GRAPHIC DESIGNERS FROM OUR DESIGN COMMUNITY
Print Design Templates Take a look at these creative Graphic Design templates for brochures, flyers, newsletters, stationery, postcards, ads, menus and posters for a variety of businesses.
Invoicing 4 Freelancers A complete, secure, online billing application that maintains hourly service billing, flat fee billing and recurring charges. Integration with Authorize.Net and other leading payment gateways provides hands-free recurring billing with a sophisticated CRM system.
Free Design Magazines Browse through our extensive list of free Graphic Design, Web Design, Business, Computer, and Computer Graphics magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills and interests; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to freelance professionals who qualify.
Suggested Links Design Community
Photoshop Tutorials
Graphic Design Resources
Vandelay Design Blog
Design Reviver
Web Design & Graphic Design Blog
Logo Designer's Logos
Web Design Tools List
Layouts & Templates Directory
Graphic Designers
Creative Public
The Print Guide
Creative Track
Digital Dreamer
Logomarket
Desktop Publishing
Blue Sfear
Web Design Templates
Design Directory
Web Designers & Developers
Crafts for Kids
Webmaster Tutorials
Web Designers
Web Design Portfolios
All Work at Home Ideas
How to Draw
Work From Home Job Search
More Graphic Design Links
OTHER SITES WE OWN
AllFreelance
All Freelance Work & Portfolios
Graphic Design Community
Best of Graphic Design
Web Design Tools & Resources
 |
by: Steven Presar
[Creating a Positive Brand Image for a business' identity is
extremely important. This article explains the process of
creating a positive brand image.]
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
 |
||
For
any business to become truly successful, it needs to
create
positive brand recognition for its product.
This
is especially true in small businesses, where there
may be
thousands of similar companies vying for the customer's
attention. The easiest and most fruitful way to think
of a brand
is as an IMAGE that the audience remembers.
This
means that successful branding of a service or product
is a
matter of creating an image that is Positive, Relevant,
and
Memorable.
First
and foremost, you want to create an image of your product
or service (or company, for that matter) that is positive.
You
want to create an emotional association (such as happiness
or fun) with the product. According to researchers,
there are
two basic ways that you can create these associations.
The
first way is through direct experience. In this approach,
a
customer's experience with the product or service impacts
on the
way that they see it -- i.e. a positive experience means
a
positive association. This can be very important if
you are
trying to reach repeat customers.
It
is usually hard to use direct experience to brand a
product
or service using just a web site. However, remember
that a
person will often judge your company based on their
experiences
with your web site. Therefore, it is very important
that you
make their experience a favorable one -- one where they
can get
their information quickly and easily.
A
second approach to branding that can be used more easily
in a
web environment is to create indirect associations.
This can be
done in a number of ways. The words you choose to describe
your
products, the name you give them, and the graphics/pictures
that
you use on your web site can help to create an emotional
association.
The
first step is to determine what qualities you wish to
project -- do you want to focus on the reliability of
the
product, or the speed, or the money possibilities?
Once
you have made this basic, vital decision, then you need
to
look for words, descriptions, and graphics that will
project
these same qualities. If you look at the naming of car
models,
you can see some good examples of this -- A Dakota,
for
instance, creates an association of wild ruggedness,
while a
Mustang projects the image of spirit and speed.
Remember
that there are also many other factors that will also
indirectly affect how your company and product are branded.
The
way that you interact with your customers is one of
the most
important of these. Make sure that your company reflects
the
same qualities that you want to have associated with
your
product or service.
Otherwise,
you may be sending your customers conflicting
messages. For instance, the name of your product might
be
CHEETAH, but if it takes three weeks for you to respond
to
emails, your brand will probably NOT be associated with
speed!
Branding
your product or service can be a difficult process.
Often, it will take many repetitions of a message before
a brand
becomes recognized. It is therefore very important that
you put
thought into the process before you start selling your
image.
About
the author:
Steven Presar provides news and articles regarding starting
or
maintaining a small business at
http://www.Agora-Business-Center.com And works with individuals
and small business owners who would like to grow their
business
on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.Alliance-Internet-Marketing.com
RECENT ARTICLES from Graphic Design BloG
Graphic Design, Book Covers, and You - Part II
Reading a Book by Its Cover
The chance to produce art for a book cover is rare, bug the essential thought processes and creative steps are very similar, if not identical, in the inventive process. In this series we actually try to read a book by its cover--to see if the design concept is successful or [...]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Graphic Design, Book Covers, and You - Part I
Inspiration from the Covers of Books
In the next few posts, we'll look at some book covers and learn a few things about design. We'll find that design sometimes has to follow form. And in these examples, they follow the form of the content.
The creative processes used to design a book cover are relatively the same [...]
Freelancing 101: The Typical Life
Freelancing 101: The typical life.
Plus tips and advise from a professional.
By Elle Phillips
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about twenty-five percent of all Graphic Designers (or Graphic Artists) do freelance work, full-time or part-time. Many more have aspirations of doing freelance because of the money, creativity, and the appeal of working from home. [...]
When Design Becomes Literal
As a graphic artist, you face the challenge of creating designs that are unique, and interesting. Some designers, as you will see, have taken the idea of design to a very literal form.
The following examples are fun to look at and admire, but also serve as inspiration to think "inside the box" by approaching design [...]
Logos: What Makes a Good Design? - Part III
And Now the Good Stuff
In our last few articles about logo design we've seen some logos that didn't quite work because of design flaws, problems with concept or lack of visual appeal.
This time we'll look at some of the most famous logos in the world, and some that aren't so famous to see why they [...]
Logos: What Makes a Good Design? - Part II
The Logo Journey Continues
In our last article, we examined several logo designs that were, by most conventional standards, unsuccessful. Your art education is a continuing process and understanding the basics of graphic design can help you to be more effective in creativity and to avoid mistakes.
In Part 2 of this series, we'll take a look [...]
Logos: What Makes a Good Design? - Part I
Logo Design Isn't Always Easy
Designing a logo can sometimes be mystifying, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. At times a logo design just works, even though it may seem rather unremarkable. Other designs should work but they don't.
When Things Go Terribly Wrong
The examples in this article demonstrate what can happen when attention to [...]
All Graphic Design Resources is a Directory Full of Tools for Graphic Designers
All Graphic Design Portal is a Graphic Design education directory with resources & articles for Graphic Designers & Web Designers including a Design forum, blog, graphics software tips, graphic design jobs, advice for new designers about design schools and education as well as tips for freelance graphic design business owners, and much more.
