Graphic Design Services - London, UK

In times of doom and gloom - revitalising your services and sales could be vital to survival

In these times of projected economic hardship - the initial instinct of many businesses is to batton down the hatches and try to ride out the storm. At the same time, we know that people become more particular in what they need in terms of services and products, and being able to differentiate yourself from the competition is vital in order to make sure that you survive in the increasingly difficult market conditions, which is why we are going to be seeing many large brands relaunching/ rebranding themselves in the coming months. 

Proof from the Design Council that businesses that utilise design do better than those that do no, based upon the Value of Design Factfinder which shows the positive impact of design on practically every measure of business performance in terms of market share, growth, productivity, share price and competitiveness. Here is a brief list of some of their finding - 

• Two thirds of companies who ignore design have to compete mainly on price. In companies where design is integral, just one third do so.
• More than eight out of ten design-led companies have introduced a new product or service in the last three years, compared to just 40 per cent of UK companies overall. 83% of companies in which design is integral have seen their market share increase, compared to the UK average of 46%.
• Design is integral to 39% of rapidly growing companies but to only 7% of static ones.
• 80 per cent of design-led businesses have opened up new markets in the last three years. Only 42% of UK businesses overall have done so.
• A business that increases its investment in design is more than twice as likely to see its turnover grow as a business that does not do so.
  

Information design is one of the branches of graphic design, defined as "the art and science of preparing information so that it can be used by human beings with efficiency and effectiveness".

In other words, simply making sure that the information to be displayed is designed in such a way that it is easily accesible and digestable to the intended audience.

Overcomplicated and "busy" design hinders people from understanding the message they are meant to receive. This means that the information intended to reach the target audience is often lost in the clutter of messy web pages full of irrelevent banners, ads, navigation bars and excessive graphical elements.

Simplicity is often overlooked as websites seek to bombard their visitors with as many options as possible in the hope that they will find something to their liking.

In reality - its more likely that the information overload will result in user apathy, and too many options will often lead to frustration and a decision to leave without making any choices at all.

After all, we all have better things to do with our time than try to work out exactly what we are being served.

 "It’s crucial to have simple web designs to allow the user to quickly find the information they need, especially if you are selling a product. If the page is cluttered with useless text, widgets or unrelated products, the site becomes meaningless.

However, it’s become a common practice to do just the opposite. e-commerce sites have taken this “scatter shot” approach of trying to slap the potential buyer with as many options as possible. Instead of making the landing page solely about one product, sites usually clutter the page with unnecessary information, ads and related products. "

Glen Stansberry, taken from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/08/26/how-simple-web-design-helps-your-business/

The logo design used on the signage is the front end of the business presenting its shop front to passing customers...it certainly helps when it is clear exactly who you are.

The C in the signage is much clearer and bolder than the smaller,  multi-colored Y which does not impress itself within the better defined C. This had led to the confusing situation when at the first glance the storename can easily be misread, not the best start for sending an effective message.

 (image courtesy of http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2163652270026551357BYisaG )