Carrie Cousins

Poster Design / 22 Sep 2023

25+ Stylish Poster Color Schemes 2023

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 / 12 Sep 2023

Icon Design in 2023: The Key Trends

Icons might be one of the most important – and underrated – examples of design in your portfolio. Here’s a look at icon design with some inspiring examples.

Icon elements are shown almost everywhere, but sometimes get produced as an afterthought. That shouldn’t be the case. Great icon design can be distinctive and add finesse and flair to a project.

Let’s take a look at what’s new, and what’s hot in icon design!

How to Design a Logo / 11 Sep 2023

What Is Modern Logo Design? 10 Trends + Examples for 2023

Modern logo design is a collection of classic and trending elements, all of which combine together to create a brand mark that feels fresh. Today’s modern design is exemplified by sleek lines, simple lettering, color, and highly defined elements.

Here, we’ll look at trends in modern logo design with examples from large companies and smaller brands.

Whether you’re gearing up for a minimal design, love gradients, like hand-drawn imagery, or have a clear need for a responsive logo, we’ll have you covered with these trends and examples.

Background Textures / 8 Sep 2023

25+ Background Design Trends & Styles for 2023

One of the most important early design decisions you will make is what kind of background will carry a project. Should it be a single color, colorless, use trendy elements such as geometric shapes, gradients, or wood grain patterns? Or would a solid background design can help make a project shine?

Staying on trend with background design styles is important as well. A trendy background choice shows that a website design is modern and the content is new. A modern visual framework can even signal a user that you are thinking about their needs and making the most of the tools that will make their experience better.

So how do you do it? Here’s a look at background design trends and styles, with a few great options to try.

Business / 5 Sep 2023

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!

Business / 4 Sep 2023

What Is a Web Design Proposal? (And How to Write One)

The most successful design projects often start with a successful business foundation. Whether you work on an agency team with other creatives or are a freelancer trying to sell your own products and services a solid web design proposal can help you win clients and set expectations for work.

Here’s everything you need to know about creating a web design proposal that will help you land new clients. We’ll discuss what a web design proposal is, how to write one, and share some helpful templates to get you started fast.

Instagram Templates / 30 Aug 2023

Instagram Grid Templates: 20 Examples + Tips

A secret used by some of the boldest visual brands on Instagram is to use a grid or puzzle template. What this style of template does is create 12 cohesive panels that come together as a single image when someone visits your Instagram profile page.

The trick here is that the panels have to work equally well as single image posts and together as a whole. It can be difficult to pull off if you are not careful.

A template can make it a lot easier to figure out and manage. You can create one yourself, or download a ready-made option (best if you are looking for quick and easy). Here, we are looking at 10 great Instagram grid templates with tips for how you can take the inspiration from each and use it with your images on your social media account.

After Effects Templates / 29 Aug 2023

How to Use After Effects Templates

Adobe After Effects is a video-based tool that’s used to add elements to moving pictures and animations. Designers use it to create titles, intros, and transitions between video clips to enhance the production value of animations and video projects.

After Effects is one of those tools that’s packed with goodies, including templates that you can use to speed up project workflows. You can create your own templates or find and download them from other sources.

Here, we have a guide to using After Effects so you have everything you need to get started or better use the software.

PowerPoint Templates / 22 Aug 2023

Pitch Deck Design: 10 Tips to Stand Out

A good pitch deck is designed for specifically one thing – to help your startup get funding from investors. But how do you stand out from the crowd, and make a memorable impression?

There’s a delicate balance to creating a deck with just enough slides to entice potential funders, without providing so much information that they are overwhelmed.

Most pitch decks contain less than 20 slides. So how do you create a pitch deck design that stands out? Here are our ten tips to help you get started.

Business / 21 Aug 2023

7 Tips to Manage Scope Creep in Design Projects

It might be the worst thing to happen to a design budget. Scope creep can bash timelines and obliterate budgets.

The best way to avoid this chaos is to beware of the causes of scope creep so that you can better manage projects.

But we all know that things are bound to go off the rails at some point, and we have some advice for how to manage those scope creep issues when they do happen.

Wedding Design / 18 Aug 2023

How to Design Wedding Invitations: 7 Simple Steps

Your wedding day is a showcase of your love story, and you can highlight your story with a custom wedding invitation that you design. Today we’re looking at how to design wedding invitations, with a few key steps to remember along the way.

A custom wedding invitation will help show off your personality, save money and is something you can hang on to forever. With proper planning, it’s not that hard to do.

Whether you start with a wedding invitation template, or you create a design from scratch, it’s a beautiful way to brand your special day.

Trends / 7 Aug 2023

What Happened to Readability? the New Age of Funky Designs

Sometimes a website design trend comes around that just makes you want to pull your hair out. This is one of those trends – beautiful and funky designs with practically unreadable text. (Why would you put text there if you can’t be expected to read it?)

Now that may be a bit of an exaggeration because in most instances you can figure out what the text is supposed to say. But it’s not easy. And the user has to think. Will people stick around to figure out the design?

Let’s take a look at a few different examples of ways designs are “forgetting” about readability.