The University of Southern California claims that Americans have gone from being exposed to 500 advertisements a day in the 1970s to as many as 5,000 per day today across different types of media including TV, radio, online and print!
Did you know with the increasing use of image-based online communication that the average person sees over 1000 visual messages per day according to Dr Rebecca Green, lecturer and researcher at the School of Art & Design at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture?
Exposure to higher degrees of ‘designed visual messaging’ has increased our abilities of understanding of more sophisticated graphic design according to Dr Green. Graphic design, including composition of complex texts and images, has become more important than ever as a language for communicating messages!
How can graphic designers build trust in a world of ever-increasing volumes of visual messaging – a situation set to continue with the development of new technologies and increased audience reach through improved access to technology?
According to Dr Green, the role of graphic designers is becoming more important with the “rapid advancement of digital media technology, and the increasing use of image-based visual communication online”. Graphic designers have a growing role as translators of important messages particularly in the areas of climate change and health.
Some tips on how to build trust in visual communication.
• Critical components of graphic design such as colour, imagery, logos, and style all work together to impart meaning and trust.
• Graphic designers can build trust through the selection and representation of symbols or ideas that audiences will identify with.
• Visual elements such as the ingenuity of the design or how the authority of the organisation producing it are represented can influence the opinion of the viewer regardless of the message or who is saying it.
• According to Dr Green’s research, audiences are inclined to trust something at the outset based on things like what the logo is, the colours being used, the look of the typeface, and that this is based on complex understandings of visual style and whether those elements work together.
• Trust can be enhanced through the repetition of visual elements across different platforms establishing familiarity, and by always using high-quality, professional imagery.
• Shaping narratives around specific audiences and communities can boost understanding, engagement, and trust in visual messaging.
• Graphic designers can use their skills to make visual messaging appealing and are able to persuade audiences through text and image compositions.
According to Startups Magazine, neurologically, the brain has already emotionally responded to something before we have time to rationalise, and this can lead to instinctive decisions on the spot without us even realising. Choosing colours that work well together is crucial as a colour palette that is “incongruent will automatically provoke an alarm in the brain which will have an unsettling effect.”
If you are wanting to build trust in your brand using the right professional visual communication techniques, and are looking to collaborate with an experienced Sydney-based graphic design agency, then contact us at Fresco Creative.