Having trouble coming up with social media graphics? 😓

It can be a daunting task involving a lot of trial and error and checking out what’s working and not working for others.

Here are some tips to help you create some great graphics for any client. ⤵️

1. Build a visual strategy 👀

Great visuals are only as good as the strategy that supports them. Whether you know it or not, all companies have a brand tone and identity. Some are more obvious than others such as Dove. Dove is known for its uplifting and powerful brand voice that encourages customers to embrace their inner beauty.

Ways to find a brand tone and voice is by doing your research. What are your audience’s interests and think about what type of visual content they’d like to see. With this research,  create a mood board and add photos, colour palettes, and other visuals that will help shape your direction.

2. Know design basics 👩🏻‍💻

There isn’t one recipe for creating a great social media post. But, there are some basic guidelines to take into consideration such as:

• Having a focal point in your image.
• Avoid centering your subject in every post.
• Make sure there’s enough contrast to create balance in your image.
• Choose complementary colours or pull colours from your image for your background and fonts.
• Keep it simple to ensure your visual is easy to understand.
• Be aware of your image size – This is a big one! ⤵️

Using the wrong image size is one of the biggest crimes you can commit when creating social media designs. Images with the wrong aspect ratio or low resolutions reflect poorly on the brand and/or client. This is why understanding each platform’s specifications is important in creating and tailoring your content!

3. Be tasteful with text 💬

Whether it’s creating quote images or overlaying text, less is always more when it comes to word count. I can sometimes struggle with this because I’m worried people won’t read the captions. Trust that the few words you put in the graphic will grab your audience’s attention and get them to read the caption.

Text in social media design should always be bold, legible, straightforward, and concise. Ensure there’s enough contrast between the text and background so it’s easy to read.

Choose the type wisely since it can affect both tone and legibility. When mixing fonts, choose two and make sure one is a serif and the other is a sans serif.

Lastly, get that font moving! ➡️ Animate text to make it stand out.

The biggest tip I can give is don’t be afraid to fail!

Every design won’t be a winner and that’s okay! We learn the most from our failures, but the key is to take our failures as a lesson learned to grow and become better. Forget the awards.

Creative work is always rewarded with likes, comments, shares, and new followers.

Happy designing! 👩🏻‍🎨

Christina Pisano – Graphic Designer