Abstract
Graphic design is one of the fast-evolving spheres focused on creating visual content for various purposes. In the modern business world, it can be viewed as a potent tool to interact with the audience and convey specific messages. The given paper is devoted to analyzing how graphic design is used for advertising purposes. For this reason, the major aspects and approaches are outlined and discussed. The paper highlights the evolution of graphic design, its modern state, and how it is used in marketing. The ability of specific images to appeal to emotions and trigger a positive response is discussed. Moreover, the work discusses how specific shapes might cultivate a desire to buy a particular issue and ensure people remain loyal to a certain brand. The paper also investigates the peculiarities of a specific ad to demonstrate how graphic design works. At the end of the paper, the conclusion is given, summarizing the central ideas and facts.
Introduction
The modern world is characterized by the increased importance of business and commerce, which have become the central facilitators of various spheres’ development. For this reason, companies look for new tools to advertise their products and ensure that the loyal audience will continue to grow. Graphic design is nowadays used as one of the effective methods to create an image that will be attractive to individuals and trigger the desire to buy a particular item (Henseler & Guerreiro, 2020). The evolution of technologies also helped to make this tool more powerful and provided new ways to interact with the audience by using social media and the Internet. In this regard, graphic design should be viewed as a potent advertising tool that appeals to individuals’ emotions and influences their decisions.
Background
Graphic design is a broad field of knowledge that is especially topical nowadays. It can be defined as the process of creating visual content by professionals to communicate specific messages and ensure the audience can understand them (Airey, 2019). For this reason, designers plan, analyze, and introduce unique visual solutions to problems in the communication sphere (Henseler & Guerreiro, 2020). Moreover, messages might differ regarding the use of color, shapes, type of media, photographs, illustrations, or layout (Henseler & Guerreiro, 2020). Combining various elements, specialists acquire the chance to create a unique object affecting the audience at different levels. For this reason, graphic design is an integral part of marketing strategies focused on attracting the audience’s attention and increasing its loyalty.
Evolution of Graphic Design
The increased importance of graphical design in the marketing and advertising sphere can also be associated with technological evolution. Thus, innovations, new devices, and the rise of social media enabled brands to have more sophisticated campaigns, allowing them to interact with clients and analyze real-time data (Norcross, 2017). For this reason, the ideas of content marketing and specific graphic design emerged. Using the clients’ feedback, brands focus on creating images that are attractive for various groups and allowing individuals to interact with specific objects, acquire information about them, and engage in various advertising processes (Norcross, 2017). Under these conditions, graphic design evolved from using lines, colors, and shapes, to a tool resting on factual information and digital resources to convey specific messages.
Graphic Design and Marketing
In such a way, graphical design becomes closely related to the sphere of marketing. The given field is focused on promoting and selling products or services to clients (Henseler & Guerreiro, 2020). It means that images created by graphic designers as a part of advertising campaigns can be viewed as a potent marketing tool. It is characterized by the ability to influence a broad audience and by the comparative simplicity of the ways to convey a specific message (Henseler & Guerreiro, 2020). In most cases, individuals do not need specific background knowledge to understand the idea of an image and react to it. In this regard, marketing is closely connected to graphic design nowadays.
Emotional Response
One of the critical features explaining the increased attention to graphic design in terms of advertising is its ability to trigger emotional responses. Thus, different images might have various effects on the audience, which is vital for the popularization of a specific product or service. Numerous studies prove how colors influence people and their moods, while today, graphic designers use more complex and diversified tools to ensure a specific feeling emerges (Chaehan, 2019). Combining various images, symbols, colors, and concepts, a specialist can create an image appealing to specific concepts existing in people’s mentalities. It results in the emergence of an emotional response vital for promoting a specific product or service.
Moreover, a successful graphic design might result in the development of the desire to buy an item, which is the primary goal of any advertising. The visual aspect of any campaign plays a critical role in marketing and the business world. Under these conditions, graphic design is viewed as the part of all activities aimed at popularizing a product. The most popular trends, colors, and shapes are analyzed to be added to an image and create a message that will work on several levels. First, it will be attractive to a potential buyer, which will result in the establishment of positive relations between advertising and a service (Hemonnet-Goujot et al., 2020). Second, an individual starts associating a certain graphic design with a particular color, which is vital for marketing and creating successful advertising (Henseler & Guerreiro, 2020). In such a way, the graphic aspect becomes fundamental for modern firms and their attempts to popularize products.
Thus, the following advertisement created by McDonald’s can be viewed as a perfect example of how graphic design is used to attract clients.
The image combines specific shapes and colors to attract customers’ attention. Thus, the red and yellow colors are associated with the brand, meaning that individuals realize its name at the first gaze. Second, the national symbol placed in the center and created using fries appeals to the Canadian identity and their association with their native land. In such a way, graphic designers managed to create a clear image understandable for the target audience.
Conclusion
Altogether, graphic design can be viewed as a potent tool used for various purposes. Regarding the marketing sphere, it is employed to create powerful advertising campaigns focused on attracting new clients and preserving loyal ones. By combining specific shapes, colors, and hidden symbols, corporations acquire the chance to convey specific messages and guarantee that clients will understand them. Under these conditions, graphic designers are appreciated in the business world and are provided with new means to interact with the audience, such as social media or the Internet. By promoting positive emotions and appealing to specific concepts, it is possible to increase the popularity of a service or product, which makes graphic design one of the most powerful marketing tools.
References
Airey, D. (2019). Identity designed: The definitive guide to visual branding. Rockport Publishers.
Chaehan, S. (2019). What makes good design? Revealing the predictive power of emotions and design dimensions in non-expert design vocabulary. The Design Journal, 22(3), 325-349, Web.
Cossette. (2015). McDonald’s Canadian flag. AdsWorld. Web.
Henseler, J., & Guerreiro, M. (2020). Design and marketing: Intersections and challenges. Creativity and Innovation Management, 29(1), 3– 10. Web.
Hemonnet-Goujot, A., Abecassis-Moedas, C., & Manceau, D. (2020). When external design and marketing collaborate to develop new products: A typology of patterns. Creativity and Innovation Management, 29(1), 51– 62. Web.
Norcross, N. (2017). How graphic design is evolving. Forbes. Web.