There’s a lot to think about when you’re building a startup: hiring staff, securing investors, finding an office space and much, much more. One of the most important things to focus on when launching a small company is design.
Design is a crucial part of branding your business. It shapes the public’s perception of your product, and it immediately communicates to potential customers something about who you are, what you do, and why you’re different from everyone else out there. Design can also ensure that the physical and digital products you create look good and function well — a key component to outstanding UX. In addition, it is often an influencing factor when people are choosing to do business with you, or one of your competitors.
If you’re thinking about launching a small business from the ground up, look over the following design checklist. This list of design essentials can help you get started focusing on the elements of design for startups that really matter — which can ultimately help your new business stand out from the crowd. You can download the entire worksheet below.
Signage
Signage is a public way of advertising your business. Signs can mark your physical business, letting customers know where you are and what you do, or they can be used in a wide variety of locales to promote your company and encourage people to check out your product. As a startup, you should focus on designing signs for outdoor spaces (e.g., outside your office), indoor spaces (e.g., inside of your office) and for publicity at trade shows and events.
Web Presence
Today, every company needs a strong web presence. It’s crucial to attract new customers and convert potential leads. In an interview with Entrepreneur,marketing specialist Sadie Peterson explained that “Today, customers across all age brackets use the internet… and the internet is the first place they’ll turn for information about a vendor.”
When you’re considering design for the web, you should, of course, think about your brand’s website. According to Gabriel Shaoolian of Fast Company, “a beautiful and clear website is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to generate leads for your business, especially if it’s built and marketed properly.”
One of my favorite tools to gather design inspiration when creating landing pages is Crayon. They classify inspiring web design ideas into various categories, including landing, home, and pricing pages — all useful references for startups designing their websites.
You should also keep your brand’s aesthetic in mind when creating other pieces for the web, such as landing pages, partner sites, badges, banners and sponsor sites. Company emails and newsletters should also be carefully designed, since they are used to share your company’s voice and message.
Stationery
Obviously, even though we live in a tech-heavy world, businesses will need to use physical materials to communicate, as well as digital ones. One important step in design for startups is adding your company’s logo and aesthetic to letterhead, business cards, stamps, and invoices. Keeping these designs consistent is a great way to hone your brand.
Merchandising
Merchandise is a good way to advertise your business. After all, everyone loves swag! When creating company merchandise, make sure you focus on design for stickers, toys, t-shirts and any other physical products you’re going to sell with your company’s name or logo on it.
Sales and Collateral
Sometimes, startups have to use tools in order to convince people to buy their products. These tools can be items like menus, product catalogs, flyers, and brochures advertising services or events, or PowerPoint and Keynote presentations to secure investments. When creating sales materials, keep your branding consistent. You want to make sure anyone considering buying or investing stays aware of who they’re considering doing business with.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is the process of bringing customers into your business by offering them valuable content and positioning yourself as a thought leader — and today, it’s a crucial step in marketing a new company. According to the Content Marketing Institute, “Content marketing is being used by some of the greatest marketing organizations in the world, including P&G, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and John Deere. It’s also developed and executed by small businesses and one-person shops around the globe. Why? Because it works.”
Content marketing can consist of elements like social media profiles and graphics, ebooks, infographics, blogs, and more. When you’re creating your content marketing materials, keep your design aesthetic in mind. Components like blog headers and social media profile photos can communicate a lot about who your company is targeting.
Advertising
Advertising design is one of the basics. Companies use ads in order to get word about themselves out to the public, and their design shapes the message. Don’t forget to focus on the aesthetic of both online and offline ads (television, magazine, newspaper, etc.).
For Team/Internal Use
You don’t just want the public to know about who you are and what you do — you want your team to be well-versed in it too. So, when you create materials your employees are going to use and read, design them thoughtfully. Materials for internal use that should be designed include annual reports, internal memos, guidelines, handbooks, and even staff uniforms. Team members that are well-versed in your brand identity and design make the best brand ambassadors to the public.
Packaging
Do you sell a product? If so, you’re going to want to carefully design the physical packaging. Branding specialist Joshua Conran explains, “Great packaging is especially significant for growing startups because it can have a direct impact on sales and a company’s overall appeal.” So, you’ll want to take design into account when creating bottles, boxes and bags for products. You should also design tags on items — whether those tags have prices or more product information. A product whose packaging doesn’t match its own branding or design can be a real turnoff for buyers.
Ready?
If you’re about to launch a new company, there’s a good chance you don’t have the resources to have your own startup design team on hand. If so, we have created countless design assets (including ones on this design checklist) that you can use to create a visual identity for winning over customers and making a strong statement about your company’s mission and values.
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