Either way, what you may not have signed up for is drawing and designing. Just because you are interested in business, or you have come up with a great invention to make life easier, doesn’t mean that you are going to be great at creating attractive images or colouring in without spilling out of the lines. And why should you be? They’re hardly related abilities…
Unfortunately though, if you want to make a real success of your business then an element of design is going to come in somewhere down the line – even for the driest B2B project you can think of. The problem is that marketing is almost always going to be a mostly visual pursuit, and the best way to get someone to look at what you’re offering is always going to be to create an attractive image that will help to turn heads and show your project in the best light.
At the very least then you will probably need the following design elements for your business:
- A logo
- Variations of your logo to be used in different contexts
- Web design
- Letter heads
On top of these basics, some businesses and startups will also need design for:
- Fliers and leaflets
- Posters
- Banners (physical and digital)
- Visual elements of products
- Visual elements for signage
- Packaging
- And more
Without having these aspects created to a professional quality, your business will look amateurish or bland and you’ll either drive people away who otherwise might have used your products or services or just fail to attract them in the first place.
So that’s what you need; now if you’re not blessed with design skills, how do you go about getting it?
DIY Graphic Design
Of course you don’t have to be Michelangelo to come up with a web design as long as you are willing to put the time and effort in to learn the necessary skills and create something flawless. Fortunately there is also a lot of software out there to help which can make the job a lot easier. If you want to become adept at graphic design for your websites, logos and fliers then a good place to start is to learn to use the following software:
Adobe Illustrator: Adobe Illustrator is the software of choice for graphic designers when creating logos, icons and other similar elements. This package has most of the tools you’ll be likely to need, and will help you to create precise and smooth lines that give your designs a professional quality.
Sketchbook Pro: Sketchbook Pro is a great utility for graphic artists who want to ‘sketch’ straight into their computer or tablet. This software will give you the widest range of brushes and other tools to mimic drawing onto paper, and if you combine these with a good graphics tablet or digitizer pen then you can doodle just as you normally would.
Adobe PhotoShop: Adobe PhotoShop is the number one program for editing photos and images and allows you to apply filters and effects as well as to airbrush and alter images giving them a more professional and high quality finish.
Blender: There are a number of 3D CAD programs available for creating 3D designs and if your business sells a product then you’re probably familiar with at least one of them. Using one of these can be useful for rendering 3D elements in your image which will give them a great professional quality. My personal favourite is Rhinoceros, but Blender is popular for being free.
Getting Help
To learn how to use these programs I recommend checking out YouTube where you’ll find lots of in-depth tutorials that can talk you through the basics. Failing that though, if you have a friend or a relative who is a graphic designer then they may also be able to help – or even to take over.
There are also many outsourcing options available, and a number of sites where you can find people willing to handle your graphic design very cheaply if you need individual elements made like logos or adverts. Try advertising for help on webmaster forums like Digital Point Forum or Warrior Forum where many designers look for work, advertising on Fiverr or looking on sites like Odesk and Elance. You can even try advertising at your local college to see if you can find students looking for work. Still though, if you can learn the basics yourself then this will save you money in the long run and give you much more control over the look and feel of your business.
Alternatively, you can just use the best source and contact the person I use for all of my graphics work, Nicole Hanusek at www.smackhappydesign.com. She has developed a three tiered program specifically for our audience ranging from $900-$2400 for complete startup business marketing materials which include logo design, website, hosting and some SEO at the bottom end and all that with a more significant website, e-commerce and other flairs at the top end. Please make sure you let her know you heard about her here to get the exclusive deals. After working with a number of graphic designers, I can promise you that Nicole is the cream of the crop (and a big part of why you are reading this right now!).
