What is graphic design and how does it affect our world? Below are some thoughts on how design benefits and powers commerce.

Graphic design is the process of visual communication that combines ideas, imagery and text to convey information to an audience to invoke an action.

Graphic design is part of your daily life. From the food you eat to the t-shirt on your back - design plays a major role in helping you decide what best fulfills your needs, wants and lifestyle choices.

From a business standpoint, graphic design is a necessity because it serves as one of the most important communication vehicles to deliver your brand, product or service to your customers - the other being verbal. Graphic design allows you to persuade, announce, sell, invite, demonstrate and inform visually via a website, packaging, logo, posters, business cards or brochures. Graphic design legitimizes your offering as a professional organization and aids in the building of your brand for long-term profitability and success.

From an online standpoint, design provides the credibility and trust factor for the all to important call to action. Examples include: buy now, on sale, call today, register, learn more, available here, vote for me, visit www… or add to cart. These phrases are the basis for eCommerce and profitability online, which is why without the proper design standards, conventions and methods implemented by an experienced designer or agency, you hang your online objectives on the precipice of mediocrity or failure.

So, who do you choose for this important task? Today, anyone with a computer can type out a business card, design an advertisement or build a website. You - yourself, may have probably used some fluorescent paper and a blue marker to draw out a garage sale sign. But it takes the talent, experience and knowledge of a professional designer to truly achieve what design is intended to do—add value that initiates an action. I believe essentially, design adds value in the form of credibility and trust. These two factors, combined with the creativity and resources of a professional designer or agency along with an integrated marketing plan (PR, advertising, promotions, etc.) are the foundations of causing any buyer initially in the sales cycle to consider your product or service seriously for purchase.

Creativity is measured in the capacity and talent of a designer to take shape, color, form, style, imagery and type and transcend those design elements into original, progressive ideas that give the viewer or audience something they have never seen before. Creativity also can influence the purchase decision by causing the viewer to feel enjoyment or satisfaction when encountering a piece of communication. In design, creativity is often times restrained to ensure accuracy in communicating with the desired target audience. It can also be repressed by the product or service owner’s idea of how best to present itself. These dynamics determine the level of “punch” of any creative execution.

Graphic design is a very important tool in today’s business world. From an early age we have learned and growed through seeing pictures and reading words. Graphic design is the way organizations teach their customers about their products and services which makes business grow. The discipline of graphic design will continue to grow commerce well into the future as our world draws closer to a completed global economy.

This blog entry is for an Art Institute student here in Colorado. We typically get a lot of inquires from students and designers looking for work or wanting some kind of information on us, so we thought this would be a good way to let you know what we do and how we do it. Here are our answers to some of the student’s questions:

1) What are the most important steps that you took to reach your position?
1. Talent and Education: every designer must first be talented and then have an education; 2. A good understanding of Marketing and Sales: graphic design is the tactical means of communication - if we aren’t selling verbally, we’re selling visually; 3. Learning HTML/CSS and Flash: broadening your skill set and design arsenal makes you more valuable to any design firm. Just because you’re a good designer, that doesn’t always guarantee you can implement your ideas effectively. Having a client hire you for a print piece then asking you back to do an online advertising program will always bring more work and credibility to your portfolio; 4. Presentation: You must be able to sell and present yourself professionally (SEE NUM CHUK SKILLS BELOW).

2) How many other designers work with or below you in your department?
Two to five. We work with a production artist and a web designer, then contract out our flash and high-level programming.

3) What is the most important characteristic of a young designer looking to move up?
Talent, presentation and a strong balance between Web and Print. I believe every designer should know how to construct a simple brochure-ware website and also be able to set up a multi-page print piece. Experience and motivation, as well as the desire to grow is also important. Find a non-profit or someone who will give you experience, even if it means working for free. It will surely bring dividends when applying for an agency position.

4) Is there a source from which you or your company prefers to enlist new designers?
Not really. All of the talent agencies I’ve ever worked with discount designers’ work and expect you to take less than industry standards. It’s better to apply directly.

5) What do you look for when hiring new designers?
Experience with clients, strong understanding of how to take ideas and make them real using industry applications and once again - a well-balanced web/print portfolio.

6) What are some common mistakes that new hires make?
I’ve interviewed several designers and most will come in with an unorganized portfolio and the inability to describe to me what the objective and goal was of a given project. If you can’t tell me why you did the things you did on a particular piece, how will the client understand what his/her return on investment is? Designers must be savvy on color theory, font, layout, form and function and especially on how to sell themselves. And in working on any piece, always have someone review your work for spelling. One spelling error can turn a great project into mush. Be patient, in time you will eventually grow into much larger projects and more exciting work!

7) Have you ever done or do you now do any freelance work?
Not really, we are too busy working on agency-related projects.

Is there a scale you use when pricing the work you do?
No. We typically price a project based upon the amount of time it will take from an hourly rate; that then translates into a fixed price. Printing, photography, etc. is extra. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Fortune 500 or a start-up. We believe and know first-hand that our work brings value and profit to our clients’ businesses.

9) How do you decide what to charge your clients?
See above. We always work on a fixed budget. It gives the client a set price that will not change. We find it works out better at the end of a project. There is nothing worse to a client than going over budget and getting billed at the end of a project for more than the price agreed upon. If it does happen, we make sure they are fully aware. If, however, there are any problems alog the way, we’ll always eat it. Better to save the relationship and take a hit then to lose the client all together.

10) How do you choose your clients?
We choose them typically on what kind of business they are in, budget and what interests us. We have more experience in some industries than others. We try to find out what kind of people they are through the client survey and pre-qualification process in order to get some insight as to whether or not they will be a good client to work with. Inappropriate language, unprofessionalism, being disrespectful and late payments are all undesirable qualities in a client. We never take any project that compromise our integrity or the Garrison Everest brand.

11) What sets your company apart from other graphic design firms?
Talent and firms are a dime a dozen. We have to ask ourselves this question all the time due to Denver’s highly competitive market. It really comes down to who you are, who you work with and what’s your specialty and approach. Without saying too much here…our specialty is delivering exceptional creative work that brings TRUE VALUE that directly affects our clients’ brand position. Our approach is to find the white space in which our clients can best communicate and provide solutions that resonate with their target audience.

12) What advice do you have for someone in college?
Seek experience to gain a balanced portfolio in print and web, don’t let your ego get in the way and present yourself professionally and know how to sell your ideas and yourself. Most of all, be teachable - glean every experience.

In addition, I also want to say I’ve sought to surround myself with like-minded people who are amazing business men/women, marketing minds and creatives. They have contributed immensely to my success and the success of this firm now celebrating 5 years. When people see that you are eager, willing to learn and have the talent, the right people in life will see themselves in you and help you by offering referrals, advice, teaching or by mentoring. I have a strong mentor who contributes to my career growth on a monumental scale. Your work-ethic and reputation will carry you far or stop you short. When I first started I was eager and willing to work hard and do whatever it took to succeed and through perseverance, it has paid off! I can only say that if this is what God made you to be, you will always succeed.

I hope this helps! I invite you to add your comments to this entry.
Regards- Joshua Claflin, President/Creative Director

“Brands generally are established, grow, and prosper because they offer some type of reciprocal value between the two or more parties involved in the brand. The brand buyer gets value. The brand seller gets income and profits. This is a reciprocal equation with both sides profiting from the experience – a reciprocal relationship.” (Brand Babbel, Schultz, 2004)

BRAND DEVELOPMENT WILL HELP YOU:

1. Set goals, identify problems, define the target market’s unique characteristics and brand reciprocity
2. Uncover the compelling evidence that makes your (product or service) claim credible
3. Create and build trust into your brand offering
4. Define the customers’ personal charateristics and how they incorporate your brand into their identity
5. Influence selection and choice over your competitors
6. Add perceived brand value - which makes the price feel appropriate when the decision to purchase is made
7. Create confidence in the customers purchase decisions (which is the foundation for long-term success)
8. Cut through marketplace clutter
9. Make your brand an experience not just another product
10. Foster internal team commitment not compliance

Garrison Everest’s in-depth 17 step process takes your team through a full-day session of brand exploration and development. We help you take your business strategy/business model and translate that into a brand strategy. We will discover what makes your brand distinct, credible and the areas of white space to help your brand resonate with its target market.

Contact Garrison Everest today to learn more! >

As it’s often said, you can’t put the cart before the horse. We are approached many times a month by new businesses who need a website, logo, brochures etc. After we get through the basic introductions and information on the project we ask, do you have a marketing plan or a brand strategy in place? “Umm, after a short pause, no we don’t see the… why do we need that?” Great question. Think about yourself. What do you stand for as a person? Why do you dress the way you do or drive that car? Why are you starting this business - to make money? Everyone likes to make money, but outside of making money what drives you? What kind of coffee do you drink? Favorite restaurant? Why?

See the understanding here is that for too long we often get sucked into doing tactical work without finding the meaning behind it. It’s what I call “Marketing-Lite.” Clients want the stellar tactical components but pass on the strategy (or meaning). Just as we live our lives day to day, paying little attention to what defines us, we often take this same kind of thinking into our businesses.

A brand is the gut feeling one gets about a product, service or company. The brand process takes the business strategy and creates the brand. I recently read a book entitled “ZAG”, by Marty Neumeier. (I highly recommend this book). It has challenged our approach to design and opened our eyes to the power of the brand development process.

In the cluttered marketplace, what makes remarkable products is the meaning behind it. Our new approach is to talk about products and services and how they define our customers. A brand defines you and me. This is our new way of thinking outlined below.

Below are five reasons why every business should consider going through the brand process.

1. People naturally want to be apart of something bigger than themselves. (refer to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).

If you can build meaning in the form of a life story or the reason why you may be starting a health company, coding new technology or a high-end real estate development, you can add value and in most cases relate to your customers on a deeper level rather than just trying to get them to open their pocketbook. This enforces credibility and trust in the marketplace of fibbers and me-too products.

2. The brand process forces you to think.

By taking a time-out and really getting into the definition, meaning, and purpose you will find gold in the form of attributes that otherwise would have been overlooked. These come in the form of new targets, messaging or propositions not thought of. This adds overall value to your offering.

3. It gives your design team more direction and freedom to do great work.

Part of the equation in any marketing program is the people who make it happen. The brand process allows everyone to get involved. As a result we find better messaging, richer layouts and higher team morale because we all feel apart of something bigger than ourselves.

4. Your customers desire definition - a strong brand fulfills that need.

In a post-consumer society, we have everything we need at our fingertips 24/7. There are 10+ different kinds of everything. We respond to these choices by what appeals to us in a way that defines us. We as a culture have arrived at the self-actualization stage (refer back to Maslow’s pyramid). We want to have meaning in our life, and we can somehow express that in the products we spend our money on. So important is this, we damage our credit, go into debt, save, sacrifice and for some steal, just to get that one thing that we desire to help define ourselves. Without it we are just a black outline. A strong brand adds color.

5. A strong brand influences confidence in purchase decisions.

Some of our high-end clients spend alot of money on pricey materials that are appropriate to the markets they do business in. We believe that upon conclusion of purchase life-cycle - from brand introduction to purchase decision - everything learned and experienced up to the point of sale can be orchestrated to influence whether customers swipe their card or sign on the dotted line. A strong brand actually gives the extra “kick” to get over the hump. Done correctly the brand serves as the customers guide along the purchase life-cycle.

In conclusion, we will continue to research, define and aid our clients in this new area of thinking. We truly believe that a well built cart acting as the brand strategy will give more power to the horse (tactics) that will power business in the cluttered marketplace and age of self-actualization and definition. Brands define who we are. This approach must be considered to be successful in any industry.

I recently was invited to talk to a college here in the Denver area. They were interested to hear my comments and get feedback on their AA and BA Graphic Design curriculum. Going in I didn’t know what to expect. After making the introductions to other designers and the staff we sat down and listened to what they had to say. It was clear we were here to be a sounding board on what the College was teaching as the Department Head went down the list of courses. They had an excellent program (far better than the University of Wyoming’s back in 1999) however some very fundamental things were missing. Having doing design for over 10 years I like to think I know what I’m doing, so I gave my input… “Presentation - How are you teaching these students to sell themselves and their skills? Do they understand how to understand the clients needs? Do they know they can’t come walking into a clients office wearing baggy pants and a chain around their hip? Do they understand that clients view them as an investment that will hopefully pay off? Do they know that clients put designers into the same bucket of services as lawyers, doctors and therapists?” We are here to solve business problems - crack the egg of sluggish online sales, attract more customers with an improved package design or even build a business with a credible-official logo and brand image so that it might aid in getting investment.

Another thing that popped up too was, the term “desktop publishing.” Does anyone use this term anymore? I haven’t heard it since 1997? anyway…

Perception is reality. Designers need to engineer the sales process (just like everyone else) in selling their skills right down to their shoelaces. We are a professional service that requires the polish and shine as any other high-level consultant or counselor. The world may be changing and the days of the coat and tie are coming to an end, but the fact remains: presentation is everything. Know email etiquette, what does a good portfolio look like—blackboard everything! Are you learning enough about marketing, branding, website design and search engine optimization?

Clients (and agencys) like designers with skills. Without them your chances of getting hired or getting an account are going to be difficult. Believe me I know. Post your comments! I would like to answer any questions new designers or students may have concerning this issue.

What do designers think when they come across potential clients who want big ideas and big-time design but aren’t wiling to pay for it? TRY TO GET A PIECE. Seriously, if you are able to develop a good relationship with the client off the bat, you have a steady sales pipeline, the product is something special and time allows, don’t be afraid to ask for equity or ownership in exchange to help them get off the ground. Obviously, there are other considerations but if you keep your relationship business-like and don’t get too personal, great things can happen! Most soloists like the idea of having someone they can rely on for support, bouncing ideas off or just knowing they are there. We have several clients in which Garrison Everest has a business parntership in and these accounts have become the most meaningful projects we’ve ever worked on. As a designer it pushes my boundaries on the creative process which as a result has produced some of my best work. But one warning, don’t invite them over for dinner and try to keep personal stuff to a minimum. Always give them the right to be the boss because after all it is their idea and their company.

As designers we are called to aid in the creation of many peoples dreams as they pertain to starting their own businesses. There are roughly 500,000 start ups per month / 6 million a year and they all need logos, websites, stationery, packaging, advertising and marketing. With the Dow blowing past 12K, its a great time to be in business and to be a designer. However, as a designer I find more and more of my entrepreneurs and non-creative type clients are calling on me to be more savvy in marketing, technology, computers and business development. What I mean is that with all the competition, brands, ads, new gadgets, and messaging out there, they look to us on how to get noticed, remembered and make their dreams come true - a responsibility I don’t take lightly. And when you add the budget restrictions to that tall order - the ability to understand the web, search engine optimization and how to set up an email account becomes all the more important.

When I first started doing design, I kind-of-thought that “wow, I really love what I do, but this is a meaningless career,” but now I see how wrong I was - but I’m an ultra A-type so I can see where I got that… Now, I think design is the cornerstone in ALL business operations and any venture that is serious about getting off the ground without great design; start-ups and new businesses - are spinning their wheels.

As of today we have been exploring the possibility of building 3 separate social network websites with 3 separate clients. Since January we have been observing myspace, tagworld, eons, gather and facebook - reading all the major million dollar buy-outs, putting together design costs, hosting costs, maintenance costs, media and content providers, advertising/revenue generation models etc. and contemplating if this “web 2.0″ is for real and here to stay. The specifications document is shooting out numbers that range from $0 (have some high-schoolers build it) to $500K. Another big challenge has been working with unimaginative investors for our clients. They have a hard time “getting it” and our best efforts to educate them has been long and slow. However we keep pushing on.

I really think that this new form of web self-expression is for real. But like the new night club in town, content providers must keep the main content fresh, exciting and ever changing. This may even include the user interface, navigation, topics, and imagery - these must be ever-changing. We have been brainstorming ideas on how to make this happen and believe this is the key to keeping sites like myspace hot, which is already “so last year.”

When creating a package design you basically have to sell to three clients: the owner, the merchandise buyer and then the customer. This process can take very long. Depending on how complex your design is-the various components each take on their own seperate timeline. Once you get it past the first two and are ready for prduction - we suggest finding a company that can engineer, print, produce the package and in addition provide fulfillment and customer service. Some can produce your design overseas. Working with people overseas e.g. Taiwan, China, Phillipines etc. can sometimes be very challenging to the designer. Even though the price is cheap, the quality can sometimes go to the side of the road.