The season of spooky is upon us and each year this reminds us that there are more than ghosts and gouls that can bring a fright. Certain elements in design — both web and print — can create quite a scare if not thought through or executed properly. So, this year we created a list of our Top 5 Design Boos… and since we didn’t want to just talk about what’s scary, we offer some insight on how to address each one.
Shout out to our Designer, Chris on the custom illustrations to truly bring out the spirit of each Boo!
Boo #1: FONT MATTERS
Font choice truly sets the style, voice, and tone for your brand just as much as the colors or logo do. Just imagine your favorite neighborhood department store using papyrus for their font… yes, while some big brands do it, we instead recommend finding your favorite standard font and then determining what characteristics are similar in lesser known fonts. This will help you choose a font that is tailored to your voice and visual tone.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help! Shameless plug, we do brands, style guides, and can for sure help you choose a font that speaks your voice and is uniquely you, unlike Papyrus. Speaking of which, have you seen this YouTube video about font? It’s one of our favorites.
Boo #2: Outdated Information
No matter how fancy your logo or color scheme is, if the content isn’t up to date, and for that matter speaking in the voice you use NOW, it can be pretty frightening. To keep your content current, we recommend reviewing it bi-annually to ensure it’s all still up to date and ready to go. For print materials, the rule is to check thoroughly before you re-print a batch. Some content-heavy websites may need to be checked more often than that to keep up. At any rate–the 90’s called, they want their content back!
Boo #3: Slow Load Time
In the time it takes your graphics to load, Count Dracula has already emerged from his coffin and swooped in for his evening snack. Get the picture? It’s not fun to have the buffering time be longer than 1, 2, 3 seconds. An article we recently read revealed that even having a 1 second delay in load time: reduces page views by 11%, decreases customer satisfaction by 16%, and eats away 7% of the coveted conversion rate.
Delays in load time can really affect you. Totally scary, people.
Boo #4: Non- Responsive Design
Does your website look tiny and crammed on your cellphone screen? That means it hasn’t been optimized for mobile viewing. Having a design that is non-responsive to multiple mobile devices can lead to a lot of frustration and inability to use your website — a very scary experience if you’re trying to wow your customers. Pay attention when you’re designing a website to be sure that it is a responsive design and able to be viewed on all types of screens. We also offer a mobile refresh service to address this very thing! Reach out to us, we’ll help you out.
Boo #5: Smart Phone Photos
Truth be told — for websites and professional print materials if you can swing it, professional photography offers the best resolution and will optimize your overall design to make it really shine.
But, this day and age, you can take a photo from anywhere with your phone. Smart phone photos that are placed within an overall print or web design can be tricky, though! The key to a good phone photo is: good lighting, proportion, and perspective. If you keep these three concepts in mind when you are setting up your shot, you’ll avoid displaying a photo that distracts from the overall design. We found this quick article with some more tips too!
So there ya have it! Our Top 5 Boo’s… there are probably more. But if you’re experiencing these– you may need to talk more about it. That’s where we come in– let’s chat and see how we can help you make your design less scary and more appealing to your ideal customer!