Good Design Makes Good Sense

Organized your pencils and pens lately? Sorted your clothes into a logical system in your drawers? Then you already understand the basic elements of good design: it's practical, it's systematic, and it makes life easier.

In the same way, marketing materials that use good design make business easier for your customers. Layout and presentation make the difference as to whether people will understand your products and services. This is why a well-designed ad outperforms one that's thrown together using intuition alone.

Well-designed materials become even more important as their complexity grows. For instance, an ad typically gets someone's attention for five seconds. In contrast, a brochure has the potential to claim much more of your prospect's time and commitment. Hand a customer a poorly-formatted, hard-to-read piece and you may lose them forever.

So is good design really as simple as organizing your tie collection? Well, not quite. But there are some hard and fast rules you can follow. Use this checklist for your next project. Structure and time your piece correctly, and then brace yourself for every businessperson's dream: informed customers who are ready to do business with your company.

Five Basics of Good Design

1. Never obscure your message. The KISS (Keep It Simple, Smarty) rule applies equally well to writing copy, creating graphics, and choosing a format.

2. Work backwards from your goal to your marketing piece. Listen to your customers' needs before you make a decision about how to fill them. A website may not initially appeal to you as a tool, but if your customer base is using the Internet, it may be a great way to deliver your message.

3. Present similar kinds of information in similar ways. People love to look for patterns. And we feel good when we find them, so let your customers in on that happy feeling. Chances are it will help them retain your information better and use it more effectively.

4. Save special effects for the 4th of July. Just because you can print in all caps in that cool new font, it doesn't mean you should. Readability wins out over gimmicks every time.

5. Be practical and be dedicated. Consider all the steps involved in a project, from the time you spend creating it all the way through to postage or follow-up calls. Commit to following through on every item or your project may not succeed.

Wendy Gray Maynard is the co-owner of Kinesis. Kinesis specializes in marketing, graphic design, and business writing. Visit http://www.kinesisinc.com for more articles and free marketing wisdom.

Want to harness the power of kinetic marketing? Sign up for Kinesis Quickies, a free bi-monthly marketing e-newsletter: http://www.news.kinesisinc.com

Student debt snares parents, putting retirement at risk

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Funding your child's college education is on many parents' mind. With college tuition costs rising each year, there's reason for concern. So, before starting a savings plan, make sure to do your homework and pick the investment option that's right for your family.

Mitt Romney’s statement that the “very poor” don’t concern him comes as the portion of Americans living in deep poverty is the highest in 35 years

Vigorous debate on the value of state backing

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao raised the prospect of contributing to the euro-area’s bailout programs, telling Chancellor Angela Merkel that China may be prepared to assist in resolving its debt crisis.

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said the monetary authority will cut borrowing costs once it’s confident inflation will keep slowing.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, which accused a fired Singapore trader of manipulating London interbank offered rates, had condoned such behavior and sought scapegoats in an internal probe, the former employee said.

Japan Inc. is suffering and the supply chain is bearing the cost.

The U.S. labor market recovery is broadening as industries from construction to retail to manufacturing added workers in January and the jobless rate fell to the lowest level in three years.

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Douglas Creutz, analyst at Cowen & Co., and Paul Kedrosky, author of the Infectious Greed Blog and a Bloomberg contributing editor, talk about the relationship between Zynga Inc. and Facebook Inc. They speak with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg)

Advertising campaigns aren't only being designed for TV anymore, the Super Bowl has gone high-tech

The day's top ten most important stocks include Estee Lauder, Research in Motion and Zynga

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank A/S, discusses the outlook for Europe's sovereign debt crisis and the U.S. economy. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)

The social network may be valued at $100 billion, or 100 times profit

Buyout funds see profits in turning foreclosed homes into rentals