Bringing Creativity to Life

There are ho hum websites and there are creative websites. The ho hum variety generally cost less than the creative variety, but the trouble is, many people don’t know WHY.

That’s why I’m writing the Branding Questions Blog Post Series to educate my visitors on the how’s and why’s of good design and branding.  After more than 30 years in this field (I’m dating myself here), I know a bit about good design. I can spot an imposter immediately. It’s usually the person who sticks with safe design rather than taking a visual risk.

But what IS the value of creative website design? Read on and you’ll learn what good design is all about.

Creative design allows you to stand apart from your competition.

Imagine if you will that you are shopping for a service and like many people in this day and age you go straight to the Internet to do your anonymous research.

You need a realtor to sell your home. Since you live in an affluent area, you really would prefer a realtor who has experience selling higher-end homes.

In your research you land on the website of Realtor A and then you proceed to the website of Realtor B. Realtor A has been referred to you by a friend, but they have a generic website put together by a discount design firm. The site gives you a queasy feeling due to its lack of personality and unprofessional nature.

So off you go to Realtor B, in this case let’s suppose it’s a website focused on luxury real estate.  Realtor B has not been referred to you but gosh the site is beautiful. It’s focused on a luxury message and conveys an expert approach to selling luxury homes. Subconsciously you decide to approach this realtor and it doesn’t matter that you’ve found him on the Internet because he has provided sufficient information and professionalism via his website that you are in essence pre-sold.

Good website design reinforces your brand.

It’s an opportunity to present your business concept to an audience using both content and aesthetics in a way that creates a more complete profile of who you are and what you do.

A website that is well-designed showcases your expertise and presents a personality that deepens the relationship with your visitors. In years before the internet prospective clients would call you to request a brochure to be mailed to them or to have you explain to them over the phone what it is you do. That was your brand. That was it.

These days, your website performs the job of demonstrating your credentials, your expertise, and it explains why you enjoy working with a specific target market. Your headshot and bio establish a connection with the visitor. It’s one more way to reinforce your brand.

A creative website is memorable.

According to #6 in Stanford’s guidelines for web credibility, a well-designed site is essential: “We find that people quickly evaluate a site by visual design alone.” While content quality is important, you must first ensure that visitors will STAY on your site long enough to read it.

Presenting quality design ensures people will return multiple times. When website owners make sites a more interesting and pleasant experience, it changes the landscape considerably.

What makes a site memorable? Engaging illustrations, images, and visual excitement. Branding that is consistent from page to page. Easy navigation that allows movement from page to page. Color choices that are engaging rather than bland.

Conclusion:

In the Internet age, it’s increasingly important to stand apart from the competition, reinforce your brand, and be memorable. Good, creative website design can help you do just that.

If you’re like most people, you really don’t understand branding and design. I mean, who really knows what good design looks like? Who’s to be the judge of one good brand over another, unless you’re a branding professional? [And we can be the most discriminating folks you’ll run into ]

That’s why I’m starting this blog series “Branding Questions” that centers on the most frequently asked questions my clients and website visitors have about branding and design. This series is here to educate and inform you, not confuse you. Please feel free to submit your own questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.

These are some of the questions I’ll be answering. As questions are updated you’ll find they link to the answer:

• Do you have experience producing design and marketing materials for my industry?

Should you look for a designer who has only designed materials for your specific industry or should you look for a designer with expertise? Given the choice, go for the expertise. Skill can be transferred from industry to industry. There’s no making up for lack of skill.

• What’s the VALUE of Creative Website Design?

The benefits are many but do you know what they are? What do you get out of hiring a quality designer with expertise? I answer these questions and more to help you discern the true value of creative design.

• How much should you PAY for a quality website?

What you’ll pay for a website depends upon what you want it to do and the experience of the web developer/designer. Do you want your website to draw visitors to your business? Or do you just want a place-holder that acts like a brochure? Also, do you need your site to do any special functions? Learn the factors that influence web design cost.

• How will you get new clients with your website?

Investing in a website that pre-sells your services to prospective clients is an intelligent way to grow your business. Imagine getting up in the morning and finding new sales receipts or new client requests in your email inbox. Quality design and page one search engine results are what it takes to get clients while you sleep.

• How do you brand your business online?

The online world is far different from the offline world of branding. Traditional print marketing collateral has fallen by the wayside in favor of direct communication in the form of your website and social media profiles. Learn to take advantage of this here-to-stay reality.

• What does your brand stand for?

Rather than heading for the designer to ask them to “make your brand” first sit down and figure out what your company stands for and why you are in business in the first place. Your values and mission statement come into play when creating a persona for your firm. Give your designer something to work with by reading this blog post before your big meeting.

• What are common brand personality mistakes?

Without realizing it, you may be making these mistakes with your brand. Does it match who you are? Does it come across as professional? It’s important to match your company personality with your brand so that you present a cohesive image to your idea clients. 

I’ll be adding more questions and updating as I go along, so check back frequently!

As a self-professed artist, I can take one look at a website, business card, or other marketing collateral and immediately tell whether the piece is well-designed or the work of an amateur. But that’s because I’ve been a design professional since 1985.

Assessing design and branding shouldn’t be a difficult job for the layperson. Take one look at a website and let your gut tell you whether it’s quality or not. Your ideal clients will know. They’ll be willing to pay more for your product or service if it’s well-designed.

Here’s the main point: investing in your brand will pay off for many years.  

Many people struggle with marketing and branding ideas for their online marketing campaigns. It’s difficult to get creative when you are right in the middle of your business, dealing with day-to-day issues.

That’s why I’m writing this blog post – to give you some creative branding ideas for online marketing using your web presence.

The Internet is a major factor in our lives in this day and age. More and more people have a smartphone, tablet, or Internet capable device. Websites have become the central station of our business operations and for this reason, we must ensure that the brand we show to the world is in good shape and presents us well.

These days, if your website is not on page one for your keyword expertise, you’ll miss out on the vast majority of Internet traffic: 94% of internet visitors click only the results that are on page one. This is why once you get visitors on your site, you have to keep them there.

Knowing this, let’s explore a variety of ways you can improve your Inbound Marketing results, keep visitors on your site longer, and improve your conversion rate.

Idea #1

Digital event invitations – Utilize the power of the Internet to showcase your event and use creative illustration to do it. This illustration is housed on a webpage and uses unique branding to create excitement. Invitees use the online form to signify their desire to attend the event. No more printed invitations. No more waste. Easier to quantify the attendee list.

Idea #2

Call to action in a graphic – If you’re not telling your website visitors to do something on every page of your website, you are missing out on one of the best ways to increase your online conversions. Using a call to action leads the visitor to do what you want them to do next. This example on a coaching client’s website asks visitors to request a consultation and does it in an interesting way. Notice the “Impatient? Click here” red button? This is a very effective way to brand the coach and get results.

Idea #3

Get creative with your business logo – There’s no reason why you can’t cement your brand with a creative logo. This blog post shows many examples of using creativity in word, symbol, and illustration combinations.  Your brand should be the center of your marketing universe. Use creativity to stand out.

Idea #4

Examples of creative website design – These four websites exemplify how you can take the mundane and make it exciting. Who would have thought an auto repair website could be so exciting? Who would have thought of such a creative concept for hair design?

Idea #5

Creative online brochures – Give your visitors something to do when they come to your website by making your brochure available in a downloadable form. Reduce printing costs, increase engagement, and make it easy for prospects to leave with a takeaway. See this example here: financial planner brochure.

Idea #6

Creative illustrations – Do you use clip art, stock images, and ho hum visuals? The best way to make a point or influence behavior, is to use a custom illustration. Confusing processes or elaborate procedures can also benefit from an illustration as they can explain the complex more easily than words.

Idea #7

Custom social media profile images – The use of social media is critical in today’s busy world. Your business can benefit from a custom image to tell the visitor to do something as in “like” your page, download a free report, or spread the word about your business. This can also provide brand continuity and maintain a similar branded look throughout your social media pages.

Idea #8

Get creative with your Business Card – There’s no need to waste the real estate on the back of your business card by leaving the area blank. Use this space to advertise your services or list the benefits of doing business with your company. Get creative and think about all the possibilities for the back of your card, but don’t forget a CALL to ACTION.

That’s it for now. Check back frequently as I’ll be adding further branding ideas as time goes by. My point with this post is that there are plenty of opportunities to be creative in print design, website design, and every other design field out there. Don’t stick with the mundane. Get creative!

This is a Business Card for a Financial Planner in Long Beach, California. The client wanted a new Business Card that would reflect changes to her brand. We had recently designed her custom website with blog and a custom brochure. Both were completely different stylistically from her existing letterhead and envelope, which she was not willing to redesign.

We were tasked with using design concepts from her website and brochure and aligning those with her new Business Card. Her existing brand is a simple logo, gold in color. Along with using the front of the card, we believe in using the real estate on the back of a card as additional marketing opportunities as you can see.

Front of Card:

Because her letterhead and envelope are simple in design, we elected to design the front of the card with a white background while using the classic logo. To provide brand continuity with her website, a “wave” design was incorporated along the bottom of the card. This visual tie-in helps the viewer connect the brand with both the simple logo and the website wave design.

Financial Advisor Business Card Front

Back of Card:

The “wave” design was used extensively on the back of the card to continue the visual imagery from the website. The terms “Financial Planning” “Wealth Management” “Investment Advisory” and “Employer Sponsored Plans” are all pages on the client’s website which we chose to highlight.

Financial Advisor Business Card Back

Call to Action:

Notice the request to “Download our brochure” which is a visual reminder to go to her website and review the digital brochure available online. This helps direct viewers to take the action the client wants them to take.

Brand continuity is critical with financial firms. Because you want your affluent clients to invest large sums of money with your firm, you must elicit stability, professionalism, and trust through your brand. This is done with a design approach intended to create a visual bridge between marketing materials.

Only an experienced design firm has the capability and experience to take your brand to the next level. Real skill is necessary to create the design concepts that will make you stand out from the multitude of financial firms in the competitive marketplace.

Contact us today to discuss your project.

See here for other creative Financial Firm Business Card Designs

It’s a question I often hear from potential clients. I am sympathetic to the concern. There’s a certain degree of comfort in knowing the designer creating your brand, web site, and collateral materials understands your business.

Based on my 30 years of experience in the creative fields, I believe the creative process, when applied to any industry, can produce successful results both functionally and aesthetically.

The creative process is flexible, dynamic and versatile. It is also objective, and when patiently adhered to, invariably produces results which satisfy the parameters established at the genesis of the project. Success is inevitable.

Clients who are willing to stand apart from their peers are a perfect fit for my process.

Example 1:
I recently completed the design and development of a new web site for a financial advisor. We established early on that she was very open to a more creative approach, less staid and sterile, distinctly different from the vast majority of her competitors. She recently informed me that a potential client, after navigating through multiple financial advisor sites, opted to meet with her because her site was “the best by far.”

Example 2:
For the design of this spiritual resource site, the client offered minimal input: use the image of storm clouds, lots of blue, make it organic, and reflect the spirituality that is at the core of its mission.

Example 3:
As a coach for financial advisors, this client needs a new site that conveys professionalism, credibility, experience and creativity. (in progress)¬

Prosperity Coaching Financial Advisor Coach Web Site

I need not know the minutia of your industry to understand how best to make you stand out. Let the creative process show us the way to positioning your firm so that you are communicating your unique values and building your business for a successful future.

Review other common Branding and Design FAQ’s.