5 Graphic Design Rules To Live By

Written by: Sachin Parmar

Do you fancy yourself as a designer? Before you pick up that pen or twiddle your mouse, read on to learn about the five design rules that will keep you on the creative straight and narrow.

Sachin Parmar, Co-founder and Creative Director from evokeu, London’s leading boutique digital marketing and branding agency, shares his teams’ five design mantras that they follow to ensure their creative pieces are always top quality.

The creative team at evokeu have spent years honing their craft and developing their skills as designers. When you commission evokeu to work on a project, you're not just paying for the time spent but also the knowledge and experience of the professionals we have onboard.

For our creatives, design is a way of life and there are certain rules that they consistently abide by. If you want to up your design prowess, keep these rules in mind the next time you create a post for social or assess what needs tweaking on your website. We could all do with being a bit more designer!

First impressions matter

Did your parents ever tell you as a child that first impressions count? Designers think so too, but not in terms of manners. It's vital that a piece of creative grabs your attention from the outset, otherwise you'll quickly lose your audience to the saturated world of content in which we live. Whether through vibrant colours, bold text or unique illustrations, graphic design needs to wow and stand out from the crowd.

Consistency is credibility

Although it can be tempting to throw everything but the kitchen sink at a design idea, what's more important is that you remain consistent throughout your creative. From a poster to your shop front, design is a part of your brand. If you change your style for each medium, your customers will get confused and find it difficult to recognise you amongst the busyness. There's also a risk that your messaging will become lost if the design is mismatched across your offering.

Efficiency in summary

As well as being consistent, it's also worth keeping your design simple and to the point. Think about what it is that you want to convey to your audience – are you trying to sell them a product, tell them about your service offering or teach them about your brand? Design tells a story and that story needs to be easy to understand. If you're too clever or complex with your narrative, the general public will likely struggle to translate what you're trying to convey. The phrase 'less is more' is paramount with design. Make sure your creative is always clear and concise.

Designing creativity that kills competition

The creative mind is key to unlocking the potential of your business. The more unique and inspired your design is the less competition you will face. Don't be scared of going against the grain and establishing a new path that others will follow. As long as you keep the rules of consistency and efficiency in mind, feel free to be off-the-wall and wacky with your design; such a move may help you to make that all-important first impression.

Your brand message matters

We touched briefly on messaging and how vital it is to not dilute what you're trying to say with confusing design. It's also imperative that your brand messaging is always central to everything that you design for your business. It's easy to get absorbed by the look and feel of a creative piece, but if it doesn't portray your business in the right way, then its purpose is defunct. Remember the five Ws of storytelling: who, what, when, where and why. If you can answer all of these questions by looking at your design, then you're heading in the right direction.

If you’d like to find out more about Sachin and evokeu, please visit here. You can also follow Sachin on LinkedIn, where he frequently posts business advice and inspiring content.

About the author:

Sachin Parmar is the Co-founder and Creative Director of boutique digital marketing and branding agency, evokeu. With decades of design experience, Sachin has a keen eye for detail and a drive to create consistently superior results. Sachin and his expert team work with big and small brands across many sectors to help clients capture customer attention and create growth. Evokeu also has a vertical brand called Graphic Kitchen, which specialises in the hospitality sector.