Why You Need a Graphic Designer with Financial Services Experience

If you’re used to thinking in bps and AUM, graphic design can seem like another language. Anyone who knows their way around a .jpg may seem up to the task of putting together a fund commentary or adding a splash of green to a white paper.

But would you ask your muni bond manager to pick stocks for your emerging-markets portfolio?

You don’t just need a graphic designer—you need a financial services specialist. Their expertise can save you time and money, prevent mistakes and help you connect with investors.

They know data accuracy is essential.

When dealing with those bps or any precise data, a misplaced decimal point can either signal you’ve had the worst quarter on record or are the next Warren Buffett. While you’d never ask your designer to compute the returns, on occasion they may be asked to make changes once those numbers are in layout—so it’s crucial to work with someone who knows there’s no room for error.

For them, disclosures are top of mind, not an afterthought.

A designer from outside the industry may assume all that text from the lawyers is just a formality and can be squeezed in at the end of a document. A financial services specialist knows the opposite is true: Compliance may require that fine print to be the same font size as the sales pitch, and a two-page brochure may need half a page of disclosures. An expert will spare you the pain of a redesign by allotting the appropriate amount of space in advance.

When you say “mountain,” they think chart, not ski vacation.

Charts are one of the most ubiquitous—and challenging—aspects of designing for financial services. Someone with a portfolio of fashion ads is unlikely to have spent much time perfecting their bar chart, yet it takes practice to make something seemingly simple look uncluttered, and experience to understand all the types of data one encounters working in asset management. A designer who knows that candlesticks and pies aren’t just the stuff of dinner parties will know how to make your data visually engaging, not to mention accurate.

And they’re definitely not taking that vacation during quarter-end.

All industries have their busy periods, and professionals in any field (one hopes) can meet deadlines. But a designer accustomed to the strict turnarounds required for financial reports can help you stay on schedule and avoid the consequences of a late filing. These specialists block off the first weeks of a quarter and have mastered tricks to work efficiently, like designing those time-consuming charts first or using certain keywords to search a stock-photo library, which is often a slow process.

Most importantly, they know what your competition is doing and can help your brand stand out.

Because their peers are also searching the same photo libraries, financial services designers know that everyone’s using the same models for high-net-worth ads and the same stormy sea images to depict challenging markets. A graphic designer who’s seen it all can spare you the embarrassment of copying a competitor and help create a distinctive look for your firm.

Just like you need a writer who can translate financial jargon into clear language, you need a graphic designer who can turn investing’s abstract concepts into eye-catching imagery. This skillset is particularly important as readers’ attention spans become shorter and visual communication becomes ever more critical to getting your message across. Working with a financial services specialist can save you time and the expense of multiple rounds of layouts and result in design that resonates with your audience.

If this has got you thinking about your graphic design needs, do not hesitate to get in touch.