and breakdown

It may seem  that they charge the earth but if you break down what they are adding into your business then it is actually a cheap service in relative terms. For example lets use the website example again; I suggested that a website designer charges you £2000 for a website that takes a month to make. Wo! You think that is so expensive!

But let me break it down for you : –

That designer is going to spend 40 hours a week on your website, they are going to create a photoshop mockup, design navigational systems, create a backup incase of emergency, improve your website security, improve your web speed performance, help gain a basic seo score for your intial pages, they will design a UI optimised for your customers experience, they then have to create all the graphics and marketing messages, they then have to code it in html, and css as well as possibly php, java, ajax, j-query and other languages that takes a long time to learn. They then will get your approval before making changes you want to happen and they may even show you how to update it and provide you with a user guide too if you are lucky.

Good design takes time