Words or Images? Which one do you gravitate towards on a regular basis? Although I personally am best at expressing myself with the written word (a good skill to have for digital content creating work ?). I also spend a lot of time thinking about graphic design, colors and the overall “vibe” that I’m trying to create for my various social media feeds.
It may seem obvious, but there are so many inherent feelings and emotions that certain colors invoke in our subconscious. Red is a color of action and attention while soothing blues remind us of the sky and ocean and generally have a calming effect. Black (my personal favorite, ha!) is bold, striking and…black! Color is telling a story that needs no words, but is communicating loud and clear, which is why it’s so important to really consider what works best for your brand visually. I’m interested in understanding the people behind the brand, the clients they are trying to attract, who they are as people, and taking all that information and translating it into the best look and feel.
There’s an art to curating colors and images so when someone looks at an Instagram feed, they can get a feeling of who that company is without even doing a deep dive into their home page. The feed should be clean and cohesive in colors and images and invoke an immediate feeling of who they are and what they stand for as a company.
For example, a marketing company that is known not only for its excellent work but its exceptional attention and care for clients (ahem, Carlson Integrated plug!) should look visually professional, yet approachable, creative and friendly- because that’s who we are! That means using bright, happy colors (but not too many!) with eye-catching visuals while staying consistent with our brand look and feel.
I am also fortunate to work with some very talented graphic designers at CI, which makes a big difference in elevating a brand’s look, and makes my job much easier when I can “marry” great visuals with copy. But even the best design skills in the world won’t matter if you’re not interpreting a company correctly, which is why it’s so, so important to KNOW your client, something we do exceptionally well here at Carlson Integrated- if I do say so myself!
Remember, colors and images really do speak louder than words, so make sure to choose wisely and curate those social feeds with care!
