5 Tips to Make a Memorable Design for your Content

1. Canva

Canva is a free tool with a premium subscription available to access more elements.

However, if you are a newbie, Canva’s free tool will be enough for you.

It’s that amazing!

Canva has basically made graphic designing easy.

It uses simple drag and drop to create great graphics.

You do not any expertise in graphic designing to use Canva because it is that simple.

All you will have to do is resize the elements and choose colors and font according to your needs.

And to make things simpler, Canva has lots of templates customized for specific platforms.

So if you want to make an Instagram post, you will choose an Instagram template and start work on it right away.

Other than that Canva also has a library full of stock images available for you.

2. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

If you want to make market-competitive and high-end graphic designs, then you can use the common industry software.

Adobe Photoshop is used for designing images based on pixels and Adobe Illustrator is used for making vector images.

You can also use it for industrial design.

These two software are available on purchase and it will be hard for a nonexperienced person to use them.

However, you can always learn by taking graphic design courses that focus on Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.

3. Find Images and Vectors

Your tools should not be limited to designing. You also need a number of tools for pictures and vectors.

Freepik.com has lots of free vectors and images available royalty-free.

These photos and vectors can help upgrade your design to a professional level.

Freeicon.com has various icons available for you to use in your social media graphics.

Pexels.com has a variety of royalty-free stock images with high quality to liven up your feed with a high-end feel.

Picktochart.com helps you create infographics and presentations alongside social media graphics for free.

Chartblocks.com lets you make fun charts imported directly from spreadsheets and makes your life easier in conveying data and information.

Now you have all the tools in hand so you might think you are done.

Well, not yet!

You will not automatically learn graphic design by using these tools.

These tools exist to facilitate you, not to replace your creative thought process and creativity.

However, you can make the right piece of work by following our list below.

Hence, read on to find out about the tips that you will require to make a memorable design that retains your audience.

1. Use Appealing Colors

Colors are probably the most important aspect of your design.

Each color has some psychology behind it in the way it triggers emotions in us.

If you want your brand and content to give your audience the same feeling that you value, choose colors that seem fit.

For instance, yellow can liven up the mood and give an optimistic feeling.

Orange is friendly and red is fierce. Purple is creative and blue is dependable.

So if you want your audience to feel a certain way while consuming your content, use colors that will positively influence your audience.

Moreover, use the right balance of contrasting and complementary colors.

Check a color wheel to understand what colors go well with your chosen content color.

Usually, colors completely opposite to your chosen colors contrast the best and those on the sides are complement well.

However, do not overdo things.

Contrast is great but sometimes it can be too off-putting. Using complementary colors also suits certain designs but in others it may just blend away, looking unappealing.

Hence, choose your brand content colors wisely and once you have selected the brand theme colors, consistently use only them.

Bonus Tip: Always note down the hex numbers of the colors you have chosen. Some colors may seem alike but they look different on separate devices.

Therefore, always keep a record of the colors you use. Simply writing “yellow” won’t cut it because there are many variations of yellow. Note down the hex code.

2. Correctly Use Text and Fonts

Once you have chosen your color scheme, it is time to think about the right elements to put on your work.

These include images, vectors and text.

Most amateur designers will go wrong with the text.

However, it is not a difficult science.

You should add basic text to your image. Crowding your image with lots of text will make the consumer confused and they will probably skip your work altogether.

You need retention so you want something simple which stands out from the crowd.

You want your design to be easy on the eyes so use a text color that goes well with your theme colors and is not sharp but calming.

Moreover, your font and topography should not be overdone.

Using too many fonts will create disturbance and will definitely look immature.

That does not mean you should not use contrasting fonts, in fact, you SHOULD use contrasting fonts.

But not more than two.

Contrasting fonts stand out. For instance, a sanserif font will go well with a cursive romantic font.

Another thing that is hugely overlooked but is equally important as text and topography is text alignment.

Newbies think that this is not important but text alignment can make or break your design.

Alignment adds more to visuals rather than text.

Have set horizontal and vertical alignments to make your core. Follow this core by keeping in mind these alignments.

Also be mindful of the proximity principle which states that you should consider elements that are closer as one unit and those that are far as a separate unit.

This way you can align your text in accordance with proximity.

3. Leaving White Space for a Classy Design

This is graphic designing 101 to never leave any white space.

But guess what?

Trends keep changing.

And the current trends focus on minimalism and creating calming and classy designs.

So, how is that achieved?

Well, one way to achieve this is by leaving an empty space in your design.

This empty space is called white space.

While your designing gurus may have told you to never do that, white space does actually works.

Good design aims at grabbing attention and retention and white space does exactly that.

When there is some white space around your designs, the consumer’s eyes land directly on the main artwork.

They remember it because it was unique, unlike all the designs that avoid white space.

That said, excess of everything is wrong.

If you give your elements too much white space, they will look disconnected from other design elements.

If the space is too little, each element will not have enough breathing room.

So give adequate white space that directs the viewer’s focus to your main element.

4. Use Elements and Shapes to Draw the Viewer’s Attention

Make use of the shapes, lines and icons available to you.

These elements instantly draw your consumer’s attention.

Icons don’t have to be limited to logos or social media icons, you can convey text through icons as well.

They enhance your artwork and easily convey your design’s message.

Lines increase the depth and give a sense of compartmentalization.

Also, they become your consumer’s focal point when they come across your work.

If you think your work is too simple and minimalistic, you can add a few lines to give it depth and that extra classiness to your design.

5. Simple Designs are Most Agreed Upon

If ever in doubt, choose a simple design.

A simple illustration fares better than an overcrowded one.

Recent trends also favor simplistic, classy, minimalistic designs.

You may have noticed that all the points discussed above were pointing towards creating a simple piece.

So how can you make one? By using all the points discussed before such as:

• Choosing 2 contrasting or complementary colors with the background
• Using no more than 2 fonts
• Add a good amount of space with your main element
• Incorporating lines, icons and eye-catching illustrations

The minimalistic designs reduce the clutter people are mostly exposed to on the internet.

Hence, it is easier to digest and retain.

You may think that they will look boring.

Well only if you make them so. Add a pop of color or a stylized font to instantly grab your consumer’s attention.

Conclusion

Using the right colors and text will get half your job done.

All you need to do is not make your design cluttered and jarring.

Keep up to date with all new trends so that your content does not look old school.