V is for Visual Design Elements

But what does that mean?

Well, I’ve been thinking about visual design aspects for my digital business an awful lot lately. But more importantly, I’ve been taking actions!

So I promise you, my V—as in vanishing—and not posting for a month here is time well spent. And you’ll see why. Then, you can expect tons of NEW ideas and valuable info to be coming your way—from my time away. 

Visual Design matters and starts in the smallest of details when creating your digital presence.Click To Tweet

Also, the site is now migrated to a new and improved hosting site and package to offer you the best visiting experience possible.

I’ve collected great tips during this (sometimes frustrating) process and can’t wait to tell you about them. I know you can put them to use as well.

And finally…drum roll…coming to you soon, Write Mix for Business is introducing BizShops.

This new BizShops area features fantastic Biz Skills Building Workshops you’ll love—and can instantly use in your business.

Did I mention they’ll be FREE?

And fun?

And available asap as a reward for you hanging in there through my vanishing phase. A fortunate phase for building my digital business and making technical changes. I hope you’ll check everything out.

The ultimate goal in all this stuff going on here behind the scenes is bringing you an awesome content-rich, resource-filled, valuable Biz Mix and experience.

Which brings me back to why V is for Visual. And exactly what that means when thinking about your digital presence and the web design you create for your business.

In realizing it was time to make changes, test skills, and improve on this site, scads of visual component decisions came to light and, perhaps, surprised me this time around.

The thing is, your “look” reflects your brand and mirrors you in every little detail on your site. From typos to titles, navigation to fonts, your site speaks volumes.

Your Visual Design Speaks Volumes Before You Ever Utter a Sound

Remember, visual elements you develop for your digital properties transcend structural, design, and message while communicating YOU.

Visual content increases the impact of your messages and boosts clicks and shares. And, visuals make messages more memorable, reinforcing ideas, stories, and data.

Purposefully and efficiently using visual components in your content marketing strategy is integral to hit the bigger, braver, and bolder marketing metrics you are trying to reach.

But, there’s a funny little quirk to getting bolder with your visual impact. In essence, the power starts from a silent, in-the-background kind of design plot. Yet, it’s a giant in importance.

I’m talking about UX (user experience) and how digital design and use of visuals or media, in general, begins with this key consideration.

Users, visitors, customers, people.

It’s all about how they experience your digital assets, no matter what medium delivers your content. It means using technology to enhance, not distract from your message.

Making engaging easy and navigation a no-brainer sometimes is lost when you work from the other side of the device, planning your site from the backend. I know my creative brain always wants to get fancy with labels, for example. But, how easy is it for other people to know what my brain is thinking?

Better to stick close to the standards, like “blog” for your ongoing content delivery channel, because people instinctively (without thinking!) understand what to do and what to expect to find.

Andy Crestodina gets straight to the data and lets you know to keep it simple and straightforward in your navigation design and copy.

Andy stresses how navigational decisions impact both traffic and conversions but, are distinctly a matter of your site design, relevant to the UX you want to create.

Your visual design speaks volumes before you ever utter a sound. Every detail of your site matters.Click To Tweet

Every detail matters.

“StoryBrand” workshop, the brainchild of Donald Miller, shrinks the scope of your homepage’s job to highlight just three things to deliver your business story and core message.

Simply and concisely written — that’s your target for a successful brand story message and website homepage — and what visitors want.

I love how Donald explains the “grunt test” reasoning behind this system to inspire you to offer a compelling message without making people have to think. In essence, at this initial touch point, your brand story content has one objective — for people to “get it.” You’re going for a no-brainer!

Here’s the simple formula Donald offers to create your business brand story and sculpt an accurate message for digital impact. There are three questions you need to answer, he says, by clearly communicating your brand message:

1. What is it you offer?
2. How does it make my life better?
3. What do I need to do to buy it?

The example above shows exactly how StoryBrand takes its own advice in their homepage message and hey, who doesn’t want to revolutionize their marketing and grow?

Engaging and connecting with people/customers also resonates with most businesses. Clear CTAs give the option of registering, learning more, or even starting with a free course. Any visitor, any type, finds a precise path for what to do next.

Bringing it Home with Visual Design

Your home page is one of the most visited on your site. Take a look at your google analytics for confirmation.

Now, keep in mind Andy’s wisdom and message for navigation and, shine your biz message with clarity per Donald until it’s crystal clear.

Create your home page with an intention to make your highest possible impact. Use visual design, combining technology-delivered UX with a succinct message and graphics to uniquely convey you.

Producing a compelling UX at the (often) first point of interaction, your home page, is crucial, according to Barry Feldman in an article on Andy’s Orbit Media site. In the post, he dissects homepage elements, offering a helpful checklist. Review this carefully for more details than you think about at the beginning.

In my next post, I’ll take the “V is for Visual” concept a step further and I’ll reveal the NEW BizShops workshop site–so you can see how some of my visual design studies come alive! And go LIVE, too…

As always, thanks for reading this post and feel free to comment:)