What is good graphic design? That is a question akin to “What is good art?” The first thing one needs to remember is that graphic design is an art form. Unlike traditional art, however, it is art for commerce, marketing goods and/or services and follows several key design components. Of course, it is more complicated than that, but we’ll talk about that later. I would like to take some time to share a few insights and things to consider about good design.

I find that in today’s fast paced world many small companies don’t understand or even consider the impact that good design can have in marketing products or services. There are on-line services that anyone can use to create their own marketing materials or have someone bid on a project. One question that often comes to mind is; Why should I hire a designer to develop a logo when I can do it myself for free using company “X” on the web?  The truth is there are many things one should consider. Is the final product really free? What is the overall value of the design, meaning how well does it represent your company, and your company’s core values? Is it a good representation of the goods and services you offer? What is the quality of the digital file? Can you use it across multiple marketing platforms? Do you own the copyrights? There are many other questions, but let’s not get too carried anyway just yet. I cannot give you all the answers, but I hope to help you understand a few things about good design and how it specifically relates to using online “design” services. Let’s look at The good, The bad, and The Unaesthetically Pleasing.

The Good

There are a few good things about using online services for your design needs. One they are usually fast. People do sometimes need something very quickly, I understand this. When someone makes the choice to start their own company, it is not usually done on a whim. I have never met a small business owner that said; “I woke up this morning, quit my job, baked some cupcakes and started selling them on the side of the road.” The point is, most people have a plan for their new company, and marketing is part of that plan. Do some research and have a marketing budget that includes design and/or marketing services.

Cost effectiveness, yes, some on-line services are based on people biding on jobs for the lowest rate. We have all heard the saying; “You get what you pay for.” I say, you only have one chance to make a lasting first impression, make the most of it. Consider, who is the person doing the design for you? How much of your time are you going to spend selecting a design you like? Is there customer support? What about the cost for design changes? Don’t forget your time has a value as well.

The Bad

Not all things are of equal quality. With an on-line design bidding service, you may have a real person working on a design for you, but how much time did they spend on getting to know your company and what you do? Was it a face-to-face meeting? What questions did they ask you? How much input did you have in the final design? Did you submit a project and have few dozen people send you files and you spent hours looking through them only to give up and pick one? Many people I have worked with ask for my help because they have been down this road and are simply not happy with the outcome, the work they received did not fit their marketing needs. Just for fun, I investigated an on-line site for creating a company logo. The overall process was easy, but the final results were bad. The logo was a random combination of easily recognizable clip art and the fonts were also widely used. Yes, I had the option to download a “free sample” of very low resolution. Other options included standard logo files, files for social media, re-sizable files, and an option to have a designer redesign the logo with new options. The list also included a branding plan and a way to order business cards. What about the quality of the files? Are they good enough to use on a web site? Are they crisp enough for resizing? Are they in a format and resolution for printing, or will more costly work need to be done? Does this sound like a great value? These companies do this all without any understanding of who you are and what you do. How does that represent your company in any way that is important to you? Ask yourself, what is the real cost of this.

The Unaesthetically Pleasing.

The heart of the matter. Unaesthetic means offensive to the aesthetic sense; lacking in beauty or sensory appeal; unpleasant, as an object, design, arrangement, etc.¹ You’ve probably seen bad design before, and said, that looks bad or what were they thinking? One of my design professors in college told us that good design is barely noticeable, we see it, it appeals to us, but we don’t give it another thought. Bad design hits like a brick. It looks unpleasant, and many times we don’t know why it looks bad, it just does. Sounds confusing right. It can be, we already know that what one person finds appealing another may not. This is true with art and music. It is also true with design. All designers must walk the line of what people find aesthetically pleasing and what is unaesthetically pleasing. To complicate things even more, they need to do so while delivering a clear message about a product or service. How do they do that? With a bit of magic and a wave of a photoshop wand. Not really just checking to see if you are still there. Graphic designers follow seven key design components. Color, Line, Point, Shape, Texture, Space, Form, Unity/harmony. I will not go into detail for each, that would take several pages to explain. My point is that a good graphic designer understands these concepts and understands how to utilize them to design marketing products that fits the needs of your company. The design process is not something that should be an algorithm based on a three or four multiple choice questions. It is a creative process, based on a conversation about your companies’ products/services and core values. Every designer has their own creative process. I like to meet with a client, ask them about their company, who they are, what the company values are, what they offer, and understand how they wish people to view the company. I then began my creative process, and it usually includes lots of coffee, music and a drawing pad. My point is, consider the real value of a well-designed marketing piece. Will people look at it and say; “What where they thinking?” or will they look at it a say; “Oh, you do this? Great, let’s talk”.

I am a graphic designer with eighteen years of experience. My experience includes corporate marketing, high production design with print vendors and freelance design work. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in graphic design, a certificate in Computer Art and Animation., a Webmaster Certification with Adobe Flash Specialization and a certificate in Social Media Management for Marketing and Business.

Joe Butters
Rogue Ferret Design
rogueferretdesign.com

¹ Dictionary.com: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/unaesthetically