CSG | Communications Strategy Group

Communications Strategy Group

A Content Marketing and Strategic Communications Agency

Website Design and Creative Services

Seeing is the first step to understanding, interest and conversion.

Why Do Website Development and Creative Services Matter?

Most people might not be able to explain what makes good design work, but most everyone knows bad design when they see it. Maybe that’s because our brains process visual information 60,000 times faster than words. Or because 90 percent of the information sent to the brain is visual. Perhaps it’s just that, despite the old adage, our society tends to judge books (and everything else) by their covers. 

Indeed, 94 percent of first impressions relate to a website’s design, and site visitors glean 75 percent of their credibility evaluation based on website design as well. To be certain, graphic and web design covers a considerable swath of the marketing landscape, and the right look can set the right tone for a wide range of conversations and engagement.

 

Our Approach

The importance of high quality graphic and web design is not lost on marketers — 71 percent say visual content is a quite important part or very important part of their overall marketing strategy. Still, 43 percent of marketers say consistently producing visual content is their biggest challenge. That’s where our team of art directors, graphic designers and production designers come in. With years of experience and training across industries, they work confidently on any design element or undertaking, from landing pages to logo design and email marketing to social media posts. 

Our belief is that no design task is too small to be thoughtfully done, and no ask is too complex to be translated into something legible and impactful. As a full service creative team, we’re here to be the experts in arenas our client teams don’t have the time or resources to manage. We act as a natural extension of our clients, working with our industry specialized strategy team members to streamline projects and apply brands correctly and creatively to make every piece sing. 

 

 

Get in touch to learn more about our creative services.

 

Our Clients

 

We believe that content marketing and design services go hand-in-hand and we operate accordingly. Our writers and designers collaborate at every stage of creative projects to ensure every piece is purpose built to serve client goals. To that end, our comprehensive graphic design services go beyond understanding kerning and color theory to industry trend insight that covers every channel and medium, including print, video, digital and social media. 

Our full-service creative team, known internally as the Studio, relishes the opportunity to dig deep into our clients’ brands and execute ambitious projects that move the needle. Good design work makes an impact across the business spectrum. Impactful presentation decks and brochures, informative resources and thoughtfully structured e-books and infographics take sales enablement to new heights. Paid and digital marketing creative extends the brand to new channels, while eye-catching social media assets capture audience attention outside the standard sales cycle. 

 

 

Not content simply to create beautiful work, our team keeps tabs on strategic considerations such as target audience, user experience, accessibility, modular design and search engine optimization to extend the impact and usefulness of every piece.

 

Creative Services At-A-Glance

Our Studio team works in tandem to create copy, design and video to bring our clients’ brands, products and events to life. We’ve yet to meet a creative project we couldn’t tackle, but the below list captures what you might call our usual suspects, greatest hits or bread and butter.

Branding:

Every story needs a beginning. When it comes to marketing, the brand isn’t just the first sentence, it’s the whole first chapter. From discovery and exploratory workshops to brand, visual and copy guides, CSG has the tools to build and launch identities.

Content Creation:

With former journalists, publishers and paralegals in the mix, polished and professional copy is the name of the game. Any industry. Any style. Say the word and we’ll write it.

Digital Marketing:

Meet customers and prospects where they are — online. From concept and creation to distribution and iteration, our team supports every phase of digital marketing deliverables to drive strong engagement and ROI.

Video Production:

Make it easy. Make it interesting. In a world that’s overwhelmed by content, video has stopping power. From testimonials to social snippets and commercials to explainers, our team can translate your vision for the big (and small) screen.

Website Development and Design:

Those with an eye toward growth need a virtual presence that equals the quality of their work. Modern websites should have a job and support your business goals — our team can help make it happen.

Infographics:

If the average picture is worth a thousand words, the average infographic has a lot to say. Our team balances form and function to deliver visual impact and valuable content.

Print:

It may be a digital world, but the tangible still makes an impression. Whether you need an annual report to wow donors or a compelling leave behind to help seal the deal, our team will ensure it’s picture perfect.

Development is in the Details

Critically, our understanding and experience extend to website design. In an increasingly digital world, client retention and experience can be won or lost on any given web page. Consider: How long are you willing to look around a website for the information you need? While functionality and build have a great deal to do with user experience, it is down to the website design and experience to guide users to desired actions and to make obvious how to achieve their goals. That simple truth holds true across web projects of all sizes, including full-scale websites, landing pages and microsites.

Our team works with website builders and developers to bring functionally sound and aesthetically pleasing websites to life. Our process scales to effectively and efficiently build everything from simple landing pages to ground up websites with custom functionality.

The point isn’t to put as much razzle dazzle as possible on any project, but to create an experience that works for our clients and their audiences. We believe in user friendly builds that give our clients the flexibility they need without the burden of complicated updates. From concept to copy and everything else in between and beyond, our team can provide the support you need to build and launch your project.

Web Design for Form and Function

A beautiful website begins long before we put pixels to digital paper, but once the groundwork is complete, our team is ideally positioned to bring every requirement and bit of information together in a marriage of form and function. We balance brand guidelines and best practices with digital tools that engage users and create positive brand impressions. Nearly every building block that makes a website a website is defined by design: custom graphics, brand videos, team headshots, button styles, banners and even links are visual choices. When those choices complement each other, they go unnoticed by most users, when they don’t, your pages may get attention for the wrong reasons.

The hex code on the overlay for a hero image likely isn’t the kind of detail your marketing team has time to fret over, but it’s precisely the kind of thing our team lives and breathes. We love building beautiful, user friendly sites that communicate brand stories and drive conversions.

 

Good design matters. Working with a team you trust to make it happen for you matters even more. Let our creative services team bring your next project to life so you can focus on everything else.

 

Industry Expertise

There’s an old adage that says to write well, you have to write what you know. We believe that logic applies to work as well, and we’ve made it our business to understand the nuances and landscapes of the industries we serve.

Insights. Influencers. Intellect.