1/20th of a second. That’s all it takes for someone to form an opinion about the quality of your organization based on nothing more than viewing your website. In other words, judgments are formed almost as quickly as the eye can take in information.

Here’s more good news (or less, depending on the current state of your graphics). Researchers also believe that these quickly formed first impressions last because of the “halo effect.” That means your visuals set up a benchmark of expectations. First identified by psychologists in the 1920s, the halo effect states that the first traits or features we recognize in other people or situations influence our interpretation and perception of later ones — because of our expectations.

For instance, it’s no secret that attractive people are often judged as having a more desirable personality and more skills than someone of average appearance. Thus, we see celebrities being used to endorse products that they have no actual expertise in evaluating, and with which they may not even have any prior affiliation.

The halo effect works for brands — the positive feelings created by having a hit product (Apple’s iPod) extend to the rest of the company’s offerings — and also for bands — one hit song leads to exploration and expectations about the rest of an artist’s musical library.

Business is competitive. People make snap judgments. We shouldn’t, but we do. Too often, the only difference between landing new business and watching new business land elsewhere is the quality of your graphics. And graphics, ladies and gentlemen, can be created, fixed, massaged and managed so that they say exactly what you want them to say.

This decade, your company is marketing to the most selective, most demanding and most sophisticated audience the world has ever seen. Every day, your website, marketing literature and corporate communications put you and your company on the line. First impressions count; great visuals and great design counts.

Briefly, marketing is a strategic exercise by which you determine how you are going to reach your customers, persuade them to purchase from you and, after the purchase, make them happy. Successful marketing generally has several moving parts, including a dynamic web presence, PR, social media, advertising and graphic design.

My job is to understand your marketing strategy, create your corporate image and then seamlessly connect the two. It is critical that your graphic communications help you initiate and maintain relationships with your customer base. Why? Because brand loyalty is the most essential element in establishing sustainable commerce.

Raise your prospect’s eyebrows and expectations by simply looking better than your competition. When you have unique collateral, a great logo and a beautiful website, your business stands apart and makes a powerful impression on your audience.

Even though graphic design is generally the “last 10 feet” in a marketing strategy, graphics are the critical link between you and your audience because they are literally the face of your company. Graphics guide the first impression prospects have of you and provide rock-solid reassurance to customers, employees, investors, the media and all of your various audiences.

There is good reason to demand good design —
65% of us are visual learners
Most human beings — by a wide margin — gather information best by looking, reading, and watching. Visual learners typically tune out spoken directions and instead favor illustrated explanations, pictures or charts. A visual learner can “see” ideas in their mind’s eye, remembering visual details from places they’ve visited or pictures they’ve seen. By comparison, 30% of people prefer auditory information and 5% of the population prefer movement and touch.

When you need a professional appearance, hire a professional designer. Period.

Image courtesy B Photographic used under a Creative Commons license.

Your HEADLINE is a headline. If it’s a good one, then it’s 80% of your ad, sales letter, postcard, web page, blog post or tweet. Five times as many people will read your headline as will read the body of your ad. Why? Because a well-written headline can answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” Your logo can’t do that.

Don’t jeopardize your hard-won credibility with weak content
Since the attention-grabbing power of a headline is insanely out of proportion to the rest of your content, there is always the temptation for abuse. It may be easy to snag someone’s attention and get them to click through to your website or read further, but the payoff to the reader had better be worth it. If your visitor feels cheated once she learns the details, all of the time spent on credibility-building graphics and great headlines is lost. Worse than lost, because not only is she not coming back, now you’ve trained her to ignore you.

Your logo is a symbol of strength and reassurance. Headlines effectively “set the hook” and pull readers in. Quality content gets them to take the next step, whether that’s picking up the phone, sending an email, clicking the “buy” button or physically visiting your company.

When Ye Olde UFO Store in Sedona, Arizona needed to take their web presence and brand identity to the next level, I jumped in with both feet. Their existing starter website had just crashed, and their new one needed to support opt-in email forms, video, a blog, an online store and online tour reservations. I used a modular approach to get them up and running as soon as possible; Phase One of their new website was designed and launched within seven days.

The blog and website work in tandem to support an ever-growing schedule of events, including Expos and Tours.

There are endless opportunities for merchandising.

Their advertising includes an intelligent mix of print, broadcast and online media.

I’d like to thank Doug, Jennifer, Todd, Anita and the team at Ye Olde UFO Store for allowing me to help them with such a fantastic project. I look forward to continuing the relationship!