4 Reasons Your Small Business Can’t Afford Bad Design

First impressions are everything in the business world. Just like how it takes people less than 60 seconds to form an opinion on a stranger, so it goes for potential customers to decide whether they want to learn more about your business. So what will set you apart from the competition and bring the customer to make a decision in your favor? Cohesive and powerful design is essential  for attracting – and keeping – your audience’s attention. Here are four reasons why your small business can’t afford bad design.

1. Design Communicates the Brand

Every business (big or small) has a message to communicate – whether it’s a goal, product, or service. The design of their brand is the initial part of that communication to current and prospective customers. From patterns, words, fonts, and even down to colors, design speaks for the company and should inform the audience of who they are without words.

2. Design is the First Impression

The design of a brand, whether it be a logo on a shirt, sign on a building, color of a lobby, or an actual ad, is always an opportunity to make a strong first impression. People make unconscious impulse judgements every second of every day. These snap judgements could mean the difference in gaining or losing a customer.

3. Design Defines the Target

Wanting to grab attention and pique interest for your brand doesn’t mean having the most outlandish and loud design should be the go-to. Design should center around your target audience, the developed brand personality, and how they intertwine. It can differ by industry, region, gender, climate, culture, and more.

4. Design Can Get You Ahead

The average consumer is exposed to up to 10,000 brand messages per day. In most cases, these ads are simply ignored as part of day-to-day life, but, in others, an ad can change the outcome completely. This is where design comes into play. The point of design is to place a brand above competitors and catch the target customer’s eye first.

Design can look simple in the marketing world, but the reactions it can cause are complex. It’s an imperative part of creating a brand. People’s attention spans are short, so marketing messages can be conveyed as quickly and clearly as possible with cohesive and powerful design.