When there is too much stuff in the design, there is nothing to draw your eye to, and your message is going to be lost in the mess.  Make sure there is plenty of whitespace in your design.  Whitespace is just areas in your design that are empty, or blank.  So here’s my motto:

The more whitespace in your layout, and the simpler the design –> the better it will look, and the more attention it will grab from your readers.

As you browse around the internet, or look at advertisements in a magazine – what catches your eye sooner:

• the “busy” ads where they fill up as much space as possible?
• or the simple ads that communicate their message quickly and easily?

This doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have lots of information on your website.  Just make sure it’s organized in a simple way, and broken into sensible areas that are easy to navigate.  But if your website is too “busy” – people are going to leave.

What is your company image?  It is your logo, your business cards, your brochures, and your website.  Even little things like your email signature and letterhead.

The key here is to have consistency between all the sources of your company image.

Step 1:  Your Logo. Hire someone to create an awesome logo for you that represents your business well.  Don’t use clipart and a word processor to create your logo (people will know).  A professional designer can provide you with several versions of a logo to choose from, and should work with you until it’s just exactly what you want.  He or she will also provide you with your logo in a high resolution file format to be used on things like business cards, posters, banners, maybe even shirts.

Step 2:  Use Your Logo Everywhere. Put this logo on everything: business cards, brochures, letterhead, website.  Again, consistency is the key here.  Even if you’re a very small business or an individual, you will come across with a very professional image if all your marketing collateral has your logo on it and is professionally designed and printed.

Step 3:  Consistent Fonts & Colors. Take the font and color scheme from your logo, and use them everywhere else.  This is a detailed touch that will tie everything together.

Step 4:  Professional Photography. You may have a great logo and business cards.  You may even have a really nice looking website.  But if your website or brochures have images on them, make sure they are taken by a professional photographer!  Your whole company image will go down the drain when people see a poorly photographed product or image on your website or brochure.  It’s true what they say:  a picture IS worth a thousand words.  I know it takes time and money to get good pictures.  But this is one place where you’ll see a very clear return on your money.  And then you’ll have the images to use in many places in the future.  Don’t have money for a professional photographer?  Maybe you have a friend or relative who is an amateur photographer.  Or maybe you can just take some time to read through some photography tutorials to improve your skills.

Do you feel like you have a successful company image?  Feel free to call me sometime to chat about how you can work at making your company image remarkable.