| Design
How to Achieve Different Vibes with Your Design [Pro Tips + Templates]
MyCreativeShop’s online editor makes it easy to customize any design. Whether you’re creating a huge banner or a handheld flyer, you can add background patterns, move shapes around, change fonts, replace images… In fact, there are so many ways to customize a design that it might be difficult to decide what to change!
This guide is designed to help you there. Even with no background in design, you can use these general tips and rules of thumb to help you achieve the perfect vibe for your new flyer, poster, or brochure. Just ask yourself what look you want to achieve and then check out the matching tips below!
Traditional and Simple
Whether for a flyer or a business card, the “traditional” look is one of the most versatile of all styles. Designs that feel traditional tend to look simple, clean, and “in the box.” They have enough pizzazz to look good but not so much that the design itself stands out.
What makes a design look traditional? Here are a few tips:
- Basic layouts that use a simple rectangular grid and strong linear alignment
- Easy-to-read fonts that look familiar and don’t have too many quirks or unique features
- A simple color palette—two or three colors work well!
- Geometric details like squares and rectangles
In the MyCreativeShop editor, you might try a simple, highly legible font like Noto Serif or Oxygen.
Examples and Templates
Because traditional-looking designs don’t have a very loud personality, they work well for any business, marketing need, or event. By keeping the design itself simple, you’ll put a natural spotlight on your offer or message.
Formal and High-End
If you’re serving clients who expect a sense of professionalism, responsibility, and gravitas from your business, then you can’t go wrong with a more formal design. Formal designs tend to feel more serious thanks to a few common characteristics:
- Serif fonts (which feel academic and educated) or script fonts (which feel elegant and fancy)
- Center-aligned text, which feels grounded and solid
- Plenty of white space for a clean, understated feel
- Large, well-styled imagery and photos
- Use of rich jewel tones or understated black and white
- Metallic-inspired accents, like gold framing or silver letters
Examples and Templates
Formal designs work especially well for businesses that need to evoke a serious feel. Because formality often goes hand in hand with price, these designs are also great for brands that want to exude luxury or exclusivity.
Youthful and Playful
Whether you serve kids or kids at heart, playful designs make us all feel happy and excited! These designs draw from elements that children love to create a fun, lighthearted vibe. If you want to up the playfulness of your flyer or brochure, try adding some of these design elements:
- Quirky fonts that feel handwritten or have unique letterforms
- Busy color palettes with lots of bright or primary colors
- Fun, child-like illustrations
- Complex shapes like stars, hexagons, or triangles
- Background patterns that suggest confetti or polka dots
- Clever wordplay, jokes, or puns in the copy
- Exclamation points to create a feeling of joy
Did you know? You can add awesome background patterns, photos, and illustrations directly within the MyCreativeShop online editor.
Examples and Templates
The most obvious use for a youthful style revolves around kids, though any business serving families or wanting to capture a sense of child-like wonder can certainly benefit from playful design!
Calm and Peaceful
Want your print marketing piece to make the recipient feel relaxed and soothed? Achieving a calming vibe is easy to do if you follow a few key tips and guidelines! The features most commonly shared by a calming design include:
- Cool pastels and muted colors, especially blues, greens, and whites
- Beautiful photography that evokes relaxation and rejuvenation
- Design details pulled from nature, such as a lotus leaf or a waterfall
- Natural-looking textures and backgrounds
- Fonts with large, open letters or flowing shapes
- Organic background shapes and design details such as circles, waves, or curves
- Lots of white space for the design to breathe
Examples and Templates
Calming designs are ideal for businesses or organizations that exist to comfort people or that are working with people who may be going through a challenging time. Spas, wellness centers, counseling practices, churches, and resorts are just a few examples!
Vibrant and Loud
Another way to describe “vibrant” would be active and energetic. These designs are all about movement, energy, and power, and they’re great for getting the recipient to take action—whether that means joining your fitness center or ordering a meal to satisfy their appetite.
Color is an important aspect of loud designs, but it’s not the only characteristic! Here are a few shared features of vibrant designs:
- Bright colors like orange, red, yellow, or pink
- High-contrast color palettes, such as a super-bright neon color against a dark gray or black
- Uneven layouts—not perfect rectangles or squares!
- Strong angles and geometric shapes
- Large text with thick, heavy letters or quirky shapes
- Background patterns with lines, arrows, and angles
- Imagery that evokes movement, motion, action, noise, or dance
Examples and Templates
Vibrant designs work well for active businesses in general (like gyms) as well as for specific marketing campaigns that need to attract attention and inspire action—like clearances, sweepstakes, or seasonal sales. Color psychology has shown that bright colors (especially reds) have also been associated with hunger, making them a great color choice for restaurants!
What’s Your Design Vibe?
Whether you’re wanting something understated and formal or bright and casual, you can use MyCreativeShop’s online editor to make any and all changes. Choose one of the templates above or head over to our full list of templates to start designing!
With a few thoughtful tweaks to shapes, colors, imagery, and font, you can achieve the perfect look for any marketing campaign.
