Carrie Cousins

Graphics / 24 Jan 2022

Do You Need a Hero Image? Maybe Typography Is Enough

The go-to concept when it comes to the hero area of a website design is an image or video with text and a call to action. But not every design has high-quality visual elements to make this style of hero image work.

It begs the question: Do you even really need a hero image?

For some website projects, the answer is no. You can design a stellar hero area for a website with great typography and a few small details. Let’s take a look at how to do it and some examples that we simply love.

Background Textures / 21 Jan 2022

7 Tips for Using Background Textures in Web Design

This is not your typical roundup of textures to use for website backgrounds. If you are looking for a specific texture, we have those here. But what if you want to create your own? Or find a way to customize a texture to fit your project? That’s what we’ll focus on today.

While there are many ways to use textures in web design, you’ll get a lot more mileage out of those backgrounds if you take a modern approach, and follow a few simple rules.

Here are seven tips to help you use background textures in web design well (all of which are in-line with the latest and greatest 2019 design patterns and trends).

Business / 20 Jan 2022

Web-Based Scavenger Hunts: Tips & Ideas

Shake up your everyday home or professional routine with a scavenger hunt. A web-based scavenger hunt can be a fun game for all ages and skill levels and help create interaction and engagement for teams, individuals, or large (virtually connected) groups.

But how do you get started?

We’ve got some tips and ideas to help you manage an online scavenger hunt, with some tools to make it easy.

It doesn’t need to be nearly as complicated as you think, and it can be a really unique, innovative project to try.

CV & Resume Templates / 18 Jan 2022

The Resume Debate: Simple + Clean, or Visually Stunning?

Your resume design says a lot about you. It communicates things to a potential employer simply from the design alone.

As a designer, this can be especially true, because your resume design can show your style, understanding of design elements and theory, and even if you may be a fit with a company visually.

That’s why the internet is full of questions about resume design and why the debate about the best type of design for your professional information rages on.

Business / 13 Jan 2022

7 Tips for Automating Tasks as a Web Designer

You’ve heard the axiom “work smarter, not harder.” Automated tasks are the trick to taking some of the time-consuming elements out of web design so that you can do exactly that.

Automated tasks can include a variety of actions and elements. We’ll look at seven automated tasks here that will make your life a lot easier.

While all of these are particularly well suited to web designers, they’re also helpful tips for automating any aspect of your work (or personal!) live where you’d like to save a bit of time.

Logo Templates / 12 Jan 2022

35+ Best Illustrator Logo Templates 2024

So you need a logo right now? That’s where an Illustrator logo template can come in handy. A logo template is often a kit of pieces to build a vector logo with a few tweaks—such as changing colors or fonts. These are our top picks!

Some of the better logo template options might include multiple elements in a file that you can piece together for a design that’s a little more custom.

Logo templates are best for small, quick projects that need something cost-effective and visually pleasing. While a logo template won’t give you all the flexibility and design choices as a custom logo, they create a significantly less expensive option. (Which can be great if you have some design skills and an idea of what you want your logo to look like.)

Just make sure when you are hunting for that perfect logo template, that you find a vector set to work with. Adobe Illustrator files are the most common and will give you the tools you need to create a design that will work at any size when you are finished making the logo design.

Here are 20 of the best Adobe Illustrator logo templates we could track down, as well as a few helpful tips for using an Illustrator logo template.

Freelancing / 10 Jan 2022

10 Biggest Worries of Freelance Designers (And How to Prepare!)

Whether you are new to the gig economy or have been doing it for a while, there are some common worries that almost all freelance designers share. While knowing you aren’t alone isn’t enough to alleviate all those fears, it can help to know many of your fears are common.

As someone who has done freelance work for the better part of 15 years, I can attest that some of these worries never go completely away. They do ebb and flow over time and you do learn to deal with them more effectively.

Here’s that list of worries with a little practical advice to help you manage common freelance concerns.

UX Design / 6 Jan 2022

10 Tips for a Better CX (Customer Experience) Journey

The customer experience, or CX, journey can be one of the most important elements of an online store. It dictates how people interact with the site in the path to making a purchase, and even if they make a purchase at all.

The more technical definition of CX is all the cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral responses that a consumer has in the buying process from pre-purchase to the sale to the post-purchase process.

Let’s look at ways that you can improve the customer experience journey in website projects.

Trends / 5 Jan 2022

Design Trend: Happy, Optimistic Designs

The last few years have been rough for almost everyone. No matter where you live or what you do, most everyone in the world has felt the stress and pressure resulting from a worldwide health pandemic.

To combat these feelings of misery and malignancy, designers are using happy, optimistic design elements to help create more engaging websites. It’s just the emotional boost we all need when browsing, shopping, or simply looking for information.

Here’s a look at helpful design elements to use with this trend in mind with some examples for inspiration.

Business / 27 Dec 2021

How to Design Social Proof (Without Social Media)

Recommendations from friends and family can be one of the most reliable sources of information when you are looking to try something, make a purchase, or enroll in a new service. Whether you are doing it subconsciously because of your peer group or you are seeking out information, what people around you do can influence decision-making.

It’s also true online. An element of social proof can help turn a website browser into a lead conversion or buyer.

But you have to design it. Here’s a guide that will help you navigate different ways to design social proof.

Inspiration / 23 Dec 2021

22 Places to Find Design Inspiration When You Are Stuck

In need of a little design pick-me-up? There’s creative inspiration all around. You just have to stop, take a minute, and absorb it!

The best places to find design inspiration might not be just the usual suspects, including design blogs like this one.

Use this list to get those creative juices flowing again. We’re exploring ideas from popular inspiration websites, all the way through to a neighborhood walk or a museum.

Digital, physical, and everything in-between!

Navigation / 20 Dec 2021

8 Tips for Better Hyperlink Text

Better hyperlinks will create more useful user experiences. It starts with the words you use in the button or linked copy. (And “click here” is not the answer!)

If you want to generate more—and better—conversions from links, it’s important to focus on writing better microcopy for every link on your website.

These tips, which apply to hyperlinks throughout the design (not button microcopy) can help you think through the process.

Join us as we explore pitfalls to avoid, tips for punctuation, and the types of visual indicators that work well for links.