Today every prospective customer sees at least thousands of messages a day in print and web graphics. Which one will they remember? The one that rises above the others, the one that has be most
to say - the one that speaks the loudest to them. And once it has their attention, the one that
engages them the most.

   Yes! Shout! Shout to the customers they are supposed to reach! If your graphic designs shout, they attract attention in an already over advertised world.  

   Shout it out! Use visuals that make a lot of noise! The human brain is visual, so visuals are crucial to making graphic designs that have a built-in megaphone. The best visual megaphone is color. Wild vibrant color attracts the eye. Use visuals and color to make a statement that is loud and bold.

   Visuals come in a lot of forms - original hand done illustrations, stock illustrations, original digital illustrations, stock digital illustrations, original photography and stock photography.

   ◊ The first question to ask yourself when choosing visuals for your graphic design is, "Is it bold?"

   ◊ The Second, "Does it say what I need it to say?"

   ◊ The third is "Does it stand out?"

   Be careful of the use of Stock Photography and Illustrations and don't use images that have been overused. Be aware of what looks and images are being used in the graphic designs you see around you in books and magazines and on the web. Try to stay away from those looks and images, or you'll blend in with the rest. And you want to Stand out, Shout it out!

   Ask bold questions in your graphic designs. Questions engage the mind, pull people in, and bold ones stay in the memory. Loud, memorable, engaging - that's what you are going for. Engaging questions often remind the potential client of their pain, the problem they need to solve. Of course the solution is the product or service for which you are designing.

   Speaking of what you need your graphic designs to say, be sure that your end statements are benefits, benefits, benefits. What's in it for the customer or viewer. That's what the whole game is about. If you don't speak to how you can solve the customer's problem, how you can bring the client value, then no matter how loud it is, they won't remember or pay attention. It just won't interest them.

   And use bold and relevant type to ask the questions or provide solutions. Make it easy to read, and be sure that it visually and emotionally matches the message, the audience you are attempting to reach and the product or service that is being sold. Beware of cheap desktop publishing graphic design layouts. Don't use garbage type in graphic designs intended to speak to a more sophisticated audience, and don't use sleek elegant type to talk to the younger crowd.

   So in summary, design to have your graphic designs Shout to their prospective audience. Make sure they can be heard above the visual and verbal din of today's commercial world. Be bold, use color to make noise, engage the mind and talk benefits, benefits, benefits.