I do love a fun cocktail on my birthday. Although I could very easily (and more affordably) pay $5 for a beer or a soda served in a can, I choose to pay four times the price for a fancy cocktail. Both are drinks. Both refresh my thirst. So why am I, and many other people, happy to pay so much more for a cocktail, or even a mocktail, when both are fundamentally the same thing?

If you’re a small business owner wearing all the hats, you’ve probably spent hours creating designs on Canva for social media posts, website graphics, or handouts, only to receive little to no engagement. Let’s start by looking at some of the ways poor visual communication is hurting your brand and stopping people from connecting with your message.