Even though graphic design is a modern phenomenon, nature has been using graphic design for marketing since the beginning of time. Plants and animals regularly use colors and patterns to attract attention, market themselves and create their brands.

Let’s look at the example of butterflies and their use of colors. When butterflies are in a growing phase, their chrysalides have vibrant colors and patterns to camouflage themselves from predators. On the other hand, the blue morpho butterfly uses its beautiful colors to attract mates, while the monarch sports butterfly uses bright orange colors to signal its toxicity and warns predators to stay away. Each graphic pattern in the butterfly kingdom has marketing and brand implications for its species.

In the millions of years of evolution, human survival depended on the ability to recognize the visual cues that nature presented. So human visual perception is highly evolved to notice and remember colors and patterns.  That’s why businesses have always depended on graphic design to create memorable marketing campaigns. The marketing aim is not only to be noticed, but also to be remembered. Human memories are optimized to retain more information about visually stunning brochures, websites, business cards, and social media feeds. So graphics design will continue to be important to marketing.

Here are some ways graphic design can help your business:

Today’s competitive market requires that you stand out. In order to stand out, your business needs to be recognizable as a distinct entity. When you are scanning a webpage, a newspaper or a brochure, you can recognize the difference between McDonald’s and Burger King in a split second. Even though the medium of information might be different, you can instantly recognize the company because the logo designer, the ad designer, and the brochure designer have used the principles of graphic design to create a recognizable marketing brand. Your business can use the same principles to have a distinct visual place in the market.

The ultimate objective of marketing is that it will lead to sales. Of course, depending on your short-term and long-term business goals, your marketing and sales strategies might have different paths. However, you can use graphic design to consolidate some of the differences. Even under the same company umbrella, variations in graphic design can help attract various demographics and psychographics. You can use color palettes to distinguish products while maintaining a brand identity. It gives you more control over your sales.

Using graphic design to market your company is not only about customers but also about the people who work for you. Consistent logos, websites, and working spaces create a feeling of cohesion. Employees don’t only work for money. They also need a purpose. Creating an identity for your company through graphic design and marketing will help your employees develop a sense of belonging and contribute more to the company's improvement. An engaged workforce is one of the greatest assets for any business.

Graphic design is the best tool for any business to attract and retain attention. Due to the number of available entertainment and distraction channels today, attention is the highest sought-after commodity for any marketing effort. With proper planning and creative vision, graphic design can help your business capture the attention of your target market.