03 May Visual Comunication/Imagery

Let pictures tell your business story.

Pictures are king in today’s media saturated world. With only seconds to grab someone’s attention imagery plays a key role in telling your story.

Strong and effective photos can make a big difference to a company’s image and ability to attract customers. Conversely an irrelevant or low quality image can just as quickly turn customers away.

The right image will help sell your product or service, reinforce your brand and will help you appear professional. Powerful imagery can make your brand stand out in a very competitive market.

Digital photos have made it very easy for businesses to come up with images themselves for their promotional material and websites. This is great as you know your business better than anybody else but here are a few pointers to be aware of.

 • If your photos are being printed then they need to be a high quality resolution. If not they will appear blurred and grainy. This is an issue particularly when using photos from websites as often these are low resolution to allow for quick viewing on the internet.

• Sometimes one strong image is more effective than many. Keep it simple, direct and strong.

• Photos don’t need to always be literal images of what you do instead they can focus on those things that separate you from your competitors e.g friendly service, a specialist product, technology, a welcoming environment etc. Instead use pictures or images that give you a feeling of confidence, trust, warmth, etc.

If your business is inviting customers into a warm and welcoming cafe this needs to be reflected in your imagery – food cabinets and furniture alone don’t tell the story but photos featuring  warm, engaging colours, friendly faces and beautifully presented food starts to paint a different picture.

Next time you are preparing some marketing material, cut through the clutter and say it with pictures! Remember to use good quality images, less can be more and photos don’t need to be literal.