Whether you’ve realized it or not, design plays a huge role in branding. Design goes into every aspect of your corporate identity – from business cards, to web design, to promotional product imprints.

The most important thing to remember is that the purpose of your design is to convey information to your audience. In order to do so, you need to create a design that helps guide their eyes through the document and shows them which information is important, all while maintaining a consistent, cohesive brand image.

You can accomplish that by keeping these design principles in mind:

Focal point, the first step to any design is to establish a focal point. Ask yourself, “What’s the most important element?” That’s your focal point. You can create a focal point by making it bigger or changing its color or texture.

Balance: Balance in design means measuring and regulating the visual weight of your composition. Elements that are darker colors, bigger sizes, or rougher textures appear “heavier” than light colors, small sizes, and smooth flowing textures. etc

Pleasing design will draw customers to your brand, and with these design principles in mind you are sure to establish a killer brand identity. Customers will remember well-designed business cards, promotional t-shirts, and ad material, and they’ll stay and click around on an organized, engaging website. What do you think makes Coke, Nike, and McDonald’s brand images so recognizable? They’ve got stellar graphic designers, and now that can be you!