Whether you have an in-house or outsourced graphic designer, there will come a time when you have to create a graphic.
*Cue the dramatic music and lightning strikes.*
No, just kidding. Creating a graphic really isn’t that bad. We promise. Everything new feels scary. But you can do it.
Here at 5 Stones, when we began to shift roles a few months ago, our social media managers had to begin creating graphics. Although they adjusted well, there was a lot to learn.
We hope that as you try out your graphic design skills, that these tips will make things easier for you.
Go Back to the Basics- Before you begin creating graphics, gather these items: Logos, brand colors, possible font choices, and photos that you will most likely use.
Try a Template- By using graphic design sites like Canva and Crello, or even Adobe InDesign, you have access to thousands of templates. They are huge timesavers. Most of the time, all you’ll have to do is adjust the color, font, and photos on the template.
Create Reusable Concepts- Play around with some concepts and shapes that you think your business will use often. Think about specific and general cases when you’ll need to use the graphics. And keep it simple. *Remember, graphics with a great prominent image and minimal text typically perform better. See the examples below.
Preview and Check Size - Always download and preview your graphic to double-check for errors in spelling and punctuation. Also, make sure that the graphic is clear. If you can’t read and understand it right away, then more than likely, your audience won’t be able to. Most likely, you’ll be using the graphics for social media. Be sure that you’re using the correct image sizes based on the platform that you’re using it for. On the homepage of Crello, you can view the image sizes of graphics by platforms. See the example below.
*For example, most of the time, images for Instagram posts will need to be resized because of dimension rules. Most images for Facebook posts won’t. So if you’re creating a post from scratch, creating an Instagram post and also using it for Facebook will be more efficient.
Get to work on those graphics, we’re waiting!