The quarantine proved to be a challenge to businesses operating to their full capacity. Some had unexpected shutdowns, some serve in a limited capacity, while others are still business as usual. It can become more challenging for those still working to reach customers than ever considering the circumstances the quarantine has put everyone in. However, it shouldn’t pose an issue of online visibility.

Social media is one of the many channels that provide some relief in terms of marketing and advertising. For your business to stand out, you need to invest in graphic design projects to aid your marketing and advertising efforts.

In this article, I discuss the ten graphic design projects that you should request from your designer or design service.

 

1. Infographics

Infographics are one of the graphic design projects you can request during the quarantine. Since it’s digital, all you have to do is publish it once you receive the design or you’re done creating the design. There’s been a shift towards educational resources and quarantine-related trivia in informing the public during this time.

Small businesses can raise awareness over the impact of social distancing or wearing masks and washing hands. In terms of its marketing value, high-quality and well-researched infographics may get more shares. That way, people don’t fall victim to fake news or wrong information.

Here’s a simple yet effective educational infographic from Geisinger about social distancing. The infographic shows the exposure degrees of social distancing. Plus, since it’s a short, digestible infographic, one can share and republish it anywhere. 

Another infographic comes from AdWeek. It’s a graphic of the activities consumers have done since the quarantine. It’s a well-designed infographic. What it does is emphasize the data with colors contrasting the background. View the full infographic here.

Here are some infographic ideas you can create during the quarantine:

• Cooking (recipes, healthier eating)
• Donating
• Exercising
• Recommending Do-It-Yourself activities
• Learning

 

2. Merchandise

during the quarantine, only essential products (e.g., medical items and food) were allowed for shipping. So non-essentials were delayed for a month or so. Still, it didn’t stop some businesses in producing merchandise to support frontliners. Some companies would have designs made, and the proceeds would even go to frontliners or other causes during the pandemic.

It’s one idea you can have as a graphic design project. You can create and design merchandise for your business, too, so customers can support you at a difficult time.

Look at how Team Manila (a graphic design studio from the Philippines) created merchandise specifically for the quarantine and pandemic. The shirt had a photo of the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal, wearing a mask. According to the studio, any proceeds will go to frontliners and organizations the company supports

Here’s a sweatshirt by We’re Leaving Early. You can have something as simple as a typographic graphic design on the merchandise. They vow to donate 100% of the profits to Meals on Wheels and The Mask Project. Since more people are staying at home, the sweatshirt is a nice touch for those who need extra warmth during these times.

 

3. Advertisements

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) found that there’ll be reduced spending on advertisements in the coming months. It’s projected that it’ll continue until June 2020. Traditional advertising platforms will have a decrease of around 27% to 32% of revenue. 

Traditional advertising platforms like out-of-home and print may have been significantly affected because of the pandemic and eventual quarantine. As an alternative, companies will advertise on social media or other platforms to get more reach.

As for digital ad revenues, they might experience a decrease from 19% to 25%

This can be attributed to the ad guidelines provided by Facebook and Twitter. Facebook cracked down on advertisements related to medical supplies. However, the social media platform allows advertisements (aside from what’s regularly allowed) for:

• Donations
• Business hours
• Brand awareness
• Information and education purposes

As for Twitter, brands continue to post advertisements like before. However, there’s been an increase of support for frontliners and communities affected by the pandemic. Here are the permitted advertisement contents for Twitter during the pandemic:

• Business model changes
• Customer and employee support
• Public service announcements
• News about the pandemic (exempted under the Political Ads context)

There was a time when people were scared of receiving packages because they might contract diseases through the packaging or plastic. This may have caused a dip in sales for stores open during the pandemic, even with strong marketing efforts. However, shipping and delivery companies assured the public that the packages are clean.

In terms of their marketing efforts, these industries are challenged during the quarantine:

• Airlines
• Tourism
• Leisure
• Automotive

Plus, those operating may still have difficulty marketing to their audience due to a lack of people in the streets and monetary limitations. Despite such, companies continue to post advertisements to instill a sense of normalcy despite these times. That’s why you should include advertisements as part of your graphic design projects during the quarantine

Check out this ad from Burger King. The ad shows that an individual can recreate a Whopper at home with the ingredients shown. It’s a straightforward advertisement. They just presented the ingredients needed to satisfy a foodie’s craving. Even if this might hurt Burger King’s sales (after all, they did teach their customers how to make a Whopper at home), this enables people to stay at home.

Look at this ad from Toms. They integrated the idea of a stay-at-home through the copy. Since most are staying at home, they get plus points for advertising their slippers instead of their signature Alpargatas.

 

4. Website

A website update can give a heads-up on what’s going on in your business at this time. Some eCommerce businesses have indicated delivery updates, operating status, and product availability. What they do is they add a small section of the copy on their homepage, and that’s how they inform their customers.

In some cases, they would dedicate a small section of their homepage, just like Uber did. As one of the companies affected by the quarantine, they provided help and resources to support communities. They didn’t overcomplicate the design and stuck to the black motif. There’s even a cityscape hero image on the update.

In contrast, the Crystal Wicks website used the opportunity to promote products. It’s not a bad thing! This shows that despite the quarantine, they’re still producing items intended for self-care. As for the website design, they used a banner image with four products related to the quarantine. It’s straightforward, and one can simply hover a link below so they can get redirected to the product page.

 

5. Email Newsletter

An email newsletter is an effective way to continue communicating with your customers or users online. You don’t have to send weekly updates about your business. You can send over important updates regarding delivery, open hours, available stock, or limited operations and employees. Like the website update, you can invest in this as one of your graphic design projects during the quarantine

Get inspired by this email newsletter design from Dunkin’. They outlined the measures their employees take and what a customer can do during the quarantine. As you can see, also in the email, they’ve integrated their branding colors. It’s a plus from them for being consistent.

On the other hand, here’s Asana’s newsletter on what working users can do during the quarantine. They’ve integrated illustrations in different sections of the newsletter. Like Dunkin’, Asana stuck to their brand identity. It shows that despite the quarantine, users can still have fun and be productive through their app.

 

6. Ebook

One of the many strategies marketers do to drive traffic to their website is repurposing their content. This works well if you publish blogs or post resources or images. Ebooks are one way to republish your content online. This has been a practice by marketers so that they could widen their reach. It’s a plus if it’s free! However, you may choose to list it on Amazon and other sites to sell it.

If you’re planning to do an ebook, check out designs from EI Design and Travelperk. 

For the one by EI Design, they provide a guide on how their business can survive during the pandemic. The design is simple, and it makes you curious about the strategies and plans they’ve suggested for affected individuals and companies.

As for Travelperk, they’re giving tips on how companies can bounce back through travel after the pandemic. In terms of design, they followed graphic design trends in terms of asymmetry. As for its marketing value, it’s good they’ve created a resource on the measures and trends on travel after the pandemic.

 

7. Social Media Posts

Social media has some of the most active platforms on the internet. Most people at home have one or at least multiple accounts across different channels.

Fortunately, due to the shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, you can get more impressions and engagement on your posts. You can post graphic designs, illustrations, and quotes. Perhaps, you’re hosting a live digital event or have an announcement, which means you can publish your flyer or invitation. Maybe, you want to raise awareness on donations and causes you’re supporting.

The downside is since most people are at home, your posts can get drowned from the noise. It’s either from sharing posts from your competitors or other reliable sources. That’s why you need to queue social media as part of your graphic design projects during the quarantine.

Just a reminder: always publish accurate and reliable information. You don’t want to get slammed by followers or fans of the page by posting fake news or unverified sources.

A common post on social media guaranteed to make an impression are quotes or sayings. It’s to assure people that they’re not alone during the quarantine. That’s what Teespring did for their social media post. They wanted to show solidarity to everyone associated with the Teespring company, and they’re doing everything they can even with limited capacity.

Meanwhile, Trello knows that they’re business, as usual, considering the nature of their company. As such, the graphic shows that during remote work, people are sending memes and making coffee. However, it seems they want people to know that Trello is an essential tool to use to complete the Remote Work hierarchy of needs.

 

8. Printables

To spice things up, printables are another option to spread awareness or do fun stuff during the quarantine. You can have these printables posted at your home to remember things regarding the quarantine or pandemic. Perhaps, you can color an illustration or fill up information about yourself on it. 

It’s a marketing tool, too, since you’re providing something people can interact with offline (if they do have printers, of course). Plus, they could remember you for providing resources or enjoyment for those bored at home.

Check out this poster from Grand Valley State University. They want individuals to remember to wash their hands during the quarantine. It’s a poster one can stick on or hang up on their bathroom wall. It’s great they added their logo there too, so you’ll know who the source of this poster is.

If your customers have gotten acquainted with the basics of handwashing, they can opt to go for coloring a blank illustration at home. Here’s a page from the Better Day Books for their Quarantine Coloring Patterns. It’s a cool illustration that one will enjoy and relate to because of the message. For copyright and retention purposes, Better Day Books added their name on the side, with their website and the Instagram handle.

 

9. Podcast Images

Perhaps during the quarantine, are you thinking about starting your own podcast series? Musicoomph finds that 22% of the US population listens to a podcast every week. A podcast can amplify your voice towards an audience you might not have reached yet.

It’s not that difficult to start a podcast. Of course, think about the name of your podcast, the topic you want to discuss, and the equipment and software you need. You don’t need to have high-tech equipment. However, it’s recommended that if you want to have better sound quality, it’s best to buy one with a higher value than the most affordable ones in the market.

Aside from that, you need graphic design images for your podcast too. You need your cover image. Plus, if you want, you can have blog images or YouTube thumbnails for your podcast.

Podcasts like Start Yours and Goal Talk started before the pandemic. However, they adjusted their graphics accordingly.

On the Start Yours YouTube thumbnail, they use a photo of an entrepreneur they interviewed for the episode. Plus, they added the text online business and Covid-19 to show that the episode was centered on those topics.

Meanwhile, for the Goal Talk design, they used their standard design but added the illustrations of a small business with icons and the text Covid-19. This way, listeners know they’re expecting a talk regarding managing a business during the pandemic.

 

10. Blog Image

Blogging is another option you can do during the quarantine. It’s a constant you or your business can do during the quarantine. After all, more people are at home, and some may have nothing to do, they can visit your blog for information, details, education, and other things you want to write about. That way, you drive more traffic to your blog.

However, for it to be effective, you need a compelling (and original) blog image on your posts. Consider queueing this one as one of your many graphic design projects during the quarantine.

For some, staying at home or indoors can become difficult for them. Some would point out it’s because they don’t like the people they’re with, cooped up, or alone.

Greenpeace posted a blog on how to care for one another during the quarantine. If you see their header image, you can have one similar to that. It doesn’t have to include the same number of elements on the image. You can make it simpler or get inspiration from them. Either way, the great thing about the header image is they summarized the content of the article on the image. In that sense, your readers know what to expect.

Here’s Flock’s take on the enjoyable things you can do at home on a lighter note. They used an illustration as their header image. As you can see in the header image, there are people and smartphones. It’s telling of what’s going on in the world and how we communicate and receive information lately.

Submit and request all these graphic design projects with Design Doctor. You can request these design types and more for your marketing strategy. You’ll receive high-quality designs within 24 to 48 hours. A Design Doctor subscription starts at $349/mo. Get started on your plan today.