As we start this 31 days of graphic design for food bloggers, you may be wondering what exactly IS graphic design and why do I need it for a food blog?
Oh friend. I’m here to tell you. Design is that balance between function and beauty, between purpose and pretty, between decision and decoration. With design we inch people down a page, or we sweep them across a photograph. Design has the power to create movement, rhythm, calm, order or even chaos, if we so choose it to. Design is subtle, but can create a massive impact.
We can use all these tools design gives us to create a better blog, social media presence, and even improve our photography.
So here’s a brief overview of what the next 31 days brings:
- The basics of graphic design. We gotta start somewhere, right? And there are no stupid questions, so reach out to me through comments, facebook, instagram or wherever! I’m going to do a post that covers the basics of the basics, then more posts to dive into specific topics.
- Applying the basics to the blogging world (we’ll be covering this all along the way).
- How design speaks to your reader and what it tells your audience.
- How to use templates to create a streamlined design process for social media sharing, blog posts and featured images.
- Tools and programs (technology! We are going to embrace it!
- How design translates to photography.
- Creating digital things that add to your blog content – using design to add value.
- Fun stuff like colors, fonts and illustrations and how to make or find ones that you love.
And by now you’ve probably answered the “and why do I need this” question, but if not, let me explain. Design can translate into the way your blog looks, yes, but it also serves a bigger purpose.
The branding of our blogs and social media presence is achieved through design (and other things, but design is the visual part). So when someone lands on your page, through your use of color, font, white space (whoa! first designer vocab word!) they are gathering information about you. Yes, wether you like it or not, the way your blog looks is saying a lot about you, your content, and will play a role in gaining return visitors. We will dive into exactly WHAT these colors/fonts/use of space can say, so you’ll be able to fine-tune your message.
Design can play a large part in organization as well. Think about the last time you went to a site and you couldn’t find what you were looking for, like a contact button or an address for directions. Wasn’t that frustrating? Poor design. Or what about when you went to your phone to your new favorite blog or site and was disappointed when they didn’t have a scaled mobile version?
With all the food blogs out there, it’s tough to be seen and to gain followers. But good design can help, and it can make you stand out from the crowd and look totally legit as a food expert. Design can add SO much depth and information about your story, who you are and your food point of view.
We are going to talk about all this and probably a lot more. This is going to be fun!