What is the right focus of communication in design?

In design, branding, communication and life in general, there are many important things that need to get done. As designers, we face this challenge every single day. It can be difficult to prioritise when you have a lot on your mind and sometimes there are many things that actually need to be done. What do you do?

Everyday life

Today there are a myriad of blog articles, systems, tools and apps that help you organize your everyday life. There are also a number of experts who dedicate their careers to helping with just this, whether they are "life coaches", assistants, project managers, etc. Personally, I can be a mess and struggle with forgetting everything from appointments, names, numbers, tasks, what to shop for birthdays and probably much more. Therefore, I have become frighteningly dependent on my mobile where the calendar and list app Wunderlist are my most used tools.

At work

Here, there are also a lot of good articles and advice for those who have a certain responsibility at work and a few too many "balls in the air" at any one time. There are countless tips and tools that help you to prioritise, structure, simplify and delegate, but that is not what this article is about.

Branding

Our core competence is in the area of branding. Even at a general level, there are important priorities that should be adhered to. We want to create awareness, form an emotional attachment, convey characteristic attributes, gain credibility and the trust and favour of purchasers, but these are already five different objectives to achieve! If we want to stand out and be distinct we need to clearly prioritise these. Find out more about this here .

1. Create awareness

This is the most important goal of many brands, for obvious reasons: It will establish you as an important operator in the market and a natural alternative to consider. It also makes it easier to get sales because people have quite simply heard of you before.

2. Play on emotions

Not all brands depend on playing on emotions and work very well with a rational approach to their communication. But if what you offer gives the customer a sense of security, satisfaction, increased self-confidence or is an experience in itself, this is an important factor for you. In addition, this is an important factor in establishing loyalty.

3. Stand out

If there are several companies in the market offering similar products or services and customers struggle to see clear differences or you need to constantly reduce prices to get sales, then you have a big problem. Then you need to not only prioritise this in communication but perhaps also make adjustments to your products and/or services in order to stand out from the crowd.

4. Credible and reliable

It goes without saying that you need to follow up on what you promise in order to retain loyal customers and grow in the market. But many companies can do more to build a stronger relationship with their customers and ensure that they come back. What can you do?

5. Become the first choice

This is the big carrot and the consequence of succeeding in branding. If you manage to combine the above points with unique products or services, success is guaranteed. So simple, but, at the same time, so difficult.

What exactly is the difference between identity, brand and logo? You get the answer here.

Communication / Design

Our experience shows that the challenge of prioritising constantly rears its head in communication and design. We often have a lot on our minds and "everything is equally important". The result is that the messages cancel each other out and nothing "sticks". This is one of many reasons that many people swear by the saying "less is more" in design.

An important task that we as a design agency have is helping the customer to structure and prioritise information. We help to move the focus from the customer's own eyes to the recipient. This can often be a heavy and difficult process because it means having to give less priority to or sacrifice things. We challenge the customer in a number of areas in order to give the recipient a clear message and an educationally designed structure.

1. Is everything actually important?

That may sound like a stupid question. But a different way of putting it is, what is most important? Many things are included out of habit or because "everybody else is doing it". Focus on what is essential.

2. Create a list with the most important things at the top

Sometimes there are many things that are apparently not important. Try to put everything on a list where you need to put them in order. Sometimes this can make it clear what needs to come first and last and what is actually not as important.

3. Hierarchy

It is important to have a clear hierarchy in order to be able to communicate clearly. This is also employed as one of the most important principles in design.

4. Provide contrast

Once you have defined the hierarchy, it is time to go even further. Prioritise whatever is at the top of the list and give it your entire focus. Ensure in any case that the recipient takes away this one thing if nothing else.

5. Make space for the most important thing

There are several ways of making the main element in your communication stand out. This could be the picture of the product, the heading, your logo or something else. Instead of just making it biggest, consider allowing it a lot of space and a feeling of airiness. This gives a natural feeling of quality and importance.

6. Remove / hide anything that is not essential

Several messages and elements will detract attention away from each other. So the more you can get rid off or remove, the stronger the most important elements will appear.