Handling Graphic Artists

It's important to have a good graphic artist working on your marketing materials, whether it's collateral like fliers or a website. You want your materials to be professionally presented. Why? Because there's a message you want to transmit, and the graphics help transmit that. Sometimes it's just a subliminal "this company has a quality product" message, in addition to the overt marketing messages. Sometimes the graphic presentation helps reinforce the marketing message ("this is a pirate game, and the graphics look like an old treasure map").

The important thing is not to let the graphics get in the way of the marketing message. If you can't find your web site easily, that's a problem. If the headline is important, it better be readable. Don't let the graphic artist get so wrapped up in "pretty" that they forget about "functional". This is not art, it's commerce. Here's the instruction to give the graphic artist: "Use your skill to make this marketing message as beautiful as you can, without obscuring the message."