Visual messages impact immediately. Graphic design, then, becomes a critical tool in a marketplace where countless brands and businesses jostle for consumer attention and affections. With consumers having less and less time to spend making decisions, engaging graphic design can often mean the difference between a customer choosing your business over another. Effective design sends a powerful message, telling your customers about the merits of your business, inviting them to try you out.
    
We are often guilty of judging books by their covers. We tend to favour the aesthetically pleasing and the visually engaging, which is why effective graphic design has emerged as such a crucial weapon in the global marketplace battle for consumer minds, hearts and loyalties. Creative and effective design functions as a visual representation of your business, and communicates the expertise, value and trustworthiness of your business.

Graphic design gives a business a unique visual identity. It establishes an image recognisable to your customers, which is distinct from other businesses. It’s from this image that your customer will often make up their minds about the credibility of your business, which is precisely why graphic design is invaluable as a communicative tool, and is integral to the whole machinery of marketing.

Suppose, for example, there are two supermarkets in your neighbourhood. One remembers better days: the building is old and tired, the car park is empty, its colours are faded. The other is relatively new and inviting, attractively-lit and brightly coloured. Which building is likely to attract more business? Graphic design operates on the same principle. When your business is presented invitingly and engagingly, it’s more likely to attract customers.

This is a guest article by Wes Towers of Omnific Design. Wes has a degree in Graphic Design/Multimedia which he studied at The University of Ballarat. He then moved to Sydney in 2000 to work in boutique marketing and graphic design studios where his passion for results focussed graphic design grew. He moved back to Melbourne in 2003 and opened Omnific Design.