Plus, do’s and don’ts of working with your graphic designer.
Light some candles, put on some music, and slip into something comfortable, Cranky readers. This Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing with you 8 reasons why I love graphic designers — and tips for living with them happily ever after.
It’s been said that French is the language of love. Not true.
The real language of love is graphic design — a visual language with the power to attract, engage, persuade, and move people to their cores.
But to speak it well, one needs to be fluent in the language. No, you’re not going to get there by fumbling around like a clumsy teenager in Microsoft Paint.
You need a professional — someone with the right tools and experience who knows what they’re doing.
Professional graphic designers have been around the block a few times, and it shows.
Through years of practice, they’ve honed the skills to harness their natural talents. They’ve learned typography, color theory, grid systems, and eyeflow patterns. They stay up to date on the latest graphic design trends and best practices.
Like sexy alchemists, graphic designers combine art, science, and technology to create the perfect mood, seduce your prospects, and get them to say yes.
Why do I love graphic designers? Let me count the ways:
1. Graphic designers make brands look good.
Good graphic design gives brands a polished, professional image that inspires confidence and trust. In a day and age when looks are important, attention spans are shrinking, and so many people are visual learners, your brand needs to look the part.
2. Graphic designers help brands stand out.
The world is oversaturated with brands, all vying for attention. Graphic design helps to communicate your brand’s unique value and personality, and set it apart from the competition. Good graphic design can even be the tie-breaker when a prospect is considering two brands and knows little about either.
3. Graphic design makes brands memorable.
Good graphic design gives brands an instantly identifiable face that looks consistent across all media. This familiarity builds recognition and trust, two things every brand needs.
Starbucks is one example of a brand where the logo doesn’t even include the name anymore. The logo is simply a graphic.
4. Graphic design makes brands magnetic.
To be successful, every brand has to attract the right prospects — the people who are most likely to want, need, and buy the product or service. Good graphic designers make strategic use of color, type, images, and graphics to appeal to the brand’s target audiences.
That’s why products designed for men look so different from those made especially for women, why movie posters for creature features look different from those designed for romantic comedies, why print materials aimed at people over 50 use larger type to make for easier reading, and so on.
You may also like: A series of unfortunate logo designs
5. Graphic designers are masters of their tools and processes.
If you’ve never worked in Adobe Creative Cloud, opening the program is like sitting in the cockpit of a 747 and being asked to fly the plane. No good can come of it if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Graphic designers are experts on the software — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and so many more. They know a PNG from an EPS and when a job should use Pantone versus CMYK.
This knowledge saves brands time and money. If you need a logo, a good graphic designer will create one that works well at every conceivable size, on one- and two-color print pieces, on the web, and in other applications to avoid problems at the print shop or with web pages that take too long to load.
6. Graphic designers bring fresh perspectives.
Graphic designers have a knack for taking your facts and information and turning them into imaginative new approaches for communicating your messages. Concepting is one of their greatest strengths.
As a direct response copywriter, I often approach concepting with a mix of fear and trepidation. What if I don’t find the Big Idea? What if my thinking is sound, but the message isn’t interesting?
This is where graphic designers shine. Designers bring so much more than a unique visual perspective. They think big and their ideas are frequently fun, surprising, and irresistible.
7. Graphic designers improve the user experience.
Good graphic design doesn’t just look good — it helps people interact with brands more easily.
It helps prospects navigate web pages to find what they’re looking for. It promotes a positive user experience that makes people feel good about a brand so they keep coming back for more.
Today, designers that specialize in user experience (UX) are in high demand. The folks at CareerFoundry have a great article on the subject in Graphic Design to UX Design: The Ultimate Career Change Guide.
8. Graphic designers help brands get results.
Using their specialized skills, graphic designers organize, prioritize, and package information to entice, persuade, and help convert more prospects into paying customers. From attractive layouts to infographics to smart-looking charts and tables, graphic designers create the visuals that are so important to human understanding.
That’s talent you can take to the bank.
Do’s and don’ts of working with your graphic designer
Graphic designers work differently and have different needs than other professionals. That doesn’t make them any less professional. A lion is not a tiger.
Here are some top tips for working effectively with your graphic designer to ensure everyone gets what they need.
Do:
- Give clear direction. Take time to write a good creative brief and discuss it with your design and copy team. Don’t skimp; the brief is your road map to success. Be clear, be specific, and be available to answer questions.
- Offer constructive feedback. Always frame your feedback in terms of “Does the work meet strategy?” rather than “Do I like this color or that graphic personally?”
- Respect their process. Because a graphic designer’s work is different, their process different, too. Sometimes they need quiet. Other times, collaboration. Sometimes they may need to get up from their desks and chase an idea outside the office.
- Be open to new ideas. Graphic designers love to try new things, push boundaries, and improve on what’s been done before. Let them, and they’ll take your brand places it’s never been.
- Involve designers in strategy. Good design, like everything else, is based on good strategy. Yet in many organizations, graphic designers are left out of strategy discussions because hey, they just make pretty things, right? Wrong. To do their best work, graphic designers need to understand the product, the business, and what motivates prospects to buy. Include designers in these discussions and review campaign results with your creatives to help them understand what’s working and what isn’t.
- Encourage designers to keep learning. Set aside time and money for professional development. Technology, tools, and techniques change fast, and your creatives need to keep up.
- Celebrate your designers’ wins. Sometimes creative work can feel pretty thankless. Show your graphic designers appreciation when they solve a creative problem and do a job well.
- Make time for fun. Periodically organize creative retreats and outings to help your creatives cool down and recalibrate their creative engines.
Don’t:
- Dictate solutions. Would you tell your plumber or electrician how to do his job? So let your designers do theirs. Resist the urge to say “do it this way” or “make it look like this piece.” It’s fine to ask questions, but let your designer provide the solutions.
- Put them on the spot. Like anyone else, graphic designers do their best work when they’ve had time to think. So don’t ambush them in the hallway and say, “I need an idea!” Write a creative brief and schedule a kick-off meeting to discuss what you need.
- Send endless rounds of changes. Help your designer work efficiently. Consolidate feedback as best you can and communicate it all at once.
- Make every job a rush. Show your designer and all your employees some professional courtesy by planning ahead.
- Take advantage. Graphic designers are some of the nicest people. Please don’t take advantage of their good nature.
- Let copywriters overwrite them into oblivion. Copywriters and graphic designers need to work together. If a writer writes way too much, or sends his copy late, or otherwise paints your designer into a corner, your designer and the design will suffer.
- Expect the impossible. Graphic designers have exceptional skills, yes. But they’re not miracle workers.
You may also like: 9 ways to keep your creative professionals happy and productive.
Picasso on the value of experience
One day, Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a woman approached him.
“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”
So Picasso agreed to sketch her. A few minutes later, he handed her the portrait.
“It’s beautiful!” the woman gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with a few expert strokes. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”
“Five thousand francs,” the artist replied.
The woman was incredulous. “How could you want so much money for this drawing? It only took you five minutes!”
To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”
Have you hugged your graphic designer today?
As you can see, I love graphic designers. They’re fun, talented, brilliant, invaluable. Every brand needs a good one.
And now, I’d like to wish all you talented graphic designers out there a happy Valentine’s Day.
You are the LOREM to my IPSUM. You’re just my type. I am very font of you.
OK, I’ll stop now. But just know that you warm the cockles of my cranky heart.
Back to blog home page.
In my mind, I’ve commented on this post. But I can’t find my comment. And this is too important to let it slip by because I could say that I couldn’t agree with you more…except, if possible, I actually do agree even more!!
I had a start-up. I hired a GA who was recommended by someone to help me illustrate the books that I wrote that went along with my product. And of course get our website ready. And finalize a logo.
She not only did all of that, but she actually changed my product and our message. She was that great! And I was smart enough to listen to everything she said!
Any copywriter, or marketing or advertising exec, or even an owner of a company should give a GA his or her marching orders…but then be open enough to re-look at everything once the GA comes back with his or her ideas.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
P.S. My GA became a partner in our company!!
Thanks for sharing, Myles! Yes, a good graphic designer is a great asset, and can be a great partner. Kudos to you for being open to her ideas. Like you, I love the feeling when a graphic design partner comes back to the table not just with great work, but with transformative insights that elevate the entire project.