I cannot count the number of times I have seen websites, commercials, printables, and other promotional pieces and thought to myself, “Wow - that piece is amazing.” On the other side of things, I cannot even fathom the number of times I have seen other promotional pieces and thought, “Wow - that piece is absolutely hideous.” As a multimedia designer, I tend to consciously notice those things. For most others, the observation is completely subconscious. In the case where the design is unprofessional, the result is not ideal and the organization or business pumping out that material may as well say goodbye to any first impression bonus points.

Although I don’t have any scientific references to quote, I believe I can safely say that people tend to put more trust and preference into organizations and businesses that are attractive - both inside and out. So while the mission of your organization may be noteworthy or the product you’re selling may be amazing; if you’re not dressed up for the ball, you’re going to have a harder time being successful than others who’ve already put on their best suits and gorgeous dresses. Not to beat the metaphor to the ground, but furthermore, if you decide to go to the ball wearing something you just stitched together, without having any tailoring experience, you’re putting yourself at an extreme disadvantage.

You’ve got to look good when you get your name out there. A lot can be said about first impressions; because, well, they really are important. HOWEVER, the key is not to simply (and only) make a good first impression. The goal should be to make a lasting impression. You can’t completely rely on mediocre promotional pieces to do that for you.

But, as most small businesses and organizations go, your budget may not allow you to hire those big-wig marketing/design companies to come up with material for you. You may not be able to afford hiring out all your design tasks. And that’s okay - you don’t always need to. There are things you can do yourself and there are things you can do to make it cheaper when you do have to hire professionals for your design projects.

Some of those things are organizational. Some are technical and some simply require understanding the lingo and tools of the trade. Learning the “best practices” of the trade will help you better prepare your organization or business for successful multimedia pieces.

With all that said, I’ll be regularly offering tips, tricks, and advice on all of those things (including insights into social media networks and design trends) on this blog.  Subscribe to the RSS feed and stay up to date on all these blog posts - just click the little orange RSS icon (or here) and add our blog to your feed reader.