Did you know that design-driven companies that stimulate creativity obtain 1.5 times greater market share? Despite this, many often overlook the importance of graphic designers in the success of any business. In today’s blog article, we sat down with our Graphic Designer Intern, Aaron, to find out more about his experience as a graphic designer in a Digital Marketing Agency, as well as his thoughts on why graphic design plays a pivotal role in a brand’s success.
Why do you aspire to pursue a career in graphic design?
Broadly speaking, graphic design is the very first touchpoint that a business has with their target audience. Visuals are important in setting the right mood, tone and impression. By having good visuals, you can capture and hold the attention of your target audience, and they are more likely to read the accompanying text and call to action.
Describe a typical day in the life of a Graphic Designer Intern at a Digital Marketing Agency like VK Transformation.
At the beginning of every work day, I will check on my tasks for the day which include both general tasks and on-the-go tasks which will usually flow in throughout the day. As a Digital Marketing Agency, we deal with clients from many industries. As such, I’d need to conduct market research to understand the different industries and how their target audience relates to the visuals. It’s a lot of text and words to read in a day for a graphic designer. The days would usually go by very quickly and I wouldn’t even realise that the day has passed. At the end of the day, I will send the completed tasks to the relevant stakeholders for their feedback. Inspiration can come at any time of the day, even after working hours which is when I will do my own research during my free time.
Having to work with different types of clients at VK Transformation, how do you approach your graphic designs to tailor to the different needs of the target audiences while handling tight deadlines? Where do you get design inspirations from?
I’d research to get to know the target audience of our clients such as through reading from a common playbook. I’d also have to conduct visual research which would firstly involve going to Pinterest to look for images that I deem to be relevant to the current task, as well as researching to see what competitors are posting. It’s important to differentiate ourselves from our competitors in terms of our unique selling point. Through competitor benchmarking, we can learn how to better portray our unique selling point visually. Experimenting and getting feedback from others are also useful ways to approach graphic designing.
Aside from Pinterest, I rely a lot on Behance, a website where graphic designers can upload their work and talk about their works and thought processes, to seek inspiration for my designs. It’s a general inspirational guide for artistic creative styles where I can view style guides, colour palettes and learn about how other graphic designers plan their work.
If the client were to request for a full revamp of your first design iteration, how would you go about working with your mentors and client for this change request?
Firstly, I’d need to know which part of my work the client is not satisfied with. More often than not, the client will only tell you what they want or need. They won’t tell you what they don’t want in the work. It’s my duty as a graphic designer to understand why the client is not satisfied with my work and make it work no matter what. It’s a lot about knowing what they want and not want. The best way is to show the client your design and compare it against their design. This will help them to compare and analyse. Though a lot of time may seem to be wasted, both sides will eventually understand each other and come to a middle ground.
What is one negative stereotype of the role of graphic designers in a business? How would you respond to someone who perpetuates this stereotype?
One stereotype that many people have of graphic designers is that they’re just there to illustrate and draw. They’re not entirely wrong - illustrating is important for visuals but graphic designers do a lot more than just that. We do a wide range of work such as website design and our thought processes are just as important. I think what I want to say to these people is that you’ll only realise the importance of graphic designers in our absence.
Why do you think graphic design is important to a brand’s development?
Graphic designers help to set the direction for the company, especially when it comes to the branding of the company - how the company is portrayed visually such as the logo, brand colours and fonts is in the hands of the graphic designer. It will affect the brand no matter what even though it might not look important at first. To make your company iconic or differentiate from competitors, it’s the logo. Take for example Nike - there was an uproar when the company’s designer was paid millions of dollars to create the logo. But there is a lot of thought that goes behind coming up with the simple tick. The tick represents the company’s values and sets the direction for the company. These thought processes go into any kind of visuals that you make such as eDMs, websites, etc. Visuals will always be the first touchpoint that determines whether you make the sale or not.
VK Transformation has successfully transformed B2B and B2C brands through the use of design thinking and compelling graphic design. If you’re keen to learn more about our experiences, we would be more than happy to connect with you over a virtual coffee chat. Let us know your availability here: https://www.vktransformation.com/contact-us