KAT Marketing has a track record of producing excellent design work that both catches attention and encapsulates the essence of a brand. Whatever the size of your design requirements, KAT’s design team has the experience to help – from the large-scale livery design for a double-decker bus down to the precision of a miniature QR code that opens a window of opportunity.
Lorraine Brown is KAT Marketing’s longest-serving design expert and here she shares some of her top tips for how to best use creative artwork that communicates powerfully in a crowded marketplace.
Have a plan
Before even touching a computer, it’s important to think about the objective of the piece of artwork you are creating. Who is your target audience and what do you want the viewer to see and take away from your design? Start with a few quick, rough sketches to plan out your page and where all your content will be placed. Mood boards are also useful for inspiration.
Don’t be afraid to keep it simple
Integrating space between the elements of your design is called ‘white’ or ‘negative’ space. White space can add a great deal to achieving a certain look or feel to your design. It can help your artwork feel clean, minimal, contemporary and even fashion-forward. It’s important to remember that good design is communication and not just art. Sometimes, too many elements in a design can begin to pull focus and derail the intended message of a design.
Pay attention to the hierarchy
When sitting down to design something, ask yourself ‘what’s the most important element of my design?’ Simply stated, deciding what someone is supposed to look at first is called the hierarchy and is an extremely important aspect of graphic design. As a designer, it is your job to guide a viewer through the design, therefore, you need to prioritise elements according to their importance.
Simplify your type
One of the most important aspects of design is clarity, so it’s important that we don’t sacrifice legibility for visual appeal. When in doubt, simplify it out and typography is the perfect place to start. When starting with a new design, it’s a good idea to experiment a bit and find the perfect style font for the particular project you’re working on. It is recommended to use three fonts or fewer in a single project.
Make sure colour is on point
Colour is one of the most impactful elements of design in communicating a certain tone or message. It’s important to think about the psychology of colour as well as a colour theory when choosing your palette. An easy starting place is beginning with a colour palette of 1 to 3 main colours that complement one another and then using different tones of the same colour for consistency by adjusting the relative brightness or saturation.
Align your design elements
Alignment is one of the most important considerations in polishing a design. Alignment helps give structure and order to design. Keeping your elements like type, images and illustrations aligned to one another will ensure a presentable design that looks elegantly and professionally styled.
It’s clear no job is too big or too small for KAT Marketing, so if you have a design project you need help with call the KAT team on 01206 765544.