The Importance of Graphic Design for Blog Posts

So, you’ve started a new blog with compelling and informative posts and yet, you’re not getting the traffic you need to your site. You’re wondering what’s missing. Graphic design!

Graphic design is any visual communication; it can be images, posters, album covers, road signs, etc. and it’s a part of everyday life.

Graphic design not only makes something look appealing but also communicates and delivers the intended message to your audience. First impressions are everything in any business and creating good first impressions for your blog is vital.

This article discusses the importance of graphic design for blog posts, its benefits, and how graphic design will help drive more traffic to your site.

What Is ‘Graphic Design’?

To understand graphic design and its importance for your blog, you first need to know what graphic design is. According to Rasmussen University, graphic design is “the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content.”

It’s a way for businesses to connect with customers and for said customers to better understand the products being offered. Businesses use professional graphic designers all the time to design company logos, business cards, and artwork, but graphic design is not only limited to this.

It can also be used in blogs and advertising, to develop a brand identity, and to portray otherwise complicated information through infographics.

To effectively deliver a message from your blog to your audience, graphic design uses different tools of communication, and image and typography are the main tools used.

The Importance of Graphic Design

When you started your blog, obviously the idea was to differ from everyone else, and why shouldn’t you? Every blog has a unique appearance and how it offers its services and that’s why you need great graphic design.

It plays a very important role in the success of any blog and leaves a lasting impression on people’s minds, even though sometimes it is overlooked.

Whenever you design anything, color is an important aspect of that but then, how do you know which colors go well together? That’s where color theory comes into play. Color theory is “the collection of rules and guidelines which designers use to communicate with users through appealing color schemes in visual interfaces.”

With that in mind, let’s see how important graphic design is for your business, social media, and blog.

Social Media

People use social media daily for staying in touch with family and friends and for running businesses. Because people can tire of reading text all the time, this is where graphic design comes in. Good design attracts attention immediately and encourages engagement from users. It also helps build brand recognition and what your brand stands for.

As Platt College puts it, there is a “symbiotic relationship between social media and graphic design.” Social media marketing has expanded over the years and businesses are taking advantage of this. Using images on your social media pages can grow your brand awareness and increase your followers.

It can also:

Social media marketing continues to grow and, and it’s highly effective, so why not jump on this powerful marketing plane and take your business to greater heights?

Business

Imagine planning a beach holiday and browsing through countless brochures of hotels for one with amazing views, which brochure would appeal more to you; the one with more visual content or one with less? After all, a picture tells a thousand words.

Good graphic design means getting your message across to your audience and building a good rapport.

Growing a good brand image is crucial for any business and there are many reasons why graphic design will help you accomplish this.

• Communication
  As mentioned before, people get tired of reading texts, and most often they skim or completely ignore them. Good visuals communicate to customers what words can’t express. A combination of good graphics and text is guaranteed to pique more interest.
• Credibility
  It doesn’t matter how small or big your business is; it needs to be credible for it to get and keep customers. If your aim (hopefully) is to build trust with your customers, then credibility should be at the top of your list.
• Different from others
  Nothing is as boring as seeing the same thing repeatedly. Excellent graphic design sets you apart from everyone else.
• Professional
  Professionalism is always appreciated in business and it’s one of the main things people look for in business ventures. When your business exudes professionalism, then people will have faith that you are knowledgeable in your field and competent.
• Aesthetic value
  When you look good, you feel good. A good design will make your brand look good and give people a positive mindset about it.

Blog

Because people are constantly searching on the web and your blog posts could answer the questions they ask, your blog needs to stay visible. Therefore, you must improve your search engine optimization (SEO) to increase visibility.

To achieve this, add optimized images ‌to your blog and improve your site’s load speed. Doing this could be the difference between losing and gaining visitors to your site because images are so persuasive. You can optimize your images with SEO-friendly titles and Alt-tags while also paying mind to image size so your loading speed is not affected.

Incorporating graphics and visuals in your blog shows you understand that there are different ‌learners and some are visual learners who learn better through images. Meaning your blog is inclusive.

Good graphic designs used for a blog build cohesiveness, boosts brand-identity and conveys an unmistakable message of superiority.

Advantages of Graphic Design

Being able to present your business visually is helpful, as it can bring in more customers and profits. There are a lot of advantages of graphic design and brand identity is one of them. Brand identity is all about how customers identify with a certain brand and its image.

So what role does graphic design play in society and branding?

Role of Graphic Design in Society

It’s impossible to miss the influence of graphic design, it’s everywhere you go. Whether it’s book covers at a bookstore, billboards on the highway, or simple groceries you buy at the store. Everywhere in the world, graphic design plays a significant role and is a great influence on society.

Graphic design “evokes what Charles Hill calls presence”. It produces a sense in the audience that they are present and, as such, they feel a connection to the portrayed message (Reid, 2013). Because of this, graphic design can also be used to get rid of harmful stereotypes and present a positive light on important matters.

It can also help raise social awareness by showing empathy and understanding of other people’s feelings. Graphic designers also need to know and understand why people buy certain products so their designs can appeal to the general public.

Role of Graphic Design in Branding

You may ask, ‘What role does graphic design play in my brand’ Well, a big and important role! Graphic design helps you establish a unique brand that customers associate with your business or product. However, for your brand to be widely recognized, you need to know who you are and what your brand stands for. This is where the mission, vision, and values of your brand come into play.

When you know why you started your business, the goals you intend to achieve, and the values you’ll run your business with, then creating a brand that stands out becomes easier. Graphic designers create personal branding to represent your company and this can be through social media, adding logos to any company property, and ensuring customers are happy with your company.

By doing this, you not only secure brand identity but also visual identity and ensure that everything is presented in a way you want your company to be viewed. You are also educating anyone who hasn’t heard about your brand.

Benefits of Graphic Design

We’ve gone over why you should invest in good graphic design for your blog/business and you are probably wondering how that benefits your business in the long run. To fully benefit from graphic design, you need a talented graphic designer.

Besides generating more profit for your business, graphic design can also help take your business in the right direction. With a skilled graphic designer who knows what’s needed for businesses to be successful, your business will grow.

Long-term benefits include:

Financially Rewarding

Good graphics are financially rewarding because they get consumers and keep them interested. If consumers are always interested in your product, they’ll always return for more and recommend your product to others.

Remember,

” A satisfied customer is the best business strategy.”

Michael LeBoeuf

Creates brand value

Your brand’s value increases from good graphic design because let’s face it, competition is tough out there and you need to invest in your brand’s longevity in order to stay relevant.

Improves pride and workplace productivity

When all the staff take pride in their work, productivity increases. And it is easy to be proud of a company with great graphics, and to be proud of the success a company has.