5 Quick Design Tips

5 Quick Design Tips

by | May 31, 2017 | Blog |

I often get asked about branding and design tips and how to keep your branding and social media collateral looking brilliant across many platforms.

People get so caught up with what things should look like, or that it should be filled with heaps of colour, fonts, images and that they should change things up so that people don’t get bored with what they are looking at.  I think these are the areas that people get confused with when they are putting out their offers and other bits and pieces in the online world for people to see.

My 5 quick design tips to help you get consistent in your brands message in the online space are:

LIMIT YOUR FONTS

When you are looking at fonts to use within your branding, keep it to 2-3 fonts that you use consistently throughout your branding and messages.  Use it for your offers and tips and everything in between from your website if you can to your invoicing and other collateral that may go out to your regular clients or those that may be stalking you without you knowing it, so that people get to recognise you

BE CLEVER WITH COLOUR

When you are choosing colours, think about what that colour may represent or make a person feel.  What colour will resonate with your niche market or the type of person you are wanting to attract to your tribe.  It may not necessarily be your favourite colour.  I learned this in my branding.  Stick to a couple core colours and then use complimentary or accent colours throughout your social media collateral.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

When creating your social media posts and collateral, always remember to keep it simple.  Less is always more when designing, don’t cram too much into visually into a post, as it will create overwhelm in your target market, make it difficult to read and your viewer will not be sure where to look first or be drawn to the most important part of the post.

USE WHITE SPACE

Don’t be afraid to use white space, what I mean by this is having a large area that is not filled with text or overwhelming visuals, it helps the viewer to really engage with the message that you are portraying and also helps keep it clean and crisp and in turn Keeping it simple

CONSISTENCY

Consistency in your visual representation of posts on line is key.  You want people to see your offers and posts and instantly recognise who it is.  This is you key to online presence.  So keeping all the above in check, being consistent with the fonts you use, the colours you use, the voice/tone of the writing, the images people will begin to recognise you in your area of expertise.

If you would like any more information or would like to have a chat about your branding, contact me below.

The 5 Steps in the Design Process

by | May 19, 2017 | Blog | 0 comments

Hi Everyone,

Today I thought that I would write about the design process, as so many people don’t really realise what goes in to creating a logo for example and the reason why it can cost anywhere between $300 – $1000+ for a logo design.

Step 1 – The Brief

Firstly the client briefs us of what they want and need.  Project management timelines are being set as well during a 45 minute consult.
Duration 45min – 1 hour

Step 2 – The Research

After the design consult we begin researching possible ideas that align with their business message and their personal message which will authentically connect with their tribe.  We research colours, competitors, current trends, images and more.
Duration 2-3 hours

Step 3 – The Ideation

After we have researched and looked into what their business is all about, we do a brainstorm to explore a number of concept ideas that may suit the message of their brand and branding.
Duration 1-4 Hours

Step 4 – The production

Designing and refining original artwork, consulting with the client ensuring that we are on with their vision for their brand.  Multiple revisions. Final Design layouts, Putting together style guide with fonts, colours imagery.
Duration 3-10 Hours

Step 5 – The delivery

Providing and handing over the completed files and artwork.  Providing files in a range of formats including source files.
Duration 1-2 Hours

So the total time it takes from the beginning of the project to the handing over of the final files for a logo can be anywhere between 8-20 hours or even more.  This is the reason that logos can cost a bit, as they take a lot of time to create, they are not just a stock image which some may use, but a uniquely crafted piece.

If you are looking to refresh your logo or have any questions around logo design, please contact me.

 

 

 

Canva – Im getting ranty

by | May 9, 2017 | Blog | 0 comments

Hi Lovely peeps, hope you are all well?  Just a warning that today I am getting ranty about the use of Canva.

Ok to start with Canva can have its place when used correctly, but it does not substitute for good design!  I understand why people use it, and even with some training they do not use effectively.  It is also becoming more and more glitchy so I have heard.

With the open use of canva now days, everyone seems to think that they can be a designer, this is so far from the truth.  It takes years of training, learning about the way shapes, colours and imagery go together to tell a story and inevitably create your brand.  So why then does everyone try and do something that is outside their zone of genius, to save themselves some money when these visual elements are so crucial to you and your brand message.

One of the biggest things I see happen is that people over use and put to much into their image and it becomes overwhelming with all the elements in it.  Or their images and fonts change from one pretty canva image to the next and there is no consistency in the message.  They see a pretty picture and think ooh that is nice, I’ll use that, but does that image really suit your message and branding?  Getting it right and consistent is key!!!

The other thing people seem to get when using canva is the ‘ooh look, shiny’ syndrome and get distracted from their message, getting carried away with the pretty pictures, the fonts and colours and elements and end up with an image that has way too many elements in it, or just does not align truly with who they are or their brand, and there are way too many carbon copy images on social media rather than it being crafted specifically for you and your business.

The key to social media images is to have the same type of imagery, the same fonts and colours that are used in your branding so that when people see your offers or social media collateral they instantly recognize that it is you.

Choosing to have a Graphic Designer to create your unique branded images for you or even base images that you can use in Canva is best in the long run and an investment for the business.

So If you are sick of spending hours on Canva moving from image to image endlessly, or your just not sure if your images are hitting the mark get in touch.