Carrie Cousins

Procreate Brushes / 6 Dec 2024

Procreate vs. Photoshop: Should You Make the Switch?

Designers are in love with Procreate. The app built for creative professionals makes designing on an iPad easier and more efficient in a completely new way. But can a $9.99 app be a realistic Photoshop competitor?

For some, the answer is a definite yes.

Here are five reasons Procreate could become your go-to design app (and five reasons why it might not). Plus, an introduction to what Procreate is, and why it might be the perfect app for you.

Poster Design / 2 Dec 2024

How to Make a Poster in PowerPoint: 10 Simple Steps

In addition to creating presentations, did you know you can use PowerPoint to design other elements such as posters? Today, we’re walking you through exactly how to make a poster in PowerPoint.

While not everyone thinks about making a poster design in PowerPoint, it’s pretty easy—and is a viable option if you need something quickly, or don’t have other design software available. (Posters made in PowerPoint are frequently used in academic settings for assignments and event promotion on college campuses.) Today, we’re going to take you through the steps of how to make a poster in PowerPoint.

Christmas Templates / 25 Nov 2024

Christmas Graphic Design: 5 Tips for Classy Festive Design

From holiday cards to party invitations, to sales promotions, to baubles on a website design. It’s time to start thinking about ways to spruce up your graphic designs for the Christmas season!

The trick is creating something that looks classy and festive, not gaudy and overdone.

You want Christmas to be threaded through your design, not being garishly overwhelming!

Here are five tips to get you on your way with ideas to get you thinking about Christmas graphic design projects with some downloadable elements you can make your own.

Christmas Templates / 20 Nov 2024

30+ Clever and Funny Christmas Print Ads

Christmas is nigh upon us. You’re likely rushing around like a crazy person this week trying to get all your work done, finish up your shopping, preparing to travel, etc. Let’s take a minute to slow down and absorb some solid Christmas-themed design inspiration.

In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the clever and/or funny Christmas ads. Some will make you laugh, others might earn an approving nod or even a roll of the eyes. All are definitely worth a look and are sure to get your brain in a creative mode.

Poster Design / 18 Nov 2024

10 Tips for Perfect Poster Design

Almost everyone has designed a poster or flier at some point. Whether it was for self-promotion or a client, posters can be a fun way to present a message and do some interesting things with design.

Poster design starts with a common canvas. Common poster sizes are 8.5 by 11-inch letter (or A4), 11 by 17 inches and 22 by 34 inches. Large format poster sizes are commonly 24 inches by 36 inches. Posters can be designed vertically or horizontally, but are most commonly designed with a vertical orientation. Today we’re taking a look at ten useful tips for improving your next poster design!

Without further ado, let’s dive into the poster design tips!

Note: All of the poster designs featured here are pre-made templates from Envato Elements. You can download and use them to create your own poster or flyer designs.

CV & Resume Templates / 13 Nov 2024

40+ Stylish Resume Color Schemes for 2025

Resume design can be a funny thing. Where’s the line between too little color and too much? We’re featuring 20+ resume color schemes (with stunning examples) to help give you some ideas.

I believe it is a balance between showing off your personality and design style about the job you are applying for. So, you might have a couple of resume designs, depending on who you are sending them to.

Another factor is printing. Are you going with a design that requires professional printing or are you doing it yourself? Think about all these things as you peruse these stylish resume color schemes for inspiration. (Note: Mixes are provided in HEX, but if you plan to print, make sure to use CMYK color.)

Christmas Templates / 9 Nov 2024

35+ Christmas Desktop Backgrounds & Wallpapers

Decorating for the holidays can include more than putting up a tree and adding tinsel. Decorating can extend to the digital space as well with great Christmas desktop backgrounds and wallpapers.

We’ve collected dozens of great Christmas desktop backgrounds, so you can change your screen every day during the holiday season if you like. While many of these desktop backgrounds and wallpapers are free, others can be found using stock image services or graphic design asset tools or marketplaces. Happy holidays!

Poster Design / 6 Nov 2024

35+ Stylish Poster Color Schemes 2025

When it comes to designing a poster, a stylish color scheme can go a long way to bringing attention to the design. From bright colors and unusual combinations, to subtle and understated, this is a space where almost anything goes.

Here, we’re diving into some super cool color schemes that you can use in poster design, sharing the hex codes for each poster color scheme to get you started.

Plus, each example is actually available as a template as well, if you want to jump start your design and use any of these specific examples!

Trends / 5 Nov 2024

25+ Web Design Trends to Watch in 2025

The average life of a website is three years. And design elements – such as color and typography – often get updated more frequently than that. That’s why it is so important to keep up with web design trends.

Doing this allows you to make small tweaks to your design today so that it won’t be out of date tomorrow.

This guide will help you create an on-point design plan all year long, incorporating some of the best trends for 2025.

Business / 4 Nov 2024

30 Tips to Learn Web Design in 30 Days

Is learning the basics of web design still on your “someday” list? Why haven’t you got started yet? We’ve put together 30 tips and resources to help you start learning web design this month (and maybe even find yourself a new career path!)

Graphic designers, print designers, and creatives looking to learn something new or break into website need to quit procrastinating. Every day that you don’t take that first step leaves you one day further behind everyone else!

Follow these steps to begin learning how to create your first website, industry best practices, and much more—all in 30 days!

Trends / 1 Nov 2024

Gothic Style Design: A Modern Font & Graphic Trend

One recent emerging trend is an increased use of gothic styles and themes. This trend captures everything from imagery and color schemes to fonts and overall styling.

It’s an almost natural progression and evolution from all of the dark mode designs we’ve seen in recent years to reversion to gothic style.

Here, we’ll look at gothic style design and how you can make this design trend – potentially – work for you. Whether that’s in a poster, flyer, typographic choice, or a website. Let’s dive in!

PowerPoint Templates / 1 Nov 2024

40+ Stylish PowerPoint Color Schemes 2025

Color is an element that can make or break a design, and that rule holds true for presentation design as well. Choosing the right PowerPoint color scheme is super important.

But there’s one extra thing to consider – where your presentation will be given. A PowerPoint presentation can look quite different on a computer or tablet versus on a projected screen.

When it comes to selecting a PowerPoint color scheme, this is an important consideration. We’ve rounded nearly stylish PowerPoint color schemes as inspiration. While darker color schemes might look great close-up on screens, opt for lighter backgrounds (for enhanced readability) for projected presentations.

Note: The last color in each scheme is for the slide background.