Qualitative Research Design: How Visual Design Marketing Strategy Can Increase Product Brand Value

Abstract

Purpose: Visual design has many prospective applications, including attaining business, social, educational, and political goals. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how visual design influences consumer-facing brand values and marketing messages. In order to be successful in marketing, one must promptly attract the attention of the clients one is attempting to sell to. Research design, data and methodology: In order for the research to provide useful information, it will be necessary to sort the findings in descending order of importance and construct an integrated whole out of the knowledge gleaned from various books, papers, and other sources. This method is essential for establishing the degree of objectivity present in each piece of research and combining the results of those studies. Results: Visual marketing promotes a product or service through moving or still images, illustrations, logos, and other forms of digital content. The audience may comprehend your message better if you include visuals. Even if people only scan your content, they may be more likely to notice it if it is presented appealingly. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study found that visual design substantially influences both the demand for products and the awareness of brand values within their target audiences

1. Introduction

Visual or communication design combines words and images to develop and communicate ideas in marketing materials such as books, brochures, photographs, and journals. These marketing materials include books, brochures, photographs, and journals. Depending on whether actual reproductions or digital photographs were utilized, the time the end user spends examining the visual design may vary significantly (Erolin, 2019).

Visual design has many prospective applications, including attaining business, social, educational, and political goals. Text-only websites and advertisements are ineffective and difficult to comprehend due to the absence of visual elements. It is not easy for marketing professionals to persuade consumers to purchase the products they are advertising (Maria et al., 2019). Therefore, effective marketing communication is becoming increasingly dependent on visual design. Numerous US businesses significantly emphasize the aesthetic qualities of their marketing campaigns. The company and its marketing professionals will experience the most difficult if they cannot guarantee that their potential customers will appreciate the marketing message they convey.

Recent studies in the field of marketing have investigated the various ways that visual design can be used to attract consumers on a global scale. Despite the importance of visual design in brand value management and other aspects of the profession, little research has been conducted on the influence of visual design on marketing communications. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how visual design influences consumer-facing brand values and marketing messages (Gretzel & Collier, 2019). In order to be successful in marketing, one must promptly attract the attention of the clients one is attempting to sell to. The availability of so much content makes it more challenging to assess advertisements and print media. As a result, marketers must ensure that the marketing materials they create are innovative and written to facilitate the rapid and accurate assimilation of the delivered information. Visual design enhances the viewing experience by communicating information concisely and engagingly to the audience.

After a brief introduction that establishes the context for the investigation, the paper's body consists of a literature review focusing on the impact of visual design on marketing communications. The report begins with a comprehensive review of the pertinent literature, followed by an investigation of the report's objectives from various perspectives. The research's conclusions are contingent on the information obtained from the survey’s respondents. In the final section of the study, the findings are summarized, and potential future areas for research on visual marketing are discussed.

Influencing factors for the use of visual design in marketing: From creating first impressions to transforming consumers into lifelong brand value advocates, visual design and the communication of marketing strategies are intricately intertwined. It is possible for businesses that invest in quality visual design to reap tangible and intangible benefits.

The following is a list of business objectives companies hope to attain through visual design in their marketing materials.

1. Catch consumers' attention

Visual design is an effective marketing instrument because it enables marketers to establish an immediate rapport with prospective consumers. Banner advertisements and other forms of digital marketing may be more effective if they are supported by high-quality visual design (Duffet & Miller, 2022).

2. Boost the earnings by:

As the customer base expands, the likelihood that the company will generate additional sources of income increases. Several businesses include visually appealing advertisements in their marketing collateral to increase product sales.

3. The identity that distinguishes the company from the competition:

Visual design is advantageous when creating various promotional materials, such as logos, business cards, and other printed materials. Promotion agents are agents of indirect promotion who operate on behalf of this persona and help target consumers' positive associations with the brand value.

4. Enhancing Business' Brand value Position in the Consumer Market

When strategically positioned on the market, a product or service can distinguish itself from competitors and attract more consumer interest. Using images, marketers can highlight significant differences between products and services and convey timely information.

5. More products with a greater return on investment (ROI) and faster time to market:

Uploading digital assets and sharing them with others is progressively becoming easier. Even though visual designers require considerable time to create marketing materials, businesses can reach more customers with the same amount of marketing (Alzoubi et al., 2022). Digital media also enables more precise surveillance of a marketing campaign's return on investment (ROI) because production costs and viewership can be quantified.

Figure 1: Business Objectives Companies Hope to Attain through Visual Design

2. Literature Review

According to Kujur and Singh (2020), due to extensive use of visual communication, it has become a topic of study in various academic fields, including communications, psychology, art, and science. The use of symbols and images in visual communication can influence people on several levels, including the intellectual, the emotional, or both. Seventy-five percent of all the information processed by the brain is done via the visual system. In addition to this, they attempted to describe the visual processing system as well as the implications of its functioning (Mikalef & Gupta, 2021). When information is presented visually, the clients analyze the pictures they apply their filters to their experiences, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and attitudes to make sense of what they see in terms of brand valueing (Jacobson, 2020). These filters help the viewer make sense of what they are seeing.

Studies done in the past have shown that visual commercials that transmit a large amount of information quickly and with a minimal cognitive load are more convincing than advertisements that are provided orally (Bigne et al., 2021). It would seem, however, that the most excellent passionate response from a target audience may be obtained via verbal and visual modes of communication. Consumers' responses to and memory of visual communication are, however, heavily dependent on their individual preferences. In the realm of social media, having a solid comprehension of visual communication is very necessary for situations in which it is necessary to evaluate visual information that provokes a reaction from users (Statton et al., 2022).

As the number of people using various forms of social media has grown, the relationship between visual advertising and consumer participation has become even stronger. It is possible to effectively capture people's attention in a post by using relevant photographs in that message. Producing compelling content in its own right may lead to successful engagement. Going through all the stuff available on social networking sites takes a lot of time. Humans gravitate toward communicating visually since it takes less cognitive effort (Lan et al., 2020). How people get information on the Internet has been revolutionized due to social networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging websites such as Twitter. These websites enable users to publish shorter pieces of content. Because of this shift, the number of blogs written by people aged 13 to 19 in the United States between 2006 and 2010 was much lower. The growth in popularity of social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Tumblr may be partially attributed to the growing use and dissemination of visual content by an increasing number of persons (Kim & Desai, 2021). When consumers are presented with aesthetically pleasing information, they may acquire more knowledge about the brand value, become more involved, and have a stronger sense of connection to the company. The degree to which customers interact with a particular brand value regularly is another factor that shapes their view of that brand value.

Marketing is sometimes misunderstood to be synonymous with public relations. One must know the end goal of marketing activities before truly appreciating the notion. Marketing may be used to describe the practice of marketing anything of value, whether that value is utilitarian or aesthetic (Lou & Xie, 2021). Businesses of all sizes and in all sectors in today's sophisticated and fast-paced business climate regard marketing communication as more than a tactical way of promoting the numerous components of the marketing mix. Customers' brand value memories change over time in response to consumers' brand value-related discussions and product usage (Beig & Nika, 2019).

Conventional advertising assumptions are insufficient in today's challenging market. Business decisions that are made proactively based just on cause and effect will not be able to satisfy clients and the market. This has led to the necessity for organizations in the current marketing environment to analyze traditional communication models, especially those that regard communication as a silver bullet that can be deployed to assure that customers will follow marketing strategies. How effective one marketing communication is will depend on how well one knows and keeps in touch with one clientele (Laurie & Mortimer, 2019). Thus, marketing communication assists in determining how a firm communicates with its clients by matching the desired medium and location. Despite marketing communications' clear advantages, they are required to perform in an increasingly demanding situation so as to promote brand valueing (Cluley, 2020). The information supplied to clients and their ability to make sense of it have both been substantially altered by technological improvements.

Due to the fast development in popularity of high-speed broadband Internet, digital video recorders that can bypass advertising, multifunctional mobile phones, and portable music and video devices, marketers have had to reevaluate some of their long-standing tactics (Deepak & Jayakumar, 2019). These tremendous transformations demand fresh approaches to digital marketing. How effectively someone communicates is determined by the way they express themselves. Two probable reasons for failed communication are sending the wrong message or conveying the proper message incorrectly. For a marketer's message to be transmitted successfully, it must be changed for usage in digital technologies, such as visual design (Evans et al., 2022).

2.1. Gap in the Current Literature

Specific gaps in the research presented in this research need to be filled. Most previous studies have just looked at a few different visual approaches. Twitter, LinkedIn, and other well-known visual brand valuing strategies like these should be the primary focus of any research on customers' behavior on the social media platforms offered by rivals (Chen, 2023). This is crucial because different applications need different properties from different approaches. Second, this study paid considerable attention to how visual communication affects the interaction between the business and the customer. Customers may now quickly join social networking sites (SNS) exclusive to a brand value without effort.

Therefore, there is a need for more studies to investigate the association between consumers' active engagement in visual communication and desired outcomes such as corporate support, good word of mouth, and brand value loyalty. This hole has to be filled, and more research is required to do so. Third, the study did not analyze how different types of visual communication, such as images, videos, infographics, posters for brand values or organizations, etc., affect the development of relationships between consumers and businesses.

3. Research Methodology

This probability meta-analysis uses a diverse approach to focus on studies. It analyzes the most current research to determine how visual designing increases product brand value. In this meta-analysis, visual designing strategies such as the use of images, videos, memes, and presentations are included from various studies.

3.1. Eligibility Criteria

When employing individuals as research subjects, interviews with potential volunteers were necessary to determine their suitability for the study (Xu et al., 2021).

3.1.1. Inclusion Criteria

- Included studies must compare visual designing and branding value enhancement.

- Included research must correspond to a certain category (e.g., Marketing)

- Included research must be conducted in a certain location (in the US).

- To be included, studies must have been published within the last five years.

3.1.2. Exclusion Criteria

- An observational research methodology was not used. The research did not use qualitative methodology,

- The research was not published within five years of research.

- The research was published in a language other than English.

3.2. Search Strategy

The research was carried out through a web search for credible sources (Google scholar). The research procedure needs to be well-structured and open for systematic literature reviews to be successful (Reiff & Schlegel, 2022; Kang, 2022; Nguyen et al., 2022; Kim & Kang, 2022). By using this measure instead of the conventional method for conducting literature reviews, readers and reviewers will find it simpler to understand and follow the reviews' conclusions.

3.3. Data Extraction

In order for the research to provide useful information, it will be necessary to sort the findings in descending order of importance and construct an integrated whole out of the knowledge gleaned from various books, papers, and other sources. This method is essential for establishing the degree of objectivity present in each piece of research and combining the results of those studies (Rashid et al., 2019).

The present investigation is comprehensive and in-depth; it makes use of previous research as well as secondary sources of information to derive conclusions (Ninan, 2020; Phommahaxay et al., 2019). Fifty studies were selected for in-depth analysis, and out of those fifty, thirty were mostly centered on the marketing departments of businesses located in the state of California. For the purpose of the inquiry, a second set of 20 studies was selected on the basis of the variety of visual designing tactics that they used. The researchers made sure to take all the required steps in order to acquire samples that were typical of the whole population (Wang & Cheng, 2020).

This allowed the results to be generalized and applied to the entire community. In addition to the primary sources, the researchers relied heavily on a wide variety of secondary sources. These secondary sources included academic journals, newspapers, websites, textbooks, and a variety of other sources (Morgan, 2022). In order to reach a conclusion, the data that were acquired were analyzed by using a basic percentage-based method.

Figure 2: Exclusion Strategy in the current Literature

4. Findings

Regarding the prominence of images in USA advertising, 20 marketing studies from various fields were polled for their findings. The fact that visual design was responsible for 92 percent of the replies demonstrates that it can convince an audience to take rapid action (Al-Mulla et al., 2022). It is possible that drawing customers' attention to important information in marketing visuals by using numbers to emphasize it would assist. According to the survey’s results, 88 percent of respondents believe that visual design is used in advertising campaigns by USA businesses (Li et al., 2022). Marketing executives and experts in The US may have revised their perspectives due to digital marketing activities' relevance. According to the survey’s results, 84 percent of respondents feel that it is not difficult to calculate the return on investment for design-related expenditures. Another illustration of how commercial advertising uses visual design to promote products brand values is evident here (Celhay et al., 2020).

In contrast to books, metrics and analytics applied to digital media allow users to track the distribution and consumption of visual design-based pictures across all digital media channels. In addition, 72 percent of CEOs thought aesthetic appeal plays a role in facilitating information intake. The diminishing number of replies addressing the ability of visual design to help in product placement in the US reflects the deteriorating strategic link between the market mix and visual design. This relationship is represented in the decreasing number of responses. The vast majority of respondents (about 68%) agreed that the key motivation for firms in the US to utilize visual design in advertising is to increase sales (Tran et al., 2021).

The first discussion on visual design's impact on business communications relates to the second. All of the 20 studies suggested that marketing professionals and consultants who participated in the surveys concurred with the conclusion that captivating visuals increase product brand value. In addition, participants in the study believed that it contributes to maintaining brand value consistency across channels (Kwon et al., 2021). Any endeavor involving visual design should underscore the importance of maintaining coherence in the presentation of information. Adopting visual design can increase the affective tone of a message by up to 84% when it comes to connecting with an audience (Lan et al., 2021). Few believe that effective visual design can help make written content and marketing materials more tangible and contribute to their increased relevance.

This brings us to our third and last study: investigating how these adverts' target audience understands visual design. The surveys included replies from individuals in various parts of the US. These individuals and the leaders had various aesthetic interests, as demonstrated by their responses. Most 96% of respondents thought visually-rich marketing materials were straightforward to disseminate digitally and enhance product brand valuing (Mahmoud et al., 2019). As a result of its ability to spark the attention of prospective customers, the visual design also impacts marketing. Eighty percent of those who responded to the surveys feel that the marketing message makes them want to buy the product or service that is being sold, and eighty-four percent of those people indicate that they enjoy the enthusiastic tone of the message. It is the single most crucial aim of any marketing campaign to get people interested, and the questions and answers and the visual design components offered here should help you accomplish that goal. Most respondents (56%) felt that a well-designed product might increase sales. The vast majority of customers are under the impression that the appealing appearance of a product has no influence whatsoever on its value. Customers appreciate efforts that capture their attention and demonstrate a commitment to digital change.

Visual marketing promotes a product or service through moving or still images, illustrations, logos, and other forms of digital content (Farace & Roggeveen, 2020). The audience may comprehend your message better if you include visuals. Even if people only scan your content, they may be more likely to notice it if it is presented appealingly. It is frequently implemented as part of a larger business strategy to improve internal communication beyond what could be accomplished through spoken or written language alone (Rossato & Castellani, 2020). According to the findings of the previously presented study, 68 percent of marketers want to increase the number of graphics they incorporate into their campaigns. In addition, seventy-seven percent (77%) of marketers anticipated increasing their use of video; particularly live video (63%), in the coming year.

The following visual designing strategies can help enhance brand value.

4.1. Images

The vast majority of people who use the Internet now have been working with computers for far longer than when visuals were not an essential component of the experience. A picture may portray a real-world item, person, or place in certain circumstances. The following are some instances of how photographs are used in various forms of visual marketing:

• Display something's shape or functionality in front of you.

• Demonstrate the excellent quality of the items being sold.

• Discuss the experiences that customers have had with the items.

• Show corporate graphics, including logos, on the website.

The most challenging component of using pictures as visual marketing material is thinking of innovative ways to sell content via images in a market concentrated on commercial stock photos for the last 20 years. This is the most problematic aspect of using photographs as visual marketing material (Runge, 2020; Frosh; 2020).

4.2. Videos

In the past, traditional methods such as television advertising and product placements within programs dominated video marketing and brand value promotion (Russell, 2019). Facebook has just released some terrifying information to the public. Eye monitoring conducted within the residences of study participants revealed that 94% of participants were using mobile devices while viewing television. In addition, viewing television only consumed 53% of these individuals' available time. Most of their time was spent staring intently at their phones rather than engaging in other activities.

The fact that the overwhelming majority of consumers ignore advertisements in favor of their mobile devices is the most significant source of concern for marketers. It is possible that traditional television advertising will have less impact. Many millennial and Gen Z audiences have abandoned traditional television viewing in favor of commercial-free streaming alternatives. In 2022, numerous improvements were made to various aspects of the visual promotion of films. Short video clips, vlogs, and parodies are becoming increasingly popular forms of mainstream video content (Wei & Wang, 2022).

4.3. Infographics

Infographics mix different visual components with written material to enhance product brand valuing (Mohamed et al., 2023). Data may be presented in a way that is both aesthetically attractive and interesting with infographics. People can comprehend a far greater quantity of information when it is shown visually instead of when it is presented to them in written form (Lupyan et al., 2020). Making infographics in any format, size, or shape is possible. It is best practice when developing an infographic to make things simple so everyone can understand them and to use vibrant colors to draw attention to the most critical aspects of the presented information.

4.4. Presentations

The majority of browsers can display multimedia and interactive content. With these slides, including presentations on your website is simple. Presentations are an excellent way to disseminate additional information humorously and straightforwardly and enhance brand valuing of products (Du, 2020). Among the topics that may be covered in a presentation are products, their applications, and demonstrations of how to use them.

Table 1: Summary of the Findings

5. Implications

Visual design is often used as a marketing strategy and may also pique a customer's interest in a particular brand value. Therefore, it is paramount for marketers to understand how visual design could enhance their product brand values. Many companies see the visual design of their products as a critical chance to distinguish their products from their competitors by using various visual signals (Jin et al., 2022). The design can affect many aspects of how a business wants to be viewed, how it wants to feel, how it wants to operate, and what it wants to express. Among these aspects are how the company wants to feel. Discover More Some people believe that marketing and visual design go hand in hand because marketing may exhibit visual design in the form of a company's logo and website. Others disagree with this viewpoint. Seven essential facets of marketing messaging have the potential to be enhanced with the addition of fresh pictures.

Because marketing materials are sent to a large audience, maintaining consistency is essential to visual design. It is important to consider how well the design of the various marketing materials may complement the visual design and in return promote product brand valueing. Box: Customers may have peace of mind that a product is genuine by looking for certain visual design elements on the product's packaging and other print media. A corporation can position itself as an industry leader and persuader if it invests in visual design without considering the bottom line. Visual design is the only media that provides total freedom of expression regarding the tone of marketing communications, which may range from severe and hilarious to deadpan. This makes visual design particularly useful for conveying a range of emotions. The visual design of a product may call attention to its unique characteristics or provide the impression that it can be used in various contexts. This ensures that the designer may focus their undivided attention on the client and the end product. A logo's meaning is one of the most important and valuable aspects it may communicate. Because of sloppy visual design, customers may be led astray by the marketing message the firm is meant to convey. The outward look of a product has the potential to impact the opinions formed by consumers significantly. Customers are almost always taken aback by the outcomes of effective visual design, which enhances the likelihood that information will be retained.

The visual designs utilized in marketing material can elicit similar emotional connections and behavioral alterations, enhancing brand value value. When a consumer or buyer is given visual design marketing materials, their ultimate choice may be impacted by several different factors. Customers' perspectives on visual design are susceptible to being impacted by six key factors. Some customer beliefs that visual design impacts their buying choices include being thrilled by design, being convinced to buy the product or service in an ad, and feeling driven to acquire the product or service because of how well it fits in with the product's value or theme. Customers believe that visual design influences their purchasing decisions. Customers believe that visual design influences their purchasing decisions. The simplicity with which users may share their ideas with others in their social circles is the fundamental advantage of visual design for internet use. This ease of sharing allows users to maximize the potential audience for their work. A promotional campaign may reach a larger prospective audience due to this.

5. Conclusions and Limitations

The research questions were addressed with the involvement of 20 shortlisted studies. First, the survey’s results were analyzed, and it was found that US businesses are interested in visual design since it can increase the number of customers they serve. The research also demonstrates that US businesses are not using visual design as much as they should in their daily operations. Visual design is increasingly used in promotional settings because it can be simplified and provide a verifiable return on investment (Sedej, 2019). Visual design's second effect on marketing is improving customer retention and consistency across all channels.

In conclusion, a study conducted on consumers in the US found that visual design substantially influences both the demand for products and the awareness of brand values within their target audiences (Rosario & Raimundo, 2021). In light of the above, it is reasonable to assert that the US's outdoor and online marketing effectively uses visual design to meet modern marketing criteria successfully. Visual design has the potential to be an effective marketing tool if it is employed in the right way.

Due to scheduling constraints, the poll could only include a limited number of marketing experts and consumers from the United States. This study would have been more insightful if it had examined the effects of visual design on online and offline businesses. Insufficient research has been conducted on infographics' influence on content marketing and product brand valuing. This component of graphic design can serve as a steppingstone to other areas of study within the field. Due to the limited number of variables in this investigation, there will be fewer opportunities to employ statistical methods such as regression and association. In the future, national research on the relationship between visual design, modern marketing, and product brand valuing will be required, possibly with the aid of SPSS. To better understand how future research should be designed, a random sample of the entire population was collected for this study. To move forward, we must conduct more in-depth research on how graphic design impacts marketing. This study should consider brand value characteristics and word-of-mouth marketing initiatives.