Our lives are shifting from print to digital, both at work and at home. There was a time when people used printed paper invitations for celebrations like birthdays. Now, most people send a text or use a digital template from an online greeting card site. But your brand won’t always fit into a standard ‘box’; and you don’t want it to.
Your brand is what differentiates you and makes you stand out in a crowd. It’s your company’s unique signature. In the business world, specifically crafted logos, fonts and color combinations, plus other branding elements, are used to create a unique image for your brand.
A graphic designer knows how to take your digital material to the next level, adding a professional, polished feel. They also know how to transform brand styles into digital-friendly elements, using branding guidelines to capture your brand while modernizing your marketing materials.
Transforming Print into Digital
As our lives become digital, consider hiring a graphic designer to convert your printed material to digital assets. The last few years have forced us into less in-person contact, which means it’s even more important for you to reach out to your audience in a digital way. Digital media provides feedback and analytics that doesn’t exist with print.
Updating these materials isn’t as simple as just resaving a traditionally printed piece as a PDF and uploading it to your website. There are differences between file types, CMYK vs RGB color codes, and not to mention formatting and layouts for responsive screen viewing instead of tabletop viewing (that tri-fold brochure you relied on for in-person meetings doesn’t really work as well now in the digital world).
Here are three areas you should consider to update your digital materials:
- Brochures
Although brochures are great for when you meet in-person, you can’t hand out printed pages through a Zoom screen. Because many people have stayed remote, it’s harder to share information about your company. Graphic designers can easily bridge that gap for you by adding interactive elements and CTAs (hyperlink images and sections of copy) into your brochures for online use and engagement.
- Advertisements
Advertisements are a great way to reach people. Online ads have been gaining popularity in B2B for a decade now, but even materials created then are ready for some updates. Many industry publications have been expanding digital opportunities in the last few years that require converting what is consider a traditional ad into new types of designed content pieces, including multi-panel gif ads or videos.
- Emails
Gone are the days of plain text emails. Nowadays many email distribution platforms exist to help marketers send sophisticated emails. While their templates and user-friendly editor mode are making things simpler for content distribution, a plain, standard template still looks like…well…a plain, standard template. Jazz things up with company-branded header graphics. Ask graphic designers for input on composition and layout of your content sections. Even small things like using recommended complementary colors can level up a design.
Digital Projects Benefit from a Graphic Designer’s Input
The digital revolution created a multitude of new marketing material formats that never existed before. Unlike some materials that got a new digital counterpoint (like a letter becoming an email), things like a website page or a video have no print alternative. Graphic designers are still key to the success of these materials. Even written, content-heavy materials like whitepapers that are intended to be downloaded as a digital PDF benefit from a professional design and expert layout crafted by a creative eye.
Remember, graphic design is about more than just how pretty something looks on the screen. It’s meant to attract the reader’s attention, deliver custom messages and encourage positive actions and measure performance. Templates and digital tools are very helpful for marketers, but the creative direction of a professional graphic designer can make your marketing materials truly shine.