Hey fellow marketers! Ever found yourself in the graphic design wilderness without a creative team to guide you? Fear not! Here's a casual walkthrough of how to tackle the top challenges like a pro.
Visual Pizzazz on a Budget
Creating eye-catching content without a design team might feel like juggling flaming torches, but fear not. Embrace online design tools and stock templates. Yes, templates are your key to having something well made without a designer in your corner. Be sure to make it fit your brand and choose templates that have a similar feel. Ex: Your brand is very organic and natural so you would find graphic elements that are soft and abstract or you can use actual natural graphics like various sprigs and leaves in a handrawn style.
To not gloss over how to make it your own here are some things to consider doing when using templates:
Always update colors to your brand colors. If you do not have one use online color palette generators to help you and stick with it. Use your palette on everything. Color cues do a lot of heavy lifting. Think about wanting a soda and you see a blue can and a red can. Without seeing the brand you could probably figure out what your choices are.
Use your brand font. Again, if you do not have one then I would pick 1 or 2 and use it on everything you create. You could use one for both the headlines and body copy or one for each. I suggest stopping there. If you are not sure what to pick look at other brands you admire and copy it. I recommend finding something close to it in Google Fonts or buying it from a type foundry. Trust me you do not want legal woes from font licenses so be sure to have fonts that are either free for commercial use or you have a commercial license.
Delete things you don't need or want. Don't feel the need to use a template as is. Remove areas of content you may not need and make it your own. You may also have to add things like icons and charts.
Mix two templates to create something new. One thing about designers, we are great remixers. You could be to with practice. Take two templates you like and merge them. You may like the content placement of one and the style of another. By doing this you are creating an end product that may be unrecognizable from a template. This is the ultimate way of making it your own.
Here are two sites to find great templates for anything you may need:
These are affiliate links but I have used both sites
Envato Elements (1 price unlimited downloads)
Creative Market (Pay per asset or become a member)
Brand Consistency Woes:
Keeping that brand flame burning bright across diverse materials is tricky sans a creative squad. Develop a style guide, stick to it like your favorite playlist, and watch that brand consistency playlist on repeat.
A style guide does not have to be complicated just documented. Use PowerPoint, Google docs, or whatever you have available. Below I list some of the must-haves in your guide. I like to create simple guides for startups and small businesses and put them all on one page. I call them brand cheat sheets. A little tip is to add images of the brand in use at the bottom. Seeing all of the elements in use is very helpful.
Brand guideline must-haves:
Your logo and every variation of it.
Your color palette. Including HEX, RGB, CMYK, and Pantone codes are helpful but not mandatory. Include at least one. The Hex codes are usually the easiest to get.
Your fonts. I suggest to include a link to where they can be downloaded.
Your brand in use (Add this once you actually use it. A social post, cover of a white paper, etc)
Design Trends FOMO:
Keeping up with design trends is like chasing a caffeinated cat – challenging! My advice is don't do it. Your brand does not need to be trendy. Put a stake in the sand and stand by it. Start to establish your visual and content voice in the market. Apple does not follow trends in its core brand. Apple creates them! If your goal is to be a rebel archetype in the space take the risks and shake things up. If you are looking to be the wise archetype you don't necessarily have to be traditional either. The only thing you should be is consistent.
6. Brand Voice Hurdles:
With no creative team, you may not have a writer either. If you are just starting out or a small company AI can help here, I strongly suggest hiring a freelancer. You will need a freelancer with experience in developing a brand voice. Think about this, you call your mom and she answers "What up bro?" I don't know about you but I would look at my phone to make sure I didn't call the wrong number. That is not how my mom talks. Every brand has a voice and you need to find yours. I suggest investing here before investing in your visual brand. A good visual brand designer will use this to build your visual brand concept.
DIY Design Struggles:
YouTube and Google save lives. If you get stuck use them. I suggest keeping things simple. A simple design will take you far without a visual designer you can lean on. Don't forget to sleep on it. After creating something walk away and come back before use. Fresh eyes always spot room for improvement. You could also "phone a friend" but be careful about whom. Pick one person to be your go-to person or give lots of context and older examples. Your goal is to be consistent in everything so will need to see examples of what has already been done.
So, there you have it – a survival guide for marketers navigating the graphic design jungle solo. Remember, every challenge is just an opportunity to shine brighter. Go forth, create, and conquer!
