More than a pretty typeface

Graphic design plays a central role in carrying your message and brand.

Giving editorial direction to designers and artists is a core communications skill.

Good design boosts the impact of your work by establishing a cognitive relationship between your message and your readers or viewers.

There's a key moment for design when creating a platform, such as a website or e-newsletter or magazine.

Everything from choice of medium to typeface, from layout to colors, is a strategic communications decision.

If you regularly produce a lot of long-form content, how you share it should probably be different from your quick email blasts.

For those who work in video or audio, analogous considerations apply to how to collaborate with your production staff.

Professional designers will embrace clear editorial direction from you. It's what lets them take your work to the next level.

And it needn't cost extra.

Tell them about the mission and purpose of the project, how it should feel, what it should say, and what impact you want it to have.

Ask the designers to show you what is possible. Ask questions, and tell them what you like and why.

That will lay the foundation for a powerful result, and a fruitful relationship.

For a Cause