Every day audiences unconsciously form opinions about the brands to which they are exposed, having absorbed ideas and messages, which have been subtly communicated to them. This can be done successfully through a combination of typography, style, format and imagery, placed in the correct locations to guide and influence audience perception.
Audience is king. You must know and understand the target audience inside out. If you don’t establish a target audience in the very beginning of your graphic design process, the end result will not generate as much of a positive impact as you may expect. For businesses it is essential that the conclusions drawn by audiences are positive; this is where the expertise of a graphic design expert comes into play. We as designers must figure out who they are and then target our design to that audience.
Any successful creative campaign should be informed by research to ensure that their approach is fit for purpose and has the best chance of achieving the desired results. Research and planning techniques are essential to learn more about the target audience and to ensure that the correct methods are used to communicate brand messages with the greatest effect.
Quick tips to help you focus your efforts on a particular target audience:
- Ask your audience the right questions and do research to find the answers. Tailor your design to appeal to their interests.
- Remove any personal bias (hard to do I know!). As a designer you tend to design with your feelings and what you are most drawn to, but you need to remove yourself from that box. What works for you may not work for your audience. Look at your creative campaign from the client’s point of view.
- Your audience should be able to connect to and relate to your product. So make sure that with your knowledge from researching your audience, you design something that not only you but the audience will understand.
- If you see that there are clearly two different audiences, then find a commonality between the two; forming one clear idea.
- Now that you are ready with all the info to move forward with designing, you must continue to incorporate all the theories of design so that you can make an effective piece of design.
By designing for your target audience, you can establish clear goals, and devise a winning strategy accordingly. You will be able to create memorable designs that both you AND your audience will truly appreciate.
