Carrie Cousins

Keynote Templates / 10 Nov 2021

Keynote vs PowerPoint: Which Presentation App to Choose?

It’s presentation time! Whether you are creating a template for your boss or prepping slides for a talk, using the right software can make the job a lot easier. We’re pitting Keynote vs. PowerPoint against one another to lay out the pros and cons of each.

For Mac users, there are two pretty obvious choices – Keynote and PowerPoint. But which do you choose? Should you always stick with one, or use different apps for different presentations?

Each has its own set of benefits and costs, and they’re both great for different uses. Hopefully, we’ll be able to help you make the right choice.

Flyer Templates / 27 Oct 2021

10 Tips for Perfect Flyer Design

If you aren’t a print project regular, designing the perfect flyer can be somewhat nerve-wracking. But it doesn’t have to be. With a solid content plan and a great designer (that’s you), crafting the perfect flyer that will entice and engage users is simple.

There’s a wonderful feeling to designing something, then having it printed and feeling it in your hands. This is one reason flyer design can be rewarding and a lot of fun.

We’re going to dive into ten tips that walk you through how to create the perfect flyer. From establishing goals, to considering factors like viewing distance and integrating branding.

How to Design a Logo / 22 Oct 2021

What’s a Logo Grid, and Why Should You Use One?

So you need to design a logo. Where do you start? Shapes? Typography? A grid?

A logo grid or construction guide is a popular starting point for many designers looking to create a logo. The use of a grid system, especially for a design that might often render at extreme sizes – very large or small – can help you create something that has visual harmony, an organized aesthetic and purposeful design.

Are you in the middle of a logo design project? Learn about logo grids, typography, logo types and more in our in-depth guide on how to design a logo!

UX Design / 18 Oct 2021

How to Design a Paywall That Visitors Will Pay to Pass Through

Everything you create online has to have value for the user if you want them to engage with it. This is most important when you are asking visitors to give you something in exchange for content.

Whether your paywall asks for direct payment or just an exchange, such as pay with a tweet, the method you use in creating a paywall can be a factor in the success of subscribers or paid entries.

Here, we’ll look at different paywall options and value propositions you can use to help encourage visitors to pay to play on your website or mobile app.

Reviews / 13 Oct 2021

Indy: A Freelancing Platform With Everything in One Place

Freelancers rely on tools to help make work-life easier. That’s especially true for tools that relate to running your business – the less creative part of the job.

Indy is an all-in-one freelancing platform packed with the tools you need to get work done. It helps you out with everything from contracts and invoices, to calendars, chats, and proposals. All with a slick interface, and a seamless way of working with clients.

Here’s a look at how it works.

Graphics / 11 Oct 2021

7 Ways to Design for the Unexpected

What just happened? Why doesn’t that work? Does this look funny to you?

These are all questions you don’t want users to ask when interacting with your website design. But inevitably, they will. The unexpected happens all the time online. From users changing settings on their devices to slow browsing speeds, your role is to expect these unexpected challenges and offer a design solution… before they happen!

From dark mode to people taking an unexpected path through your website or app, we’re exploring lots of unexpected scenarios so you can plan for them in advance!

UX Design / 7 Oct 2021

7 Ways Your UX Needs to Extend Beyond Your Website (And How to Do It)

User experience is a conversation that’s part of every website or app design conversation. It’s likely one of the first things you talk about when making choices about functionality, customer journeys, and visuals.

But do you talk about UX in the greater picture of designing your entire brand?

Your website or app UX needs to extend beyond the website and to everything else you produce in order to create a more consistent and unified brand presence. Thinking about user experience for all designed elements can help users connect brand materials visually and impact how people feel about your organization.

It’s time to start thinking about UX as a visual (and functional) extension of customer experience. (The examples here provide a good UX as a starting point that can extend to other parts of the brand design that you might already know. Think about how you connect their web user experiences to other elements you know them for.)

Business / 4 Oct 2021

Conceptual Design: The Tool You Need to Ideate Like a Pro

How does the design process start for you? If you want to take ideation and creation to another level, conceptual design may be the place to start.

Conceptual design can actually help you better design an idea so that when you start the process of creation, it is more developed and functional. It’s a great starting point for any project, and can help you lay a solid foundation on which to build.

Here, we’ll walk through conceptual design and how you can use it to ideate and create more effectively.

Business / 23 Sep 2021

What Is Universal Design? Everything You Need to Know

Universal Design is not new, but the conversations around it are reinvigorated in an effort to create more accessible and equitable design projects.

The concept isn’t specific to websites or printed creative work, it extends to every field of design.

Universal design is rooted in a set of core principles that – when used as a foundation for creative work – can help you design in a way that helps minimize the need for assistive technology and makes products more usable by everyone, not just people with disabilities.

Graphics / 20 Sep 2021

The Design Anatomy of a Good Icon: 10 Tips

An icon is a picture, image, or representation of another thing. So if you are looking to create a great icon, it needs to have a visual presence that’s understandable.

There’s more to designing a great icon than just a quick visual element. You have to think about shape, color, usage, and even what device or operating system it might appear on.

Here, we have 10 tips to help you make the most of icon design.

Business / 7 Sep 2021

Breaking Down the Costs of a New Website: Tips & Rules

It’s a common question: What does a new website cost?

It might be for a new brand or company that’s never had a website before or for an existing organization looking for a website design refresh. And the answer is a bit complicated.

It all depends on the path you want to take and your timeline for getting a new website online. Here, we’re going to break down the options available to you and the costs associated with a new website.

Plus, a few tips and rules to follow as you begin the process.

UX Design / 2 Sep 2021

Everything You Need to Know About Design Tokens

Design tokens are a way to easily identify and understand the elements in a design system. As more designers and companies adopt use of design tokens, their value will continue to grow.

The key to design tokens is that they facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration. More people on a team can understand and use design values without specificity, but with accuracy. They’ve already been adopted by design giants such as Adobe.

Here’s everything you need to know about design tokens.