DESIGN RULES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Article by

Daria, designer at VAU agency

When it comes to design, people typically envision something beautiful, harmonious, and trendy. This perception applies to everything: what surrounds us in everyday life and what we encounter in the digital space. But how exactly do we make it "beautiful"? There are many rules and principles for website design, print design, and graphics.

Beginner designers can easily find this information on the Internet or learn it in courses. However, when we tailor design for social media, we find that there is no structured information or rules available. Let's understand why this happened and why no one wants to share these specifics :)

RULE 1. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

Everything around us in the web space is perceived visually. However, it's important to distinguish between targeted search and scrolling. Good design is crucial in both cases, but there's a difference. During targeted search, the audience is already interested in the information you offer, and good design only enhances the experience. During scrolling, our goal is to capture the attention of the disinterested audience, which spends at least 3 seconds visually scanning the content without reading it.

Let's consider an example with our simple creative:

conclusion

It's essential to know the basics of web design, namely: typography, color theory, and composition. Play with contrasts: color, shape, size. Arrange the text so that the most important information stands out the most. Our goal is to attract and retain attention, so we make everything secondary smaller: it will be read anyway if point 1 is fulfilled. Don't forget about the call to action (CTA): what message do we want to convey with the information we shared? We can provide all additional information in the description.

RULE 2. TELL YOUR VISUAL STORY AND I WILL TELL WHO YOU ARE

Now, imagine that the visual from the previous example is used by a profile called tender_beauty, and instead of pizza, there's a jar of cream from the elite segment. Somehow, it doesn't quite fit, does it? This style doesn't create the necessary associations and isn't directed at the target audience. Of course, you can experiment, but within the boundaries of relevant associations.

Here's an example:

Green Space Box wooden crates

Medical products and equipment Ortholife

Unique designer glass and titanium products by PlusObject

CONCLUSIONS

Design according to associations. For each individual case, I suggest listing a series of adjectives that describe the mood we want to convey. This way, we will attract the target audience for whom information with the right associative sequence of visuals will be perceived better.

Questions to ponder: What mood and what visual would you use for street food? And what about a restaurant with a top chef?

The niche is the same, but the mood is different.

RULE 3. STAY IN TREND

Let's move away from graphics and delve into trends. Social media is always about relevance. Pay attention to news hooks (holidays, events, scandals, or jokes).
In reality, it's hard not to notice what accumulates in the information space, but it's even harder to integrate it into a particular case. It's challenging but possible; here, you should give free rein to your imagination (and sometimes even approve the most daring ideas).

CONCLUSIONS

Just as you enjoy memes, events, and novelties, so does your audience. But here, you have to choose: do you want to just observe without using them (what if the entire visual aesthetic is built!), or do you want to be a creator, gathering high engagement? Observe and use!

RULE 4. ADHERENCE TO RULES AND NOW TO PRACTICAL TIPS.

Text no smaller than 28 points (for most cases):
Prepositions are moved to the next line;
Quotes are «for Cyrillic», "for Latin":
Text should be clearly visible in contrast;
Images accompany the text and do not deviate from the meaning.

WRITE DOWN:

CONCLUSIONS

These are the rules I wish I knew at the beginning of my journey in digital design, but they won't tell you about them. That's because these rules are not absolute, but they greatly help beginners.

Remember: design for social media is only an accompaniment to the meaning. It shouldn't overshadow all the attention, no matter how long or inspired you work on your visuals. Beautiful doesn't always mean complicated.

The niche is the same, but the mood is different.

Beautiful is harmonious. Harmonious with the text, mood, audience, and product. It's difficult to find this harmony. There's only one piece of advice here: practice a lot with new challenges, diverse niches, and target audiences. Observe more, get inspired, and repeat (but don't copy!). And don't forget: social media design is just a part of web design, so you should start from there (just a little hint for you) ;))