Designing Isn’t Pretty: Be a Communicator, Not a Decorator

by Infinity Concepts | May 20, 2014 | Creative

Design is subjective, focused, precise, and targeted. What it is not is decoration.

Design for design’s sake may look great at the moment, but, ideally, design is a thoughtful process when it comes to your brand. Design isn’t decorating your marketing material, but a clear communicator of your organization’s direction.

When used well, design is a visual marker of communication. It tells a story, expresses a point of view, promotes a product, and, more importantly, captures emotion. Design is such a strong communicator, it catapults people—the masses—into action.

What makes design?

Photos, fonts, colors, rules, and dynamic layouts are all used to visually describe your message. I’m sure you’ve seen an ad or a website so cluttered it made you anxious. The white space adds “breathing room” to your message. Your audience can easily take in your entire message when there is a “breath” between the design elements and content.

How to design

Keep it simple. Keep it on target. Keep it clean. Keep it uncluttered.

Ask yourself:

Do your visuals have meaning?
Does your design communicate volumes without the copy?
Would an average person know what you’re trying to communicate through your design?

Cut through the clutter

It all boils down to communication. Your clear message communicated clearly to your designers should result in a clear visual message. As we’re all bombarded with advertising messages throughout the day, you want your message to cut through the clutter with clear copy, content, and purposeful design.

Designing isn’t about being pretty.