“Make it Pop” is probably the most feared, incomprehensible and downright horrible phrases in the English language. Designer English, that is. Clients often use the phrase “make it pop” when a logo or marketing design is close, but not quite at the level of “punch” they are looking for. “Make it pop” generally refers to making a logo or design brighter, larger, more prominent or giving it higher levels of contrast. In short, the client is looking for more impact from the design. While designers know what “making it pop” means, they may not always be sure about the most effective and efficient route to making it happen. Here are five targeted ways to make designs “pop” and ultimately make clients happy.
1. Dial up the color intensity
“Making it pop” may require minimal work, especially if the client indicates that they are pleased with the overall design and font choices. If this is the case, play with existing color hues and intensities. Try more saturated and vibrant tones, being mindful of bringing out contrast in key areas to draw the eye around the design appropriately.
Available in the Adobe color picker, the HSB (hue, saturation, and brightness) color model is based on the way the human eye sees color. Try increasing the S (saturation) percentage next time you are trying to dial up a color’s intensity.
2. Try different color combinations
If the client is less satisfied with the overall color direction, change it up; take the logo or design in three or four completely different color directions for the client’s review.
Colourlovers.com can help any designer find an attractive palette while sourcing inspiration from thousands of designers around the world.
3. Play with text hierarchy
When a client asks a designer to “make it pop” they may actually just want part of the included text to appear more prominent than others. Try changing around the font sizes in the piece to experiment with text hierarchy; doing so could be just what’s needed to bring the perfect amount of “pop.”
Don’t be afraid to experiment. Gauge the importance of specific words in your design and play around with their size and prominence. In this example, we’re experimenting with a summer flyer by shifting emphasis on the words BBQ, summer, party and the event date.
4. Try out a different typographic scheme
It’s possible that the current font selection just isn’t the right fit for the information or message the piece is trying to convey.
Try using Typecast.com to experiment with different font combinations and see how the changes affect the message being shared.
5. Introduce mockups
Sometimes a really great piece just doesn’t impact the client because it looks flat and unconvincing on the page or computer screen. Fortunately, designers can play with their imagination by inserting designs on a mockup product or scene to help give it a real-world context. Creative Market designers have created an amazing collection of mockup templates that can help make any logo or design really “pop.” Here are some of our top sellers:
50 Logo Mockups Bundle
The mockup templates in the 50 Logo Mockups Bundle allow designers to show their logos on real-life products like clothing, bottles, signage settings and more.
Branding Mockups Bundle
The professional photos in these templates allow designers to make their designs and logos truly pop with over 250 items and a variety of angles and perspectives to punch up the realism.
Magazine Mockup Pack
The Magazine Mockup Pack includes 12 standard view scenes along with seven close view scenes that can be fully customized for view, proportion, shadows, background texture and lighting.
100 Signs & Facades Mockups
For designers specializing in outdoor sign design, this pack of templates allows signage to be viewed from a variety of angles on glass, awnings, brick, marquee-style signs and more.
Helping an existing design “pop” can be a simple task; however, becoming more efficient at finding the best route for the optimal amount of “pop” takes practice. The use of intuition along with gaining experience in the design world will help. Try these five key techniques and let us know if they help overcome your next “make it pop” situation.
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"Make It Pop!" Five Ways to Up Design Impact and Make Clients Happy
