25 Jan The Other Day I Was Drinking and Driving

Whenever you want to put out a product that has your business name on it, you should always think it through thoroughly. You should always think about how your customers and potential customers will view them. You have to put aside your knowledge of your specific industry jargon and think like a customer. In a way you have to dumb down your thinking, because in most cases, your customers don’t know nearly as much about what you are selling or offering as you do. Design is one of the most important factors for any marketing piece. It doesn’t matter if you are thinking about business cards, brochures, banners, promotional products, newspaper ads, posters, or a new logo design, you should always have a layout that is both visually appealing AND effective. Both must be present for it to work. Your small investment in graphic design will pay off big dividends over a poorly designed ad.

Now, this isn’t necessarily graphic design, but it is a form of design. I needed a little pick-me-up a few days ago, so I stopped at a convenient store and bought a Pepsi Max. They have a fair amount of caffeine in them, and that is just what I needed on that particular evening. So at first I didn’t really think anything about it until I pull into my kids school and I’m taking a drink and notice that people are staring at me. Then it dawns on me that this bottle looks just like a beer. So there are now several of my kids parents who now think that I go around drinking and driving. As I thought more about this scenario, I started thinking about how often I pass by police officers, Sheriff deputies, and State Troopers. What are the chances that they mistake this bottle as a beer? Drinking from that bottle just made me a bit self-conscious while driving. At home or work, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

The above story is just a real life example of how you have to think about your design. In this case, it was the design of a bottle. In the case of most day-to-day business applications, it would deal with graphic design. Make sure you have professional designs on all of your business literature and giveaways. Your business image is extremely important for the success of your business and that is one area that you should not be cheap.