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Should You Hire A Designer Before You Start Your Business?

In today's competitive marketplace, first impressions matter. A well designed brand can make the difference between a customer choosing your business or your competitor's. That's why it's so important to invest in professional design from the very beginning.Here are the top 7 reasons why you should hire a designer before you start your business:1. Create a strong brand identity. A designer can help you create a cohesive brand identity that will make your business stand out from the crowd. This i...

Choosing a Name for Your Business

Your business name is one of the most important decisions you will make as a new entrepreneur. It will be the first thing potential customers see and hear, and it will play a big role in shaping their perception of your brand.That's why it's important to choose a name that is:Memorable: Customers should be able to easily remember and pronounce your name.Relevant: Your name should give customers a good idea of what your business does.Unique: You want your name to stand out from the...

What are Brand Guidelines?

As a graphic designer, I know the importance of brand guidelines. They are a set of rules and standards that define how a brand should be represented visually. This includes things like the brand's logo, colour palette, typography, and imagery style.Brand guidelines ensure that a brand is presented consistently across all platforms. This includes everything from the company's website and social media pages to its marketing materials and product packaging. When customers see the same branding ele...

What Does a Graphic Designer Do?

A graphic designer is a professional who creates visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers.Graphic designers can work on a wide range of projects, including website design, branding, packaging, print materials, and more. They use a combination of art and technology to create designs that are visually appealing, effective, and communicate the intended message.One of the key responsibilities of a graphic designer is to u...

Does Your Brand Need a Redesign?

Brands need to evolve and adapt to remain relevant in a constantly changing marketplace. A brand redesign can help you to better connect with your target audience, differentiate yourself from competitors, and improve overall perception of your business.There are several signs that it may be time for a brand redesign. If your brand looks outdated or no longer reflects the values and mission of your business, it's time to consider a change. Additionally, if you're struggling to stand out in a crow...

Typography Explained

With so many font options available it can be hard and overwhelming to choose the right font for your brand. Let's have a look at the most common font types and examples. ...

What is Lossless or Lossy?

Lossless or lossy refers to how data is compressed in a file and how much information it retains.Lossless is a type of data compression that allows the original data to be reconstructed perfectly from the compressed data. This means that no information is lost during the compression process. It is often used for digital audio and image files.In comparison, lossy refers to a type of data compression that results in a reduction of the original data, usually for the purpose of saving storage space ...

What's the difference between Raster and Vector?

Raster images are composed of pixels and have a defined proportion determined by their resolution. This means if they were created at a certain size, that size cannot be stretched or altered without compromising quality or becoming distorted. You should always save raster files at the size they are intended for use to maintain their resolution integrity. Standard raster files are JPEG, PNG, and GIF....

What's the difference between Hi-Resolution and Low-Resolution?

Hi or Low Resolution refers to the density of pixels in an image. Dots per inch (DPI) or Pixels per inch (PPI) are units of measure that communicate the density of pixels in an image. Images used for the web will have lower resolution, with 72 DPI as the standard. Images used for print will have higher resolution, with 300 DPI or greater as the standard. Be careful not to create an image for print that is low-res; otherwise, it will end up pixelated and distorted; or an image for the web that is...

What's the difference between RGB and CMYK?

RGB colour is a model used for on-screen, like digital and web-based graphics.Red, green, and blue light are combined in various ways to reproduce a wide range of colours on the light spectrum.The RGB model is a light additive colour model; colours begin as black and get lighter and lighter as more colour (light) is added. This means that colours are added together to create lighter colours: in the summation of all light on the RGB spectrum, you generate white (#ffffff), and in the absence of li...

Eight essential graphic design file types

If you don't know the difference between a JPEG and a PNG file, here are eight essential graphic design file type descriptions to help you out....

Instagram sizes that you should know

If you use Instagram for your brand or business, here are 5 different Instagram sizes that you should know:...

What's the difference between rebranding and refresh?

When it comes to branding there is a difference between rebranding and refresh.Rebranding - a complete brand makeover. Redoing and evaluating your entire brand identity.This means going over your strategy and reassessing who your target market is, your brand personality, tone, voice, and imagery.This is perfect if you are looking to target a completely new audience!Refresh - a brand refresh is updating or modernising your brand visual identity, but keeping your strategy the same.This could mean ...

What are logo variations?

Below are the three main logo variations that you need for your brand or business:...

What is responsive website design?

Responsive design is an approach to web design that makes your web content adapt to the different screen and window sizes of a variety of devices. For example, your content might be separated into different columns on desktop screens, because they are wide enough to accommodate that design. If you separate your content into multiple columns on a mobile device, it will be hard for users to read and interact with. Responsive design makes it possible to deliver multiple, separate layouts of your co...

Branding Photography

Branding is more than a logo, fonts and colours. Your visual identity is actually made up of lots of different elements including photography but what is brand photography?Brand photography is a suite of professional images that represent your business visually and fit with your visual identity through the use of colours, tone, props and more. These can include you, your team, your products, your space and other things that make your business unique.Brand photography makes your brand more relata...

What is Colour Psychology?

Colour psychology examines how colours affect human emotions and behaviour.  Your consumers’ perception of your brand is affected by colour psychology, whether launching a new website, re-branding or creating marketing assets. Colours are often regarded as evoking emotions based on memories we associate with specific tones throughout our lives. For example, we tend to feel warm and at peace when we look at a yellow sun....

Favourite Google Fonts

There are over 1,052 different Google Font families (at the time of writing this) that are available for free. Google Fonts are maintained and delivered by Google, which means they're guaranteed to be safe. There are no licensing restrictions and all Google Fonts are open source and free to use in commercial projects. Let's take a look at my top 10 favourite Google Fonts:...

Traits of Colours

Whether it's the colour yellow showing happiness, optimism, and cheer, to the colour red showing determination, passion, and strength, each colour has unique traits. Colour really can influence your marketing and branding.  Everyone views colours very differently, it’s so important to know which colours showcase your business or brand best to make a good first impression. Let's look at a few colours and the traits they have: Yellow Happy OptimisticCheerfulEnergetic Innovati...

Are you trying to choose the best colour scheme for your business website?

If you're trying to choose the best colour scheme for your business website, you'll be interested to know that colour psychology can influence visitor behaviour with 84.7% of consumers citing colour as the primary reason they buy a particular product.*When people buy:93% look at visual appearance6% look at texture1% decide on sound/smellResearch reveals people make a subconscious judgement about an environment or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing.Between 62% and 90% of that assessment...

The Best Stock Photography Sites

Some of us have a library of perfectly branded content to choose from compared to some of us who only have a couple of headshots. If you pick the right stock photography and mix it up with your own imagery and graphic content, it can easily help you balance things out for your brand. Stock photos generally get a bad rap for being overused, unprofessional and lacking in the personality. I've come across some great stock photography sites over the years and I want to share them with you! Here's a ...

Colour Palettes for Brands

Understanding what type of business you are, and who your key target audience is, will help you to choose the best primary colour for your brand. This choice has the potential to influence buying decisions, the mood and behaviour of your customers, and also how your brand is perceived in the market. Each colour has a different meaning and strikes different emotions with different users, depending on their experiences, and other relationships they have had with similar colours. Although each indi...