We are a highly visual society. We cannot go anywhere without seeing graphics in books, magazines, newspapers, the web, TV and film. Graphic designs significantly impact marketing, and designers are part specialists in marketing and communications; they communicate ideas using visuals through color, typography, photography, animation and 3D. Designers create an experience for people that can inform, evoke emotion and entertain. Is it any wonder you frequently see marketing job postings that specify creative skills?
Art of persuasion
The basic definition of marketing is creating a product or service and its subsequent branding, hoping to get people to buy or interact with the product. Like marketing, Graphic Design is about the art of persuasion or simply educating the audience through high-quality visual concepts. Great design solves problems and answers the who, what, how, and when, sometimes directing people to act or respond to instruction. Marketing relies, to some extent, on these eye-catching designs to promote messages and tell stories.
Teamwork
Design requires the same brainstorming process, either as an individual or within a team. Although some designers work alone, producing the best results when not disturbed, others work in a team collaborating with marketers, writers, and other departments, providing an excellent way for productivity to the sphere in the land of design. Because working in a team doesn’t mean the loss of individual creativity. It up-sizes each designer’s abilities and expedites the production of work and enhances productivity. It’s no wonder why the marketing department would want to brainstorm with a group of designers and save time.
The client matters
One of the most challenging obstacles new designers face is parsing the difference between personal design preferences and clients’ design needs, sometimes neglecting the details of the client’s needs and goals. As a designer, you soon learn that the creative department must enter into the same collaborative relationship with a client as the marketing team to better understand the client’s needs and produce visuals that closely align with their vision. Plus, at some point, designers may have to address the client directly to explain or defend their design choices. Intentional fact-gathering sessions, asking the right questions, is a normal part of the creative process for designers.
The target audience matters
Marketing and design are a well-balanced pair when trying to reach a target audience. They work in tandem to help sell an idea or product. Heavily designed art can outshine the message, and a heavily worded message could over-complicate the meaning. A common rule of thumb in marketing and design is to consider the goals of a project before creating any execution plan. The plan can include identifying the audience and in what capacity you hope to reach them. The goal is to find out what specific action you hope that the target audience will take in the end. Thus, understanding marketing, communications, and even copywriting helps designers know how their art will work in tandem with those departments.
Let’s face it; graphic design is not simply learning a few programs and pushing buttons on a computer. Designers need more than just their creative flair to be successful. High-quality design existed long before the digital age of computers and creative suites. Strip away the cool, shiny tools, and you are left with creative problem solving, defined communication strategies, and other skill sets that are closely aligned with marketing.
About the Author
Regina Ali is a Maryland-based senior graphic designer for the federal government and a freelance designer specializing in branding and motion graphics. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She has also worked in the broadcast industry at WBAL-TV in Baltimore for over fifteen years, directing high-profile design projects, including local coverage of the Preakness and Baltimore Marathon. Her mission is to educate young artists and clients about marketing strategies through visual design. She admits the best part of her career is collaborating with talented writers, photographers, videographers, and designers.
