Blog
How to build a brand when you don’t know who your ideal customer is?
You know how in the beginning of your business, for marketing purposes and for anything else, you develop an ideal customer avatar (ICA)? This is a critical process for being able to build a successful business model and offering. And it happens in the very beginning...
Printable Goal Tracking Sheets
Get them here: Printable_tracking-sheets-8.5x11 While you're here, why not checking out the blog.
How to create consistent branding without brand guidelines?
One of the reasons we create visual guidelines (logo, colors, fonts, etc.) is to ensure that any marketing and visual communication we put out there is always aligned to our brand. We want everything to be consistent. If you have well-crafted brand guidelines and a...
Have a beautifully efficient year with just enough planning
I love planning and organizing things. I also love making frameworks and defining processes. And of course, I have my preferred way of keeping tabs with all of that. When I couldn't find a 2019 planner that suited my planning and organizing style and goal setting...
How to work with designers: design brief
Do you outsource design tasks and find that often the end result looks nothing like what you were expecting? This is a super common friction point between designers and their clients. If this happened to you, maybe you hired an unexperienced designer — or just one...
How to stand out in a crowded marketplace
Are you intimidated by the competition in your industry? Do you feel like the marketplace is already crowded with folks offering the exact same services or products as you are? If you are, you’re not alone. All entrepreneurs face competition. Even if you’re offering a...
How to choose the right colors for your brand
Colors are critical to your brand. The right colors will strengthen your messaging and brand personality. Whereas the wrong colors may put your audience off or even make them feel uneasy. Your prospective customer has to be able to think and feel “this is meant for...
Unstuck yourself and start defining your branding today
Are you stuck with your business because you can't seem to get the branding done? Do you feel like the branding you have doesn't reflect who you are or what your business is really about? Or maybe you bought a cheap logo, but it just doesn't feel right, or something...
Create branded assets quickly with a design system
As an entrepreneur, you have lots of communication needs. And as a rule of thumb, this communication should be branded — and should look that way, too. But hiring a designer to put together designed assets every time you need something can get expensive and take time,...
What is your Brand DNA?
What is your brand made of? Most people will associate a brand with its visual look and feel — or its logo. A marketer will tell you your brand is in the stories your business tells through marketing. And they're not wrong. But...
Build a brand you love and feel proud of
As a solopreneur, your company is your career and passion. Your business truly is what you make of it. It can be very personal, and it can be extremely empowering. Running your own business can even be a healing experience. It is also what you spend the most of your...
How to know if your design is good enough to publish?
One of the most common questions I get from non-designers is "how do I know when my design is good enough to publish?" People seem to think that there's some magical gut feeling to tell you that "wow, now it is ready and amazing." The truth is, even experienced...
How to choose the right Canva template for your leadmagnet
Design is becoming more accessible for masses with easy to use online design applications like Canva.com. This is great for solopreneurs and, really, anyone who has just started their business and can't afford to (or don't want to) invest in hiring a professional...
Top 3 reasons you need a brand identity
For many new entrepreneurs, building a brand identity might be the last thing on the list. There's already so much to do with naming your company, getting a business license, finding new clients, filing for any needed permits, planning for marketing, and so on....
Download our FREE Logo design guide
So, you're building a new brand? Congratulations. We have made the work a bit easier for you with our new FREE "How to create your first logo." The Guide will walk you through how different styles can help represent your brand personality, what colors communicate, and...
Design tips for non-designers
Having a professional designer in your team is great. A good designer is worth her weight in avocados and Peet's Coffee — not to mention a healthy financial reward. Designers often specialize in an area like branding or user experience, and that makes their process...
Knowing your audience is everything
How do you know what is your friend’s favorite food? How do you find out what your significant other would like to do on Valentine’s Day? How do you know if your mom liked her Mother’s Day gift? The easiest way to find out is to just ask. When I tell people that I...
How to manage your designers
In the 14 years of my career, I’ve had 7 employers and equally many managers — some of whom I still think of with respect and others with less so. For example, one manager tried to damage my career by lying about my work behind my back, and outright broke the law by...
How not to feel possessive about your designs
As a young designer, it is difficult not to feel deep ownership to your work. In general, ownership is good. It makes us take initiative, move forward, and take pride for our work. In design, however, this concept can get tricky. Unless you are a fine artist or create...
How to create a portfolio that will land you a job (Part 1)
As a designer, your portfolio might be the single most important tool you have to help showcase your talent and land a job in your field. In most job openings for design positions, there is a request to send along a link to your online portfolio. And when it is not...
Research tips for beginners
It should go without saying that doing research is critical for design — especially UX design, but other areas too. This might mean background research where you dig into the topic at hand and try to learn about the history or it can mean mapping out the current...
Being nice is a design skill
Design is a team sport: designers work together and interact with customers, colleagues, teams, and stakeholders. Collaboration doesn’t always come easy. Interpersonal skills can be measured not only by the success of the project but also by the happiness of the...
Baby steps towards design leadership
Leadership can be intimidating, especially if you have just started your career. It is perfectly normal to feel uncomfortable or unsure when you realize it is expected of you. In fact, little nervousness or stress can be a good thing: it ensures we stay aware of our...
Designers can make a difference
On March 8, people all over the world celebrate International Women’s Day to mark the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. The meaning of the day should resonate with anyone who has a mother, a wife or a girlfriend, daughters, sisters or...