NextGen Day

It takes a lot of effort to start a small business, whether it’s a restaurant, a boutique, or a specialty goods store. But every good business has an image, a brand, that extends to all aspects of your store and internet marketing.

Pittsburgh City Paper is offering some basic ideas on designing around your small business for those just starting out or looking to rebrand.

1. Use design software without fear. Canva and VistaCreate are two excellent online design tools for novices. You can quickly get started by selecting a template and then customizing it. It will make your life so much easier than using Microsoft Word; you will thank yourself afterward.
2. Create an inspiration board. Because you’ll certainly need to create fresh visuals for your store or organization, it’s critical to maintain a consistent look. An excellent mood board has a color palette, descriptive adjectives, patterns, and random things that complement your company’s vibe/mood.
3. Borrow instead of copying. It’s always beneficial to borrow ideas and inspiration. Just make sure you’re not copying what you’ve been inspired by. Personally, I’m tired of every “trendy” boutique and small goods store having the same aesthetic. Make sure you find a look that is distinctive to you and your objective.
4. Readability is essential. I’ve seen far too many depressing restaurant menus with overly ornate fonts that are difficult to read. Choose a legible typeface for your shop name from a distance. Even better, hold it out to someone who is unfamiliar with your store’s name to see if they can read it.
5. Establish boundaries. It’s easy to get carried away with vivid colors and unusual typefaces, but keeping things simple might help. Choose two to three colors and two typefaces as a starting point. One simple font and one that displays your image Don’t know where to begin? Google Typefaces features a large collection of free fonts for usage in print and on the web. Fontpair and fontjoy are excellent resources for finding font pairs.
6. Structure. My lecturers in design school constantly taught me the importance of hierarchy in your work. This means that rather than having everything the same size or level, you want a hierarchy of pieces, with one piece of text or art to draw the reader in and keep them reading the smaller text or less significant information. Make one element bigger, bolder, and more contrasted against the background, or a combination of those things. Even if there is a lot of small information, a visitor can grasp your image at a glance in this manner.
7. Accept the vacuum. White space is always a welcome sight. Make sure to leave room for white space and margins. Instead of being bombarded with information, the spectator is given space to focus on each aspect. This is particularly true in restaurant menu design. Because it’s easy to become overwhelmed by options, leave some white space between products or around photos.
8. Alternatively, hire a designer. Because it’s difficult to be good at everything, why not hire someone who is? Ask someone who creates the kinds of visuals you want to have at a nearby college, design agency, or on Instagram if they’d be interested in working with you.

Save/Share this story with QR CODE

---

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement of any specific technologies or methodologies and financial advice or endorsement of any specific products or services.

Need to get in touch?

Feel free to Contact NextGenDay.com for comments, suggestions, reviews, or anything else.

---

We appreciate your reading. Simple Ways To Say Thanks & Support Us:
1.) GIVE A TIP. Send a small donation thru Paypal
Your DONATION will be used to fund and maintain NEXTGENDAY.com
Subscribers in the Philippines can make donations to mobile number 0917 906 3081, thru GCash.
3.) BUY or SIGN UP to our AFFILIATE PARTNERS.
4.) Give this news article a THUMBS UP, and Leave a Comment (at Least Five Words).

---

AFFILIATE PARTNERS

World Class Nutritional Supplements - Buy Highest Quality Products, Purest Most Healthy Ingredients, Direct to your Door! Up to 90% OFF.
Join LiveGood Today - A company created to satisfy the world's most demanding leaders and entrepreneurs, with the best compensation plan today.

---