# B2B marketing design: assets that don't look like stock
[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/b2b-marketing-design)
Business buyers scroll past a lot of nearly identical blue posts. A small, consistent design system makes your case studies, webinars and link previews recognisable before anyone reads the logo.
## The short version
- Most B2B marketing design looks alike because it draws on the same blue palettes, isometric illustrations and stock photos of meetings.
- A small design system of one background, one type pairing, a few layouts and fixed sizes produces more distinctive assets than designs made from scratch each time.
- Case study cards work best when they lead with one measurable result and name the customer only with permission.
- Every page you share should have its own 1200×630 Open Graph image, because the link preview is often the first thing a buyer sees.
- LinkedIn is the main feed for B2B content, and portrait 1080×1350 images take the most room in it.
Good **B2B marketing design** looks like one company, not like the category. The way to get there is a small system rather than a pile of separate assets: one background that is recognisably yours, a single type pairing, four or five layouts, and fixed sizes for LinkedIn, link previews and slides. Fill those layouts with real numbers and real customers instead of stock photos and isometric people, and your case study cards, webinar promos and link previews start to look like they came from somewhere specific.
## Why B2B marketing looks the same
B2B teams work fast, with small design budgets and a strong pull towards looking safe. The result is a shared visual language: trustworthy blue, flat illustrations of people at giant laptops, handshake photos and dashboards floating in space. It is not wrong, but it is invisible, which is a costly thing to be in a feed full of competitors. The pattern is explored in [why every feed looks the same](https://gradiently.design/guide/why-every-feed-looks-the-same).
### Looks like stock
- Corporate blue because it feels safe
- Isometric people and floating dashboards
- Handshakes, skylines and meeting room photos
- "Innovative solutions" as a headline
- A new style for every campaign
### Looks like you
- A background and palette nobody else uses
- Real product screens, cropped tight
- Your team and your customers, with permission
- One result or one claim, in plain words
- The same system on every asset
## Build a small design system first
A system sounds like a big project. For marketing assets it is a single page of decisions, and it saves hours every week afterwards.
| Decision | Choose | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Background | One distinctive background or family | It is the largest area of every asset and does most of the recognition |
| Type | One heading font, one body font | Two fonts are enough; more looks like several companies |
| Layouts | Stat, quote, announcement, event, cover | Covers nearly every B2B post you will make |
| Sizes | 1080×1350, 1200×630, 1920×1080 | Feed, link preview and slides |
| Voice | Three words that describe how you write | Keeps copy as consistent as the visuals |
Five decisions, made once. Write them down where everyone who makes assets can find them, and review them once a year rather than once a campaign.
For SaaS teams, [SaaS branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/saas-startup-branding) covers the identity side in more depth. The point here is narrower: whatever the identity is, apply it the same way every time.
## Case study cards that buyers believe
Case studies are some of the most persuasive B2B content, and often the worst designed: a long PDF nobody opens. Pull the result out into a card that reads in two seconds, then link to the full story. [Case study design](https://gradiently.design/guide/case-study-design) covers the long version.
A portrait case study card with the result 6 weeks to 9 days as the headline and a short line of context
An example layout: the result is the headline, the context sits underneath, and the customer's name goes in only with their written permission.
- Lead with one measurable result. Before and after reads fastest.
- Name the customer and use their logo only with permission, and keep their brand smaller than the result.
- Add one line of context so the number means something.
- Follow with a quote card from the same customer, in their words.
- Use the same layout for every case study, so they read as a series.
- Turn the card into a slide for sales decks, so the proof appears in calls as well as feeds.
## Webinar and event promos
Webinars are a B2B staple, and their promo graphics follow a strict hierarchy: topic first, then date and time with the time zone, then speakers. A full guide is in [webinar promotion graphics](https://gradiently.design/guide/webinar-promotion-graphics). In the system, the event layout is simply one of your five, wearing the same background as everything else.
A portrait webinar promo titled Pricing pages that convert with date, time and duration underneath
The LinkedIn feed version: topic large, date and time zone right under it.
A wide link preview for the same webinar, with the title on one line
The registration page's link preview, same words, wide format.
## LinkedIn sizes for B2B content
LinkedIn is where most B2B content is seen. Portrait images take the most room in the feed, documents carry longer explainers and the company cover frames everything else. For paid placements, see [LinkedIn ad design](https://gradiently.design/guide/linkedin-ad-design).
- Portrait post 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350
- Square post 1200×1200: 1200 × 1200
- Link image 1200×627: 1200 × 627
- Company cover 2256×382: 2256 × 382
The four LinkedIn shapes a B2B team uses most, drawn to scale.
## An Open Graph image for every page
When a buyer pastes your pricing page into Slack, or a colleague shares a blog post on LinkedIn, the link preview is the first impression. Without an Open Graph image you get a blank box or a random logo. Give every important page its own 1200×630 image, in the same system as everything else. [Open Graph image size](https://gradiently.design/guide/open-graph-image-size) covers the details, and [dynamic OG images](https://gradiently.design/guide/dynamic-og-images) shows how to generate them for every blog post automatically.
```html
```
The tags that make a page share with a large image. Use an absolute https URL for the image.
## Making the system easy for the whole team
In B2B, assets are made by product marketers, sales, founders and agencies, not only designers. The system only holds if it is easier to use than to ignore. In Gradiently, a brand kit holds the logo, palette, fonts and voice; the background is a Mark that no other company can use once you claim it; and Auto ink keeps headlines readable on it without boxes or shadows. Teams that live in ChatGPT or Claude can connect Gradiently and ask for a case study card or webinar promo that opens in the Studio, already on brand. [Connect an AI assistant](https://gradiently.design/guide/connect-ai-assistant) explains the setup.
## FAQ
### How do I make B2B marketing design less generic?
Pick one distinctive background and palette, use real product screens and real customers instead of stock and illustrations, and apply the same few layouts to every asset.
### What size should B2B LinkedIn posts be?
Portrait 1080×1350 takes the most room in the feed. Use 1200×1200 for square posts and 1200×627 for link images.
### What should a case study graphic include?
One measurable result as the headline, a line of context, and the customer's name or logo only with their permission. Link to the full story.
### What size is an Open Graph image?
1200×630 pixels. Set it with the og:image tag on every page you expect people to share.