Top 5 Graphic Design Tips for Small Business Owners

For a refresher on our marketing tips for small business owners, click here. For a quick refresher on our recommended advertising tips, click here. Otherwise, let’s learn about some graphic design!

Don’t overdo it.

Having too much going on in a design can be overwhelming. To narrow your design, think about what are the most important things are to convey to your audience. Keep it simple, sweet, and to the point. A lot of the times in design, less is more.

Limit your typefaces.

When you use a bunch of different fonts, it will take the reader time to make sense of them. Unfortunately, it’s more likely than not that they might not hang around to figure it out. Sticking to two fonts as a beginning designer is a great choice: one for the headings and one for the body.

Hierarchy is your friend.

You need to help your audience know what you want them to read first, second, third, and so on. Good design guides the eye with visual hierarchy. When there’s no hierarchy, everything is competing for your viewer’s attention. We’ve even used content hierarchy in this blog – check out the “Advertising” heading versus “Hierarchy is your friend” subheading versus this paragraph.

Be consistent.

Whether you’re designing for a brand, or just putting together a multi-page document, having consistency will improve your design. That means using the same alignment (left, right, or center), same fonts, and the same colors to create a cohesive look and feel. These elements will add credibility and visual appeal to your pieces.

Take a hike.

No seriously. Get up and walk around. Go outside, get some fresh air in nature for five or so minutes. Sometimes you get stuck, and the only thing that will fix it is taking a step away. Sitting at that computer too long won’t do you any good, and it’ll give you a fresh perspective when you get back to designing.

This information is provided by Grova Creative, located in Tallahassee, Florida. A creative agency that focuses on brand strategy, advertising, graphic design, digital, and messaging.