Using Colors in #GraphicDesign©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

Using Colors in Graphic Design

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Whether you are establishing a brand or updating one, don’t overlook the importance of using colors in graphic design to represent your organization.

Color theory and psychology date back to Egyptian times. Their observations and findings were that colors could affect people’s moods. In modern society, these same principles remain true.

By using colors in graphic design, you are setting the tone and building the foundation for your entire brand. Colors are subjective. Influences such as culture, other associations with the color, personal preferences, and additional factors impact how people perceive your brand just based on color!

Don’t forget, that hues and saturations can awaken distinct responses – either negative, positive, or neutral. Ideally, you want to choose a color that resonates with your product or service offering, audience, or customer base.

An Overview of What Colors Represent

Primary colors include red, blue, and yellow. When primary colors get combined, they create secondary colors. Secondary colors include orange; a combination of red and yellow; purple, a combination of red and blue; and green, a combination of blue and yellow.

Selecting a color that embodies your product or service plays a critical role in establishing your brand identity. Here are a few thoughts to consider when choosing the colors that represent your organization.

Subtle colors are more calming than harder colors on the spectrum. These softer colors, including purple, violet, and green, tend to not be as visible to people. Pastels and faded colors are harder to focus on, giving them a calming effect. Additionally, these soft shades and hues are believed to help boost concentration.

Hard colors, including orange, red, and yellow stand out, have higher visibility and make objects look more substantial and closer. They create a sense of excitability and responsiveness from a consumer standpoint.

The most calming color is blue. Additionally, blue is a color that helps build trust and loyalty. Blue is a preferred color for brands including Facebook, Twitter, Lowe’s, Skype, and Ford. From a color psychology standpoint, blue is said to be helpful for suppressing the appetite.

Pink stimulates the appetite. Further, it evokes femininity, the female gender, sensitivity, romance, and sweetness. Favorite brands that use the color pink include Barbie, Pink, Taco Bell, and Cosmopolitan.

Red, when used in restaurants, encourages patrons to eat more, eat quicker, and leave promptly. For these reasons, it should come as no surprise that the color red commonly gets used by fast food chains and other eateries as core parts of their branding elements. Further, when the color red gets used in casinos and bars, patrons tend to lose track of time.

Other common associations with the color red include sultriness, heat, confidence, and ambition.

Top brands that use the color red in their graphic design and branding elements include Walgreens, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, KFC, Del Taco, Baja Fresh, Virgin Brands, and more.

The color yellow is cheerful. Not surprisingly, it is also the most visible and recognizable color. (Think about traffic signs!) Yellow is ideal for grabbing attention, projecting urgency, as well as spreading optimism and hope. Leading companies and brands that use yellow in their graphic design and branding elements include BestBuy, Subway, Sonic, IKEA, and Snapchat.

Orange is a color that conveys feelings of warmth, freedom, and optimism. Brands that use the color orange in their graphic design and branding campaigns include Blogger, Mastercard, The Home Depot, Firefox, Harley-Davidson, and Amazon. In marketing, the color orange is sometimes used to make expensive items appear less expensive, so could be worth considering if you’re offering a higher-end product or service to your client base.

Green is a color that represents growth, prosperity, generosity, and clarity. Other associations include health, positivity, and balance. If your product or service caters to wealthier clients, forest or other darker shades of green help you appeal to this target audience. Companies and organizations that implement the color green into their brand include BP, John Deere, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Holiday Inn, and Monster Energy Drinks.

If you want to project an air of luxury, respectability, and individuality, consider using purple as a significant element in your branding. Brands that use the color purple include Yahoo, Cadbury, Hallmark, Curves, and Aussie Haircare Products. All of these established brands have carved out a niche in their target demographic group.

White, inevitably, plays a role in graphic design. Whether it is serving as a backdrop for your website pages, white is integral in all clean, crisp, and fresh graphic design and branding elements.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, but equally important in graphic design, is the color black. Black often gets associated with sophistication, elegance, and simplicity. Brands that use black as a core component in their logos and other aspects of their graphic design include Coach, Chanel, Gucci, and Michael Kors.

It should come as no surprise that using black on white is the clearest and most comfortable for most people to read, printed on paper, or viewed using a monitor or handheld device. Since readability issues should always get considered during the design process, never overlook how keeping it simple can help move your brand ahead, just using clarity.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Advice

If you are starting your business, the chances are good that you have a million details that need to get addressed! It’s OK to admit that you aren’t an expert in every aspect of your business model. If branding and graphic design isn’t your expertise, seeking the advice of professionals who specialize in this industry is a smart idea.

Additionally, we can assist established brands and organizations with all aspects of rebranding and enhancements to existing branded assets, including websites, graphic designs, printed materials, and other digital assets.

All you need to do is bring your concepts and let the team turn your vision into a reality. It’s that easy! Start the conversation by contacting the experts at Colleen Eakins Design today!

8 Options for Your Integrated Marketing Strategy©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

8 Options for Your Integrated Marketing Strategy [ infographic ]

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Colleen EakinsColleen Eakins is a dynamic and creative individual that possess a knack for great design. With over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design, Colleen is able to effectively brand her clients with great design pieces. Her motto is: “Anyone can make a pretty picture, but is it effective? Will it […]

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direct mail©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

Direct Mail Directly Connects You to Customers and Clients

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When you are putting all of the pieces together for a successful marketing strategy, you want to consider all the various options that are available to you.

With the push to digital marketing, sometimes it’s easy to overlook how offline marketing tactics such as direct mail can contribute to a well-rounded advertising campaign. A finely-tuned digital marketing campaign and direct mail campaign can be an unbelievable combination when it comes to marketing success.

Connect with Clients in Their Mailbox

According to data provided by statista.com, the marketing spends on direct mail marketing in the United States was 46 billion dollars in 2014. Statistics for previous years going back to 2009 indicate that the spend on direct mail had increased over these years. 2009 had the lowest spend at 43.8 Billion and climbed to 46 billion by 2014.

Direct mail is straightforward, customizable, and something that recipients can hold in their hand. As a physical piece of marketing material, people are more likely to hang on to this marketing piece than they are an email which is quickly deleted and forgotten.

Further, when implementing a direct mail campaign, you get the opportunity to select and adjust your target audience to demographics who are most likely to respond to your offer. Depending on your offer, direct mail can be sent to marketing lists based on existing customer lists, zip code, public records, or other vital criteria that help match you with your ideal customer.

Existing Customer List – It should come as no great surprise that the most lucrative direct mailing list you’re likely to own is the one you’ve built from your existing client list. By sending an occasional postcard or a special offer for events like birthdays and anniversaries, you help keep your brand fresh in your client’s mind. Plus, it’s thoughtful! If you maintain an accurate CRM that’s complete with all of your customer data, this is a bounteous resource to tap into when direct mailing.

Targeting by Zip Code – Do you want to reach out to a general population? Targeting by zip code is the way to do it! This type of direct mail campaign is helpful for restaurants, shops, realtors, home repair and renovation businesses, landscapers, and other companies that only operate in a specific geographical area to connect with potential clients.

Public Records – Depending on the nature of your business, public records can be a helpful resource for building your direct marketing campaign. For instance, someone who sells insurance could use public records to find new homeowners who might be in need of additional insurance coverage or a review of their existing policies. Since public records document the names of all new homebuyers, this is an advantageous way to open up communication with the new family in the neighborhood.

Other Vital Criteria – For companies who sell digital products or services or don’t limit their sales area to any one geographic area other vital criteria can get used for producing a lucrative direct mailing campaign.

Direct Mail Design and Printing Services

With all of the technology available to companies, direct mail advertisers don’t have to settle for the mundane when arranging a campaign. Regardless of whether you send postcards or do printed inserts, direct mail solutions are strategic and can get carefully crafted with coupons, offers, QR codes, and other pertinent information.

Direct mail doesn’t face some of the obstacles that email does, such as opt-ins, opt-outs, unsubscribes, bounce messages, stringent email filters, and spam complaints. For this reason, it is ideal for reaching broad audiences who may or may not be familiar with your products, services, or brand. When delivered directly through the mail, your message is more potent. Out of habit, people have to look at it! Postcards and inserts sent directly to recipient’s physical mailbox could get instant responses or get put aside to respond later at a more convenient time.

As with any marketing campaign, you’ll want to assure that design of your piece is clear, concise, and professional. By using all available print space in an eye-catching way while providing all pertinent details including corresponding website URLs, contact phone numbers and coupon codes.

Tracking Results

Another significant advantage of using a direct mail campaign is that you can use these advertisements to track your return on investment for the ads accurately. For instance, if you are offering a coupon, you can use a special code that people must use to redeem the offer. Provided this ‘special’ code isn’t used in any other ad campaigns, you’ll know that anyone who used the unique coupon code came directly from the published ad.

For business owners with a traditional ‘brick and mortar’ storefront, you can gauge response rates based on physical coupon redemptions and other beacons that indicate the customer made a purchase based on a direct mail promotion or offer.

Other ways to track the results of a direct mail program is by setting up special phone numbers for people to call for more information. Generally, this type of market segmentation is conducted by larger marketing companies who may be testing new markets, tracking target demographics, or wanting to offer a local number in multiple markets.

Conversions and call volume could help when deciding what markets are most lucrative, and therefore deserve a higher ad budget spend. Additionally, specially allocated phone numbers can be used in other types of marketing campaigns including radio, different types of print advertising, as well as digital campaigns.

Designing A Direct Mail Marketing Piece That Works

Would you like to learn more about how a direct mail marketing campaign can help propel your business to the next level? If you answered ‘yes’ to this question, be sure to contact the experts at Colleen Eakins Design! With years of experience helping businesses with their design and marketing needs, you can rely on the team to boost your visibility and improve your results.

5 direct mail marketing ideas©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

5 Direct Mail Marketing Ideas [ infographic ]

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Colleen EakinsColleen Eakins is a dynamic and creative individual that possess a knack for great design. With over 15 years of experience in the field of graphic design, Colleen is able to effectively brand her clients with great design pieces. Her motto is: “Anyone can make a pretty picture, but is it effective? Will it […]

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integrated marketing©2018, Colleen Eakins Design

What Is Integrated Marketing and Why Do I Need It?

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As technology and the use of the Internet changes and evolves, it’s critical to stay on top of trends to remain competitive. It should come as no surprise that the conversations surrounding marketing and the internet have expanded in response to these developments. No longer is it enough just to do search engine optimization or link building. An integrated marketing strategy is needed.

The broad adoption of mobile devices for internet access in combination with the use of social media and mobile apps require businesses to expand upon marketing efforts on these platforms.

From this, the term “Integrated Marketing” was coined. Integrated marketing is the use of multiple channels to reach target demographics using email, search engine optimization, social media platforms, content marketing, paid advertisements, mobile app support, direct mail, and listing services.

Companies who implement an integrated marketing strategy are more likely to see results than a company that only focuses only on SEO tactics or PPC advertising to drive traffic to their website.

Here we’ll explore some of the different options available for expanding your integrated marketing efforts.

Email Marketing – Email marketing remains a classic method for business owners to keep in touch with prospects and customers. Techniques to build your email list include offering newsletter signup on your website, collecting email addresses at your physical business, adding a content locker to premium or exclusive content. Your email list, especially when it is well-managed, is a valuable tool in your integrated marketing toolbox.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Search engine optimization has always been viewed as a pillar of all marketing efforts. Proper SEO is somewhat of a technical and detail-oriented aspect of marketing. SEO includes tracking pixel installations, keyword selection, making sure that all meta data, descriptions, keyword density, calls to action, and other technical ‘best practices’ are followed when publishing a web page or new blog post. Other related tasks associated with formal SEO include assuring the site has TLS/SSL protection and is mobile-friendly, notably since Google announced they are switching to a ‘Mobile First’ search index. This switch gives preference to websites that cater to mobile site traffic and devalues the importance of websites that do not meet their new standards.

Social Media – Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others offer business owners the chance to connect with their target audience. Not only can you connect with fans and friends who are using their desktop computer, but you also bridge to a broader segment of people using mobile apps to use these platforms. By sharing funny, helpful, or just content of general interest, you can increase the number of meaningful relationships you build with existing or potential clients. Anytime your friends, fans, and family share your posts, this helps raise awareness about your company with the potential to expand your social network even further.

Content Marketing – One of the longstanding principles in the digital marketing industry is that ‘Content is King.’ By creating compelling, value-added content on a consistent basis, you amass digital assets that can be shared on Social Media Channels or be used as marketing materials. Adding helpful blog posts can assist in building organic (free) search traffic to your website. Ideally, you want your website visitors to share your content in their networks, so you’ll want to be sure that you offer Social Sharing tools on all pages of your blog or site to make the process easier. Fresh content that engages with your visitors helps build your reputation, trust, and loyalty.

Paid Advertisements – No integrated marketing campaign is complete without a paid advertising component. After all, how will people know you have an offer if you don’t make one? Depending on the nature of your business, you might consider using ad programs available on Facebook, Bing, or Google. With multiple types of ad modules available, you or your marketing team can design a campaign that helps you meet your business objectives, whatever they are. Other creative forms of paid advertising include print advertisements, local sponsorships, and even vehicle wraps! The goal is to get your brand in front of as many people as possible. Don’t be afraid to get creative.

Mobile Apps – Mobile Apps offer business owners the opportunity to connect with their clients directly on their mobile phone, without the need to read email, visit a website, or search for them on social media. An investment in a mobile app is helpful for sending push notifications, managing loyalty rewards programs, making special offers, or offering a text club. For food service businesses, additional functionality such as the ability to place orders online offset development and management expenses.

Direct Mail – Direct mail remains a trusted and legitimate method to connect with potential customers and clients in your desired target demographics. Printed mail pieces including postcards, inserts, and flyers are cost-effective and offer a longer shelf-life than it’s electronic contemporary, email. Further, they can be customized with unique URLs, Coupon Codes, and Phone Numbers to track the return on investment accurately.

Listing Services – When you want to make sure that your company or brand is seen by the right audience, listing services are helpful. References and links from authority sites such as Google, Bing, Yelp, Manta, Yellow Pages, Angie’s List, the Better Business Bureau, your local Chamber of Commerce, align you with your preferred audience. These links back are valuable citations to your company! (Pro Tip: If you haven’t given much thought to the importance of listing citations, you should start checking for inclusion and accuracy as soon as possible.) Depending on the organization, the addition to their directory may be free, upgraded, or paid. Free listing services typically offer business owners a basic listing that contains minimal information. Upgraded or paid inclusion listing services often offer business owners more features or value-added functionality from their listing, so be sure to have marketing funds set aside to cover the costs of these listings.

As you can see, there are a lot of working parts when forming an Integrated Marketing campaign. Need help putting all of the pieces together? Get in touch with Colleen Eakins Design today!