Good Design Choices Draw People In

A good visual piece, whether it’s a business card, flier, display ad, or even email ad, should grab the reader and be easy to look at.  Don’t make it too busy and jumpy, unless you’re selling heavy metal music!  Let the style of the visuals reinforce your message. Follow these tips, and your design piece will draw people in.

1.  Lead with your most important point, in a large headline.

2.  Restate the point early in the body copy.

3.  Consider using a secondary headline, either immediately next to the main headline or in a different part of the piece.

4.  Use white space as a graphic element.

5.  Choose graphics and pictures (if the piece uses them) that your readers will want to look at, but that are also closely related to your message.

6.  Break up large areas of text with subheads or graphic elements.

7.  Experiment with using the text itself as a graphic element – italics, bold, various sizes and weights of type can create a graphic effect.

8.  Color is better – period. Black and white and sepia tone may their place in art, but in selling it just doesn’t measure up to color.  There have been numerous studies done that support the fact that a color ad will not only draw more eyes, but people also retain the message longer.

9.  Consider the paper (if it’s a printed piece) as one more element that contributes to the overall style and “feel” of a piece.  There are literally thousands of choices available in paper.  Ask your designer or printing company to show you samples.

Author: Kerry O'Malley

omalley@marketectsinc.com

Marketects was founded in 1999 by Kerry O’Malley, a proven marketing communications professional in international, manufacturing companies. Working on the “other side of the desk,” she hired ad agencies to manage her employers’ advertising and P/R programs. Frustrated over the lack of attention and level of enthusiasm she was looking for in the marketing agencies she worked with, Kerry realized that there was a definite need for a full-service marketing firm that specialized in working with industrial companies. She resolved that her clients would always receive the highest level of service possible and never feel like the last kid chosen for the team.

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