Have you ever attended one of these meetings? You know what kind I’m talking about. There are dozens of slides on a PowerPoint, each filled with paragraph after paragraph of tiny text (one of those graphic design mistakes we discuss below).
People fall asleep and dream about donuts in the break room. But we’ve probably been there before. How often are we the ones with a laser pointer trying to explain concepts to a room full of people who just aren’t interested in our overloaded slides?
The irony is that the more information you try to cram into a space, the less information you actually convey to the audience. That’s why your graphic design is so undeniably important and can really make a difference in your event marketing efforts.
Take stock of your current graphic design: are you happy with how it looks? What it communicates? If you feel like something is off, it’s time to reevaluate it.
It is non-negotiable for the success of a trade show.
We’ve rounded up the top 4 graphic design mistakes we see event marketers making (and tips on how to avoid making them!):
1. Excessive copying
This is probably one of the most common mistakes we see because it’s so easy to overdo it with your copy! We can’t stress this enough. When you have a lot to say, it’s tempting to want to explain it all to your audience. One of the reasons this mistake is so common is because it takes time and judgment to decide what to cut and what to include in your marketing materials. Take the time to pare it down to the bare minimum. If you decide you need more copy than usual and can’t make any cuts, at least try to break it up and create some white space between the pieces of text. That being said, if your graphics or copy are too busy, too busy, and spill over from the flyer, it will negatively impact audience engagement. Every time.
2. Visual clutter
The cliché “less is more” couldn’t be more relevant when it comes to graphic design. We’ve talked about excess text, but there are many other ways that visual clutter can destroy a design. No matter how brightly colored your charts and graphs are, if there are too many of them in a row, they might as well be invisible. For example, when using your logo, you might choose to keep it in one prominent spot rather than in six different smaller places on the same page.
You need clean, “easy on the eyes” graphics that can quickly convey a message to your audience before they can blink. Think clean and crisp and don’t be afraid to leave a little room for imagination. It’s actually better if your audience isn’t spoon-fed every detail about your brand. Draw them in with a minimalist approach, relationship, and look, and then let them ask for the details themselves! It’s a powerful tool. You can see how something as simple as reducing visual clutter can lead to more engagement and long-term loyalty. So yes, less really is more.
3. Mixed messages
Speaking of less is more, let’s dive a little deeper into marketing strategy. If your audience is trying to comprehend three (or more) different visual messages, you’re going to lose them pretty quickly. We’ve talked about how any additional graphic elements will only distract from your message, or worse, make your brand invisible. One way to cut through the noise more easily is to find the most important message. Yes, just one. If you could only communicate one thing, what would it be? What is the main goal of this final graphic design product? Take the time (maybe most of your time) you need at the beginning of the project to think about what it should be. Narrowing it down can seem overwhelming at first, so tap into your team’s talent and experience. You’ll be grateful when your graphic design focuses on a singular message that has the power to spark curiosity, provoke thought, and initiate action.
4. List all the things
Everyone loves a good list, right?
Well, sort of.
When creating graphics, it’s natural to want to display too many lists. Creating lists sounds like a great idea! They can convey a lot of information about your brand or event in a semi-content format. But as we’ve seen, all that text can quickly get out of hand and fly out of reach of your audience’s short attention span. That’s why we recommend avoiding a list of every product, feature, or contact information on your graphics. It can definitely detract from the key message (remember #1 why?) and dilute the brand’s impact.
Moral of the story? You guessed it. Less is more. Finding that intentional simplicity is what will allow your graphic design to have an incredible impact on customer engagement and loyalty.
Are you making any of these graphic design mistakes for your brand? Review your graphics and get inspired to declutter, trim, and hem excess at your own events.