In today’s world, the way we present ourselves and our work has never been more slick. The days when a printed CV in Arial font would suffice are long gone because so many of us are now well-versed in using basic design tools and sharing content online.
“Because we all consume so much design on a daily basis, most of us have become design literate without even realising,” says brand designer and Adobe Express ambassador, Liz Mosley. “Design is important because it’s one of the key factors that helps our brain decide whether we’re going to stop and consume information or not – we’re judging books by their covers, essentially, to work out whether something is relevant to us.”
Of course, these book covers, both literal and metaphorical, are getting better as everyone grows more adept at communicating visually and using design tools. “Because a lot of visuals, particularly on social media, are very similar, it means we have to work harder to stand out online,” says Mosley.
So, in a world where intuitive digital tools have helped everyone raise their design game, how might we achieve cut-through? Luckily, there are ways we can make our designs stand out and work well, no matter our experience or background …
Consider colour carefully
One of the most effective – and simple – ways to communicate visually is through colour. But knowing where to start can prove tricky, says Mosley. “Colour is incredibly emotive and powerful, so it’s worth thinking about what you’re trying to convey and figuring out the colours in your design palette as a priority. Ask yourself, what sort of messaging do you want to get across?”
Even when you opt for black and white designs or typography, it can really pay off to consider basic design principles. “A solid black font on a solid white background can be quite challenging for the eye,” says Mosley. “[Whereas] a slightly off-black font (an extremely dark grey, for example) on a slightly off-white background still looks ‘black and white’ to the eye but is softer and easier to read. In cases like this, our brain doesn’t consciously notice, but the content is easier and more enjoyable to consume.”
Accessibility matters
In Britain, approximately 3 million of us are colour-blind (that’s about 4.5% of the population), so it’s important to consider who will be accessing your content, says Mosley. “There’s a neat add-on in Adobe Express that allows you to check that your design works for people who are colour-blind, showing you what it looks like for them and enabling you to ensure your work is accessible (for example, green and red are not a good combination for colour-blind people). You can also add automated captions to videos using Adobe’s Quick Actions tools, for people who can’t hear the audio. Thinking about elements of design from an accessibility perspective is a no-brainer.”
Adobe has been introducing accessibility features across its suite of products. For instance, an update to pdf accessibility includes an auto-tagging feature that makes it easier for screen readers or other text-to-speech tools to read a document.
Make text easy on the reader
Have you ever considered text alignment? You really should, says Mosley. “I receive a lot of marketing emails where the entire text is centre-aligned – it looks balanced and even, visually, but it’s difficult for the brain to read because your eyes have to work to find the beginning of each line. Good design means making things easy for your audience – if not, they’ll give up and go elsewhere. Left-aligning text and ensuring it’s not too closely bunched together (either the words themselves or the line spacing) means your brain can easily assimilate what’s being shared. Making your work as easy as possible for people to digest and consume means they’re much more likely to interact with it.”
Have fun with animation
Animation might sound complicated, but it can actually help to simplify videos or concepts, as well as bringing ideas to life, making them more memorable. And with Adobe Express’s latest features, it’s not that difficult. “A great way to add personality and humour is through animation and Adobe Express makes it really easy – it’s a case of clicking a button to add moving animations.” A feature called Animate Characters allows you to pick a cartoon character and background and record audio that the character moves to. “These tools are a simple way of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist as well as making really dynamic, fun content that people engage with. It really does stop the scroll.”
Avoid ‘blank page fear’
If you’ve ever stared at a blank page, you’ll know the feeling of overwhelm. A designer’s go-to? “Templates are easy to overlook but they’re a brilliant way of turning content around quickly because once you’ve got a template that works, you can repurpose anything from flyers and posters to social media posts, keeping everything consistent,” says Mosley. “Start by thinking about how you want people to feel when they engage with what you’re doing – then you can make decisions about what the design looks like.”
One tool she constantly uses is the Brand Kit feature on Adobe Express, which is a collection of logos, colours, fonts and templates. You can create your own or use pre-existing ones. “It allows you to build consistency across your work, by using specific colours or fonts, in almost no time at all.”
Utilise shortcuts
Gone are the days of painstakingly cutting out backgrounds or resizing images manually at a snail’s pace. “I used to spend hours carefully cutting out silhouettes in programs to make outlines look sleek, and now, ‘Quick Actions’ does the job for me,” says Mosley. “You can perform tasks using AI-inspired tools, which means you can, say, remove people in the background or correct images (turning a blue blazer into a red one, for example) to make the overall appearance instantly more cohesive and slick. I’d also recommend using the Content Scheduler, which allows you to create designs and schedule them to be published on your social feeds automatically. These features not only save time, but allow you to have complete autonomy and freedom over the way you present yourself and your work.”
Click here to learn more about Adobe Express
