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Benefits Of Learning Graphic Design Skills For Marketers

Graphic design helps with communicating with the target audiences better

Take a look at most marketing job descriptions. One of the things that will stand out is the need for graphic design skills. Yet, you may be wondering why you need to take on the additional challenge of learning a new skill set. 

Well, the reality is marketing is a fast-moving and ever-evolving field. It would help if you kept up with the trends or risk redundancy. Adding new skills to your portfolio is a sure way of outdoing the competition. You also contribute to your professional development making you more attractive to clients. Let’s go right into discussing why you need to have graphic design skills as a marketer.

Photo by Nick Adams on Unsplash

Why Marketers Must Have Graphic Design Skills 

Graphic design helps with communicating with the target audiences. We are in no way saying that the marketer should have the level of knowledge of graphic designers. However, you can improve your marketing by having a basic understanding of graphic design skills. 

1. It Gives You a Better Understanding of Concepts 

A good understanding of Concepts is critical for marketers. Even if you are not the one doing the final designs, your contributions can play a significant role. It helps to know basic design principles. Such include contrast, balance, proportion, and hierarchy. 

Other important ones are typography, color theories, gradients, patterns, and graphic edits. After all, you are the one who has a better understanding of the audience. You know what they will interact well with. You also know how they like to consume their messaging. Concept development and design allow you to paint clearer pictures. 

2. You Get a Deeper Understanding of Responsive Designs 

The digital space has led to the evolution of marketing as we know it. While before, many marketers depended on analog platforms. Such included print media using print adverts, banners, brochures, and fliers. Advertising on television could also give you access to audiences. 

But now, the digital space has made information easily accessible. The modern marketer must understand responsive designs on so many other platforms. Such include mobile phones and tablets. 

A good understanding of how messaging presents on such devices is critical. Coming up with responsive designs is a collaborative effort between the marketer and designer. 

3. Time-Saving with the Relevant Design Software 

 Marketers and graphic designers tend to clash a lot. They are both in high-pressure jobs and work on stringent timelines. Let’s say you notice that some of the design work needs editing. You call up your graphic designer, and he is not available at that particular time. 

A marketer with graphic design skills can easily make the alterations instead of holding up the job altogether. It helps with efficiency and higher productivity on the job. 

Modern marketers must take time to learn how to use relevant design software. The Adobe Creative Suite is quite popular amongst graphic designers. You can easily find out the cost of a Photoshop subscription, for example. Once you sign up, you get access to excellent photo editing tools that will help you bring your ideas to life. 

You also have access to other Adobe tools like Illustrator and InDesign. Eliminating dependence on other people to complete jobs can reduce the stress for marketers.

4. This Can Be Cost-Efficient for the Company 

Marketers must work on budgets, and it helps to know how to save when you can. Hiring a graphic designer or agency can be quite costly. Yet, you must get money out of your budget to ensure you have someone on standby when you need them. 

An agency may require a retainer that takes a significant bite into the money you have. A freelancer takes projects on a need-to basis. However, they are not available to you anytime you need them. You could find yourself in a fix if you have urgent work to do. 

The company also gets better-negotiating power. The marketer, for example, can decide to take on some of the simpler design aspects. The agency will only work on some of the bigger or more involving projects. By eliminating the need for such spending, a marketer with graphic design skills can save the company quite a bit of money. 

5. It Allows for Better Communication 

Anyone who has ever had to write a creative brief will understand this point well. A marketer must be able to communicate well with graphic designers. You need to verbalize your vision so that they can translate it into the final design. 

Basic knowledge of graphic design and its principles can prove beneficial at such times. Instead of trying to explain the idea, you can create a basic layout for the graphic designer. Since you already have a good understanding of some of the tools, it becomes easier. You find that the output is better because of the understanding you can create. 

Better communication also applies to the clients. A marketer must articulate ideas to the larger team. The marketers should also be able to help the client get better clarity about what they expect. 

The use of visual elements and prototypes can help with such. If the marketer creates such, it can significantly decrease the back and forth. Imagine coming up with the concept, right as the client describes what they want. 

6. You Can Take Advantage of the Latest Trends 

The modern consumer is ever-evolving. The astute marketer must keep up with the trends in order to capture interest. There is a lot of competition, especially in the digital space. Every brand is shouting at the top of their voice, hoping to get some notice. 

The design elements on a website, for example, will determine whether you attract visitors to the site. The right trends and technology will help with engagement. With low bounce rates, you get better visibility on the search engines. 

The marketer must learn the latest graphic design trends and how best to utilize them. Trends like dark mode, 3D, emoji, optical illusion, and colorful minimalism are in. But how will the marketer explain them to the designer when they don’t even know what they are?

Final Thoughts 

Marketing as a career will always have relevance. Companies want brand visibility all the time. The field will become even more demanding because the modern customer has more choice. It is a good idea to sharpen your skill to gain an edge in the crowded market. Marketers must learn graphic design to increase efficiency in their jobs. It allows for more independence and less reliance on others. It helps increase efficiency and productivity. 

Further, the marketer can save the company a lot of money. You can stand above the competition by implementing the latest trends. Most importantly, for your career, you become more attractive to hiring companies. Potential employers always want to know what extra skill the marketer has. Adding graphic design knowledge to your CV is a sure win.

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Written By

Dan has hands-on experience in digital marketing since 2007. He has been building teams and coaching others to foster innovation and solve real-time problems. Dan also enjoys photography and traveling. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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