It's easy to want to overdo a graphic design. Lots of color, bold images, all the text...it can get out of hand really fast.

But the best designers know that simple is always better.

ALWAYS.

Why?

Because simple is easy for the eye to comprehend, and that's what graphic designs are for: visual comprehension. They've got to be quick to read, easy to absorb, and straight to the point.

Don't overthink it, don't overwhelm it. Instead, minimize it down to the least amount of content you need to get the point across.

Designing something easy means that it doesn't take all of the graphic design tomfoolery in the world to create it. You don't need every tool in the Photoshop arsenal to come up with something that looks great.

The skill behind great graphic designing is in recognizing when, where, how, and why to utilize complex design, and, more often than not, it's never necessary.

You're not trying to show off your chops as a designer (even if you are a designer), you're trying to show off the product, service, or business you're representing.

Your graphic designs should be quick to create, duplicate, alter, and formulate because their goal isn't to impress your audience with the best gradients and loop-di-loops, but to engage them with your business offers.

It's common to want to fit every possible word, and every possible image, into a graphic design because you want to get your point across.

But trust us when we say: short and sweet is nice and neat.

If your brochure, pamphlet, or social media graphic is loaded to the brim with too much content, it'll be difficult to read, overwhelming for viewers, and possibly...hideous.

Keeping your graphics easily comprehensible for the viewer is the difference between graphics that hit the bullseye of their intended targets and graphics that flop.

When we build graphic designs here at House of Willonay, we focus on four fundamentals of any great digital design.

By following these four building blocks, you ensure that your design is easy to understand while positively representing the brand and message you're aiming to share. 

If you choose to ignore or overlook any of these four components, you'll run the risk of overcomplicating the content, or creating a messy piece of work.

Our foundational focus for any graphic design, no matter what it's for, are as follows:

"Content blocks" are spaces created on any given digital design to hold chunks of information (be it a website, social media graphic, printed flyer, or business card, content blocks exist for every graphic design and are the foundation of good design structuring).

Think of your design in sections. Each section serves its own purpose and within that block of content you want to frame the copywriting and design to draw attention to it in a unique way that serves to highlight that purpose.

For example, let's say on a business card: you might have the front of the card show your name, job title, and brand name, while the back of the card shows your contact information. Let's use another example, say a graphic design for social media: you may have a list of identifying factors for a mental health struggle on one slide, while the next slide provides contact information to support groups.

Consider what the purpose of your graphic design is, and what content blocks you'll need for that item. Then consider where each block is best displayed to have the maximum efficiency for use and comprehension.

Next, we consider copywriting.

It's easy for a brand, employee, or owner to go overboard with copywriting in the brainstorming phase. Just remember: you're an infinite source of editing, rewording, and inspiration.

Sometimes it doesn't feel that way. Sometimes it feels like we have to include every single "great" thought we have about a topic. But the truth is that if you can't say it succinctly in one short sentence, then you're either: a) overthinking its worth, b) overselling its value, or c) unprepared to describe it to anyone.

Write out the long version of what your graphic design needs and then simplify it down to the shortest, most concise sentences you can muster. 

This ensures quick delivery and comprehension for your target audience. After all: if they don't "buy" what your pitching in the first 10-30 seconds of viewership, then they're not likely to be sold just because you keep talking about it.

The more direct you can be, the  more conversions you'll see. 

A "call to action," or CTA, is a form of copywriting that asks your audience to do something.

"Sign up today!"

"Join our mailing list."

"Get your tickets online now."

Each graphic you make, no matter the length, should be used to serve up one CTA. 

Overflowing a graphic design (even if it's a 100-page PDF) with more than one CTA makes it hard (at worst, annoying at best) for audiences to keep track of what you're pitching.

At face value, it may seem like a good idea to present all of your product or service options in one design and let your audience choose what's best for them. But modern humans? We're a fickle bunch.

We don't like having too many options thrown our way, we don't like to have to think about which choice is best for us, and we don't like to feel sold to on everything a brand's got.

Each of your graphics should focus on one CTA, which also helps you stay on message as much as it helps your audience absorb what you're delivering.

Decide if your graphic design serves to acquire new clients, engage existing customers, pitch a discount, ask for donations, whatever the case may be, and focus on that alone.

When it comes to visibility, you want to design a graphic that flows easily for horizontal readers (unless you're making a graphic for vertical readers, like in the Japanese language) who are used to seeing things from a flow of top to bottom and left to right.

With that in mind, your text should flow in the order it's meant to be read.

But graphic flow is about more than just text.

When choosing background images, color schemes, and content block designs, keep in mind that from a distance, as well as close up, your design should flow with ease.

It shouldn't be muddled, overwhelmed, or cluttered.

Keep colors and images on brand and at minimum.

When you're just starting out with graphic design, it's easy to fall into the trap of perfectionism. The keyword there being: TRAP!

Perfectionism will stunt your progress, and you've gotta make a couple crappy designs to start seeing where you can make them better.

As we say here at House of Willonay: there are no bad designs, there are only designs with room for improvement.

To get you on the fast track to graphic design success, here are our four pointers:

See what exists out there in your industry and copy the life out of it until you understand the patterned simplicity to graphic design manufacturing. 

Don't plagiarize copywriting, and don't steal content directly. Just pay attention to the content block patterns, the way they frame their message, the flow of imagery, the color scheme recognition, the use of font types, etc., to start quickly understanding what your target audience responds to.

Even the most successful graphic designers on the market do their research before they start mocking up successful brand campaigns! Why reinvent the wheel when it's rolling just fine?

Once you've got a handle on how to formulate quality graphics, you'll feel more comfortable throwing down designs of your own that aren't inspired by those who figured it out first.

Keeping in-line with tip #1, we highly advise you use quality pre-made templates when possible to draft up your first set of graphic designs.

This not only saves time in the creating process, but also gives you leverage in learning how to create unique designs that convert your audience from passive to engaged followers. 

Canva and Snappa both offer a variety of free templates to get your started on your design journey, and all of their templates were created by designers and with specific social platforms in mind.

It's better that you make 100 crappy graphics, then to create none at all. Graphic design, like any digital skillset, takes time to learn and more time to master.

Your job as an in-house graphic designer isn't necessarily to perfect the craft, but to get good enough at it to convert your audience for whatever CTA you're pitching at the time.

So get cracking. Test the waters. Use the templates, play with your color scheme and font types, try out new images, and throw in new CTA's.

Keep in mind that, sometimes, it isn't the graphic design that fails, but the CTA. Sometimes, an image is so overbearing that it washes out the copywriting. Sometimes the color scheme is too bright, sometimes the font isn't big enough. Keep cracking away at it!

Over time (and usually not as much as you think), you'll get the hang of what works and what doesn't and you'll start busting out consistently viable content.

Don't be afraid to get more personality into your designs.

Graphic design, especially for social media, is all about trial and error, so don't be afraid to mess around with new ideas. If it doesn't land, pivot. If it does land, keep going!

As always, don't overwhelm your audience with graphics that are hard to read, or overcomplicated. Keep the messaging short and sweet. But as for the visual design of it? Flex your creativity!

Play around with slogans, images, colors, and patterns.