How to Make Your Brand Stand Out: Digital & Print Design Tips YOUR PRESENTER: strategy print branding web content infographics Jennifer Peters copywriting video DESIGN WITH PURPOSE A Brand is NOT: • Just a name and logo. • Just a set of visual rules. A Brand IS—and should be: • The visual AND verbal essence of an organization. • A thought process with reasoning behind every design and communication decision. BRAND CONSISTENCY What is most important to implement consistently within a brand’s guidelines? Or, if there aren’t detailed brand standards as a Surrounding white space resource, then be sure to pay close attention to: THE VISUALS... • Logo usage, options and spacing around logo • Typeface/font consistency and clean display Minimum dimensions • Color specs and palette hierarchy • When to use the tagline WITH logo BRAND CONSISTENCY And just as important: THE VERBALS... • The brand story or elevator speech—keep it simple and consistent! > When we tell the same story over and over again, it becomes more powerful. • Concise written communication should be designed to give a clear picture of who the organization is, and what it stands for. > ALWAYS consider your audience(s) when creating content. Are they short on time? • What is the brand’s personality/tone? > Be intentional with the brand’s voice: passionate? proactive? playful? creative? > Can you add a catchy headline to engage or making something more memorable? WEBSITES—Your 1st IMPRESSION Strategize... THEN Design (& Maintain:) WEBSITES It takes less than a second for visitors to form an opinion about your website. • Make sure the messaging and user experience (UX) on your The specifics: homepage is clear, well-written, and gets your visitors what they ASK YOUR TEAM AND A SAMPLE AUDIENCE IF need quickly. YOUR WEBSITE LOOKS: • It should be obvious to NEW ... Cluttered? visitors... who you are, ... Out-of-date? what you can do for them, and ... Unsophisticated? how they can get started. WEBSITES Is your site an accurate and quality representation of your brand, mission, and your work/projects? • If not, your site may be hindering The specifics: your impression for grant evaluations. YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD GET A THOROUGH • According to a study by Adobe, EVALUATION & POSSIBLE 38% OF INTERNET USERS REVAMP EVERY 3 YEARS. WILL STOP ENGAGING ... HOWEVER—regular with a website if the content or maintenance & dynamic layout is unattractive. content is key! WEBSITES What should a good website evaluation process entail? • Analyze current target audience(s) and their respective needs • Research competitors and industry sites parallel in nature • Evaluate internal processes and plan for improvements & efficiency • Align call-to-actions to strategic plans, brand platform, and core offerings • Decide ongoing needs & what should be dynamic TIP: • Determine ROI goals and measurement tactics Get an external, fresh viewpoint! • Homepage hierarchy and user experience (UX) WEBSITES Content, Content, Content... The specifics: • Yes, visual graphics, infographics and images are important to Does your “About” page and history reflect engage your audience... though how your experience & else can your written content help qualifications? establish credibility & ACTION? Does the representation • What kind of ongoing happenings of your Board Members can work to provide your site with reflect your MISSION & operating tactics? regularly-updated, dynamic content and call-to-actions? TYPEFACES (FONTS!) Help Keep Your Audience Engaged TYPEFACE USAGE Combining Fonts • Think contrast! • Serif vs. Sans Serif (Are there brand fonts for web vs. print?) Bad Good contrast/combo: contrast/combo: Headline in a Strong, Headline in a Classic Yet Subtle Serif Font & Clean Serif Font Supporting body text in a strong, Supporting body text in a popular serif family, ie: Georgia web-friendly sans serif family, ie: Calibri TYPEFACE USAGE Keep consistent definition to how & when font variations & sizes are used: Heading 1 Bold Serif Heading 2 (subhead) lighter serif Paragraph body/content text in complimentary sans serif. Paragraph body/content text in complimentary sans serif. Paragraph body/content text in complimentary sans serif. Paragraph body/content text in complimentary sans serif. Paragraph body/content text in complimentary sans serif. Use an Accent!! (for hyperlinks/call-to-actions) TYPEFACE USAGE Typography Size & Spacing Tips: Leading Column widths (line spacing) (for friendly reading) A good general rule is to make sure the You can determine a good gauge of what your spacing or leading is at least 2 points more paragraph’s ideal, reader-friendly column than the point size (at a minimum!) width should be by typing out an alphabet, plus a half alphabet of the font at the size ie: This paragraph’s body text is at 18 pt, you’re looking to display. but the line spacing (leading) is at 22 pt. ie: 39 characters! This rule can be used for 2-line headlines and can certainly be tweaked for more abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklm spacing if a cleaner look is desired. You’ll often need to go wider, but keep in mind, long line lengths mean a slower read. COLOR PALETTES Some Creation & Usage Tips COLOR PALETTES Like fonts, contrast is helpful... • BUT- Complementary colors WITH Analogous colors creates a full, successful palette. Color inspiration • Complementary colors: can come from just Situated across from each other in the spectrum... about anywhere! ie: blue and orange, or yellow and purple • Analogous colors: Situated next to each other in the... ie: blue and purple, or white and grxay. COLOR PSYCHOLOGY Reds: Blues: love, passion, calming, care, excitement, professionalism, appetite trustworthy Be Aware of the Emotion & Meaning of Colors Yellows: Greens: youth, optimistic, money, nature, and conveys tranquility, exuberance health COLOR PALETTES The grayscale equivalents should Good Combinations: reflect a good variety of value. Too much of the same hue or value Not-so-good: doesn’t help create visual hierarchy. COLOR PALETTES Now that you have a nice palette to work with, what is best to implement it? Imagery, Think the 60-10-30 rule: Graphics, Photo Tints • The staple/differentiating color @ 60% of design 60% Complimentary Color Use • The complementary color @ 30% • The strongest color @ 10% 30% Accent • (Note: Darkest, or Gray for body font) 10% DIGITAL DESIGN & PRINT DESIGN Don’t Treat Them the Same! DIGITAL DESIGN & PRINT DESIGN Think Visual Hierarchy & User Experience! • Design by prioritizing content to help lead the viewer’s eye (in print), vs. lead to actions (in digital). Pay Attention to Specs & File Formats • CMYK (print) vs. RGB or Hex/#XXXXXX (digital) • 300 dpi (print) vs. 72 dpi (digital) • 120 dpi (projected) • PDFs for distribution/downloads (try to keep it under 2MB) • JPG for either resolution • PNG for transparency • EPS for scalable print IMPLEMENTATION INSIGHTS To ensure brand quality & consistency: • Create and distribute organized templates for Word & PowerPoint (include formatted sample content!) • Setup Type Styles for the Word documents (Title, Headline, Subheading, body, hyperlink, quotation) • Custom-designed PPT slide templates allow you to control a clean slide layout for a variety of content circumstances, ie: Topic/Category Heavier Content with • Image-based Option • bullets • Call-to-action Option Title Slide Xxxxxx Xxxx • bullets • Closing/contact info IMPLEMENTATION INSIGHTS Help your team understand the importance: Not only to give a professional look...but also to: • Create consistency for brand familiarity • Reinforce the voice of the organization • Confirm the information is coming from REMEMBER: a trusted source Make sure your team • Give a platform for all team members to use knows when & why to use and has access • Create efficiency in creating new documents! to the same shared template files. *And don’t forget standard email signatures... IMPLEMENTATION INSIGHTS CUT TO THE CHASE LET IT RELAX Create a clear hierarchy so the most Breathing room is good—and encouraged! important and relevant messages rise to Communication pieces are more visually the top. And the fewer the words, the engaging when there is white space for more likely the reader will capture and the eyes to rest, and intentional spots remember the content! for the eyes to focus on. ORGANIZE your information... to the point that every detail has purposeful placement. SAY IT ONCE Be sure to avoid repeating the same information in various, repeated ways. Either say it OR show it. Thank You for Listening. If any questions arise, feel free to get in touch: [email protected] 614.620.1181.