Integrating your visual strategy and social media strategy is more important than ever for marketers. To give some essential design advice to social media marketers, Dustin W. Stout stopped by #bufferchat.
Check out the full Storify curation of the chat here!

Why should marketers know basic design principles?
From Dustin:
- “The same reason they to know basic fashion principles. If you look a mess you’ll be perceived as such.”
- “People want to share things that make them look good. Why would they share something visually unappealing?”
Other great insights:
- “Because marketing (unless purely audio) is very much based on visuals. Not just the message but how it’s presented.” @avizuber
- “It’s just great practice for designers/marketers to understand each other. Improves communication and efficiency.” @abowersock
- “Because design influence conversion and experience, which marketers need to have for success.” @KevinWaugh
- “Marketing is all about getting your message seen-The better design, the easier the message will be delivered…and received.” @apartmentalist
@buffer A1: Do you think the Marketing Artists should know design, vs. the Marketing Scientists? #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/Qu75s3x2PP
— Johnny (@Johnny_Grimmer) December 3, 2014
What are the most important design rules to follow?
From Dustin:
- “Balance (symmetry), Framing (consistent whitespace), Contrast (ability to discern between subject/background).”
Other great insights:
- “Stay within your brand guidelines, be consistent, and have a second set of eyes! Analysis paralysis can set in pretty easily” @marymallard
- “Know your audience, rule of thirds, color theory, hierarchy in layout, proper typography pairings (!)…just to name a few.” @mandy_stark
- “Legibility and proper, relevant imagery are two things I think are super important! Oh, and keeping things fun!” @misterfeeney
- “One of my very first design lessons (in high school newspaper!) “Never have someone looking off page into space.” ” @TheNameIsCasie
A2 The most important design rule to follow. Less is more #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/5mvFKnTnKQ — Nivas Ravichandran (@nivasravi) December 3, 2014
What should marketers know about copyright?
From Dustin:
- “It’s more important than you think. Value people’s work & respect their rights. See http://dustn.ws/1AdoFC3“
- “Always err on the side of caution. Ask before using som1’s work if it’s not clearly marked FREE to use.”
Other great insights:
- “A basic understanding is crucial. Basically, don’t borrow, steal, or use anything unless you’re positive you can.” @EmilyaCarlton
- “Find an image that’s legal to take or get creative! Make your own image for your brand & work off that w/ your design team.” @outsider_nyc
- “The whole lot! Know too many that have been burned due to basic errors. Always verge on the side of caution!” @mike_mcgrail
What are your favorite design tools or apps?
From Dustin:
- “All the best (free) design apps I recommend are here – http://dustn.ws/1CD7Kh7 & http://dustn.ws/1CD7LBL“
- “Notable mentions are @canva & @vsco – if I found myself w/o Photoshop, all I would need are those two.”
- “I should have clarified since I’m a professional designer I use Photoshop and Illustrator all day long.”
Other great tools and apps mentioned:
- Invision App
- Sketch App
- Spruce App
- Skitch
- InstaQuote
- InstaCollage
- Waterlogue
- IMadeFace
- MacPaint
- CorelDraw
- Pixlr
- PicMonkey
- Inkscape
- GIMP
- FontSquirrel
- Wordswag
- Over
- Piktochart
- Diptic App
- Aviary
- Infogr.am
- Lightroom
- Photogene
- Snapseed
- iWatermark
- Snagit
Where do you go to find stock photos?
From Dustin:
- “I have a go-to list of FREE image resources – http://dustn.ws/1FM4puq – 3 favs are @PexelsPhotos @BlogPhotoTv & mopho.to”
Other great stock photo sites:
- Unsplash
- PublicDomainPictures
- Shutterstock
- Morgue File
- FreeImages.com
- iStock
- Death to the Stock Photo
- Flickr
- Thinkstock
- SiteBuilderReport
- Authentic Snaps
- Pixabay
- Creative Market
- Pexels
- The Stocks.im
- Gratisography
- NewOldStock
- Little Visuals
More resources:
- Design Skilz List of Websites to Download Free Photos
- Dustin Senos List of Stock Photo Sites
- Buffer Blog: Free Image Sources
- Free image newsletter
Who do you follow for design inspiration?
From Dustin:
- “My biggest inspiration comes from @abduzeedo @alliswell@bgardner @RafalTomal & finding new things via @SidebarIO“
- “I also love @RafalTomal‘s > http://typespiration.com/ “
Other people to follow:
- “I also love what @DiGiornoPizza did on BuzzFeed with stock#photography recently: https://twitter.com/dswebsme/status/539939081421987840 …” @dswebsme
- “Right now I get a lot of inspiration from@pantone” @MoOrmiston
- “would name @canva & @PegFitzpatrick profiles and of course, love the images on your post, guys!” @SEMrush
- “Following a community of designers for inspiration on@Behance @dribbble @ID_Designed @httpster_ and @Pinterest” @riacruz_
- “I gotta give a shoutout to @francescomugnai @chrisspooner@justcreative, and @Alexis_Lockhart IRL” @andreipetrik
- “I’m a big fan of @hemeon and @jenna. Love http://muz.li/ and surfing@dribbble. And Doodling with my kids.” @avizuber
- ” for design inspiration, I follow @terrylwhite @paultrani @Robdobi @Carrot @buffer and I’m on @Behance” @The_ChrisBryant
- “@jesssicahische @justcreative and of course @threadless for new artists!” @abowersock
- “I’m not a designer, so I keep it simple and stalk @Pinterest and my favorite museums: @metmuseum and @GettyMuseum” @reginawalton
- “@smashingmag and @webdesignledger to name a few.” @minddnd
- “All these guys in this list! ? https://twitter.com/vvbellur/lists/design/members …” @vvbellur
- “Huge fan of @Pinterest and @thefwa for design inspiration. @dribbble can be good too.” @JoshStAubin
- “Designers: 20 Tumblr Blogs For Inspiration http://ow.ly/FiYXg” @mjboyce
- “I like @Visually too; great company with lots of amazing and inspiring content too” @HireQ_inc
- “I love everything that @TheKatieAHall does. that girl knows design. Shes an awesome friend too. You should all follow her.” @domgarrett
Where can you go for more design tips?
From Dustin:
- “The @canva blog/design school. @RafalTomal & @bgardner’s blogs & this http://dustn.ws/1zNjOGN <— best article on #design.”
Other great resources:
- Canva blog
- Just Creative
- Creative Bloq
- Behance
- Six Revisions
- Logo of the Day
- Smashing Magazine
- UX Mag
- Fast Co Design
- 99U
- Type Connection
Books to check out:
- The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
- The Language of Graphic Design by Richard Poulin
- A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
Thank you to everyone who joined in! Catch #bufferchat each Wednesday on Twitter for the latest chat and advice! Image sources: IconFinder, Blurgrounds, Death to the Stock Photo