Here's Why Good Design Is So Important

Poor design is the quickest way to kill your brand.

You can have the best product in the world, but if your marketing doesn't shine at the same level as your product, you're essentially shooting yourself in the foot.

I'm a big believer in teaching by example. So in this article, I'll attempt to deconstruct what bad design looks like, and show how it can be improved.

"Good design is simply perfect harmony."

Quickly check out this poster:

It was circulating in a few WhatsApp groups I was on, and my first thought was "who actually signed off on this?"

That poster is the perfect example of a brand that can improve their outlook (and thus gain more calls, bookings and sales) by simply improving the design of their poster.

Just at a glance, here's where this brand could have significantly improved:

• Elemental hierarchy

It's hard to know which element is the most important to focus on. The headline is nicely contrasted, but then the subtitle below it is also competing for dominance.

The price is too large. The logo is unnecessarily massive. The social media icons are bigger than the contact details. All of this means the eyes don't know where to focus.

• Logo legibility

You can't tell if it's Riooo or Riccc from afar until you see the email address. A logo redesign is needed here.

• Spelling

'Calender' is the wrong spelling of 'calendar'.

• Spacing

Everything is crowded in the center, and there isn't a consistent line spacing between the text. This crowding would also prevent them from boosting the post on Facebook, as social media platforms emphasize "less text and more visuals".

• Alignment of the elements

Neither the titles, words, logo nor icons are vertically, horizontally nor even diagonally aligned with each other.

"Less is more. Learn to be stingy in design."

• Number of fonts

There are at least 7 fonts in that poster that don't properly match. A good rule of thumb is to pick two or three good fonts and stick with them.

You can use Google Fonts to help you pick matching fonts and download them all for free.

• Color harmony

Try counting the sheer number of colors on that poster. There's yellow, black, red, green, the blue of the logo, grey, etc. It's simply too much.

• Elemental parsimony

Parsimony means "as few as possible", or "stinginess". The lesson here is that less is more. For example, that graduation cap ?? on the right was not necessary and simply adds to the clutter of the design. There's already a graduation cap on her head).

"People associate bad design with bad service."

CONCLUSION

The better your design, the more pleasing it is to the eye, and the better the signal you send to potential clients. ????

Poor design signals poor service.

People make associations to your brand based on what you put out there. If you don't care about the face of your brand, then people assume you won't care much about them either.

?????♂ Of course, you can't fix poor service delivery with good design. But you can avoid shooting yourself in the foot right off the bat.

At least give people a chance to experience your stellar service by putting your best foot forward, design and marketing-wise.

If you found this useful, share this article to help other entrepreneurs out there market their businesses better. ????

And if you need help with your designs, photography, copywriting or social media marketing, get in touch at shehuphd.com for business-boosting designs.

With love,

Mo Shé Media

P.S. Stay in touch on social by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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Mohammed Shehu is a digital strategist, speaker, serial entrepreneur and current doctoral candidate in the field of Informatics, focusing on how Namibian businesses can thrive in the world of digital and social media through brand storytelling and analytics. He has been instrumental in launching and overhauling several local brands and has hosted workshops on brand management, social media marketing and product development. Invite him to speak at your next event via email.