Think about a time you were at a large airport (like O'Hare in Chicago) and had to navigate the long halls and masses of people to the baggage claim, or were in a restaurant and had to find the bathroom. Perhaps you were in a hotel and wanted to find your room or the hotel restaurant. How did you find it? Did you actually find it without having to ask? If so, it was more than likely a basic sign with stick figures or neon letters leading your way. Not only to those directionals work well, but they teach a huge lesson in design communication: simple gets the message across better.

Remember this Chicago Graphic Designers; no matter what your customers are trying to sell, the best way to get the message across is simplicity. From fonts to wording to colors, short and simply leads the way. This applies to websites, business cards, blogs and advertisements. If all else fails, follow these four principles:

More is Never Better

Blasting customers with an enormous about of add-ons might seem like a good strategy for huge appeal, but that's usually not the case. Apple's strategy is simple and clean. And remember, we see thousands of ads a day that are messy and poorly designed. Don't fall into that statistic. In addition to that, customers who are given too many choices have a harder time making a decision, even your client's customers. We like to call it 'Choice Overload'. In the middle of a chaotic advertising and design environment, be the voice of calm and uncomplicated design. The most straightforward approach will likely be the most successful.

Word Choice is Key

Your clients and their market shouldn't have to whip out their dictionaries in order to get the gist of the advertisement. Using industry lingo, buzz words and over-sophisticated language in an ad or marketing brochure can confuse, irritate and frustrate your clients. Even make them feel stupid! Remember that most adults stop reading daily after high school or college, and therefore may not have the vocabulary of a well-written marketing director. Our solution is to take your verbiage home, read it to your child or a friend's child of an upper elementary age and see if they understand it. You'll be very surprised with the results.

It's not What, but How

Graphic Design studies have shown that typestyle selection can have a huge impact on people's perception of an ad or marketing piece. The simpler the font, the easier it is to convince someone to buy the product or use the service. In a test done at the University of Michigan, test participants were shown instructions for a task in two different fonts. Despite reading the exact same thing, those who saw the text in Arial committed to completing the task, while those who saw the text in Brush Script, did not. The moral? Use easy to read typefaces and simple sentence structures and you'll see success.

Less Frill, Less Fuss

This is a universal rule: whether it's a website design, magazine advertisement or a business card, the most functional, user-friendly piece is going to be the one that has the least fluff and fuss. This includes carefully strategized white space in your design. It makes content and images easy to digest for viewers, and makes your message easier to absorb. If there are too many navigation buttons, too many headlines or bold features, or overwhelming and flashy advertisements, you're on a straight shot to pushing your consumer away faster than you can say 'Font'.

Still not sold? Here's a final word: The standard red stop-sign is the most effective directional communicator in the United States. Its success is cemented in these four elements: Clear Message, Carefully Chosen Words, Clear Font, and a Bold, Bright Display. Granted some people miss stop signs, but they wouldn't be everywhere if they didn't work…so take that as a lesson.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/graphic-design-articles/clear-simply-design-solutions-advertising-for-people-4934809.html

Integraphix, is a Marketing Company in Chicago providing expert creative and business services in the areas of Graphic Design, Web Design, Brand Identity, Internet Marketing and SEO, Print Design and Photography.

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