Hello everyone and welcome to the Working Image Podcast. I'm your host, Jared Michael Gordon. This is episode three, how layout design can build your Business. Let's get started. How does layout design build your business? First, what does the term layout design mean? I'm sure some of you have heard the term layout design at some point in your professional career, but if you haven't, that's fine. Here is a design geek definition. Layout design is the organization of design elements using design principles to convey a message about a product or service. One more time. Layout design is the organization of design elements using design principles to convey a message about a product or service. You got it? Great podcast over. We can move on. Just joking. Let's break this down a little bit more. Design elements are lines, shapes, images, text, and negative space, also known as white space. These are what, for example, an advertisement is made up of. Design principles are visual, hierarchy, spacing, alignment, color, and balance. These are tools we have as designers to build that advertisement. So on a basic level, layout design is the organization of a message about a company's product or service. For example, an advertisement, a web banner, a newsletter, or the entirety of a website, et cetera. I'm sure you've all seen the difference between some sort of community flyer and a well designed advertisement. Are they different? Sure, their subjects are different, but they are the same thing. They are both a layout conveying a message. The well designed advertisement just happens to be doing it better than the community flyer. Why is this important? Why can't we just type some texts out on a sheet of paper and call it a day? I'm sure you all know it's because you want your message to stand out from everyone else, especially your competition, and that very idea is how the graphic design industry started. How else will you make your message stand out if not for visual hierarchy, spacing, alignment, color, balance, et cetera. Layout design is all around you and you live with it daily from something as simple as the title of an article to an interactive website design. You see and are guided by layout design almost every moment of your day. Let's take an advertisement, for example. Doesn't matter if the ad is physical or digital. Designers are using the aforementioned design principles to guide your eyes through the piece. You are being led to see what the designer wants, which is usually a company's marketing message. You might think you have control over this, but you really don't. Also, the non-designer uses design principles even if they don't realize it because they see it all day long and subconsciously learn what works and what doesn't. For example, let's say you have to make a flyer for a yard sale that you're having. You will put the words yard sale in big letters on top of that flyer, followed by all the necessary information, when, where, et cetera. Why? Because that's how you see it every day in your life. The main idea should be the largest element on the page, which will draw in the viewer. This is an example, the design principle of visual hierarchy. See, you know it. You're using it and you didn't even realize it. You see, it's a feeling when we look at something that is poorly designed, we know something is wrong with it. We might not be able to articulate what that problem is, especially if you're not trained still. We literally feel that something is wrong and in return, the product or service being advertised in that design now has a subconscious negative connotation, so when you see the product or company subconsciously, you get a bad feeling and you don't wanna buy the product or hire that company. This is all happening in the back of your mind and it takes a split second for it to happen. Ultimately, this is how layout design affects your business and can either build it or hurt it. That's why focus groups are used by almost every company. They want to see a number of ways people react not only to the product, but also to the marketing and the branding. If any of that is bad, they'll change it. I mentioned in another episode that I see companies ask designers to create something really quickly because it's just something small. But if we don't take all the design principles into account, then there's a strong possibility in almost certainty that something we are creating for your company, we'll actually damage your company. This is why you need a professional designer to create your marketing material and branding elements, and not just someone who quote unquote knows Photoshop because you don't want to unknowingly be turning off your customers or clients from your company and working with someone who is an experience will lead to just that. What if you can't afford to hire a graphic designer regularly? Well, then you should hire a designer just once to design regular templated materials for you so you can change the wording and the images yourself in a program like Adobe Express. This way, you will use well designed templates for your marketing collateral, and you won't have to worry about the designs turning off potential customers or clients. This won't solve all your needs, but it's a good start until you're ready to utilize a design firm on a regular basis. One thing I like to really stress is content. Content is key to any type of marketing, whether it's social media posts, traditional advertising, or simply the about page on your website. However, the mistake I see time and time again is too much content. Let's use an advertisement as an example, and whether it be digital or a physical ad, you have a finite amount of without fail. I see companies trying to cram as much as possible into these spaces because they paid for it, and they want to advertise everything that that their company does. Although I understand the financial reasons, this is still the wrong way to create an advertisement, and ultimately it will fail, and you will have wasted your money. Your company should discuss one main service or product in an ad. When the potential customer or client takes the next step and either contacts you or visits your website, then they can be introduced to everything else your company has to offer. Remember, poor design layout, no matter how big your company is, can build your business or hurt your business even if you think the design looks good. The design principles we as designers use to convey a company message about a product or service are backed by science to work with human nature. This allows the designer to lead the viewer through design and highlight the most important marketing parts of the message. In return, this will play a major role in increasing leads and sales of a product or service. Well, that's it for episode three of The Working Image Podcast. How layout design can build your business. All the necessary links and information are in the show notes. If you have any questions, email the working image@gmail.com. We know your time is valuable. Thank you for using some of that time to listen. Take care.