The design industry is growing at a rapid rate. Everything from interior to graphic design, the demand for designers is increasing. Why is that? For an industry that is frequently viewed as "superficial" and only focuses on "making things pretty", why would the design industry be booming despite most industries having a lack of financial success?
The answer: graphics are vital to the success of a business.
It is not a new concept that images display information best. From cavemen scratching on walls to the Egyptians with their hieroglyphics, graphics have been mans' primary form of communication from the very beginning. It should come as no surprise that design and graphics are still a driving force in almost every industry. However, with designers doing work that plays primarily to your subconscious, it is easy for their impact to go unnoticed. From color choices, to shapes and textures, all graphics and designs play a part in your conscious and unconscious decision making.
Designers do much more than just make things look nice. Design is a study in visual psychology and sociology: taking the time to understand how people think and what visuals do to influence that. The results are not hypothetical, they are quantifiable.
1. Graphics convey ideas quickly and accurately
The brain processes graphics 60,000 times faster it processes text. It is because of this that all successful businesses generate an abundance of strong graphics for their marketing. From definitive branding, to great images of their products, it is visuals that have become key to selling products and services. Being able to show someone something, versus telling them about it, is a much more effective way to convey information. When it comes to reading articles, only 25% of people actually read the text; the remaining 75% use the images attached to draw conclusions about the article.
Potential clients can be gained or lost in seconds. With a window of time that short, it is vital to grab attention where you are able - and this starts with graphics. People process graphics in as little as 13 milliseconds. With strong images, you are selling potential clients and customers on mass amount of information about your product or service, in a very short period of time.
2. People remember information longer
When it comes to retention, 10% of people remember what they hear, 20% remember what they read and 80% of people remember what they see. Visuals not only aid understanding, but drastically increase retention. Attaching a graphic or image to a product, greatly increases the chance that a person will recall it at a later date. It has been found that when given information, after 3 days people are only able to retain 10% of what was heard. Contrastingly, when a relevant image is paired with the same information, people were able to retain 65 % of the information - a 55% increase.
Having graphics and visuals is vital to retention. When people remember your service or your product, it increases your chance of landing a sale. People do not often make purchases the first time seeing a product. The marketing rule of thumb is that a potential customer will see a product 7 times before purchasing. Pairing visuals with your message will only increase the chances of retention and someone remembering it when they do see it again.
3. Packaging influences purchasing
If the last two points have not convinced you how vital graphics are, then this one might: studies found that 94% of customers would not return to a site with poor graphic design. Images allow potential customers to explore a product or service before it is purchase. This allows them to make faster decisions and decide if what you are offering is what they want. When a photo is grainy, blurry, or worst of all, not even there, it greatly detracts from the customers experience. The customers inability to check the product before purchasing will damage the chances they will purchase and will, at least, look elsewhere first.
Businesses that that feature visual content, typically grow traffic 12 times faster than those who didn't utilize graphics. Additionally, business with even just brand consistency will increase sales by 33%. People look to businesses with strong visual presences and investing in that will only increase your chances.
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When you are ready to take a business to the next level, good design and strong graphics are key to that transition. When you work with a designer you are accessing a network of information that delves deep into visual communications and how it affects the human psyche. However, to most, that is known as making things look nice.
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