Carrie Cousins

Layouts / 13 Jan 2025

The Golden Ratio in Design: Examples & Tips

This might feel like a math lesson but hang in there. The golden ratio combines a little bit of math, a little bit of nature, and a lot of practical application for designers. Let’s take a look at what the golden ratio means for design, and a few tips for using it in your design projects.

The golden ratio has been used throughout history to create design elements that have an ideal visual appeal. Because the shape is rooted in nature and mathematics, it’s the perfect combination of balance and harmony. And it’s a superb tool to have up your sleeve as a designer.

Business Card Templates / 10 Jan 2025

What to Put on a Business Card: 8 Creative Ideas

What to put on a business card? It’s a tricky question. A business card that contains just the right information (and a stellar design) will grab attention and help you stand out. It’s the thing that makes someone else remember you, or your pitch.

Even in the digital age, a business card is a popular–and necessary networking and communication tool. Having a great business card provides legitimacy to your or your business, it’s a quick and easy way to exchange information, and can provide ways to help promote your work.

What you put on your business card says a lot to others. Here’s a guide to what to put on a business card, with plenty of creative ideas to help you get started.

Logo Templates / 9 Jan 2025

40+ Best Illustrator Logo Templates 2025

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.

Software / 6 Jan 2025

Best Free T-Shirt Design Software in 2025

When it comes to designing a shirt, you have two primary options – design it yourself using graphic design tools such as Adobe Illustrator or use software made for the job. The good news is that there are plenty of free t-shirt design software options to consider!

There are a growing number of platforms that specialize in t-shirt design and can help you create something that people will want to wear. Some of these tools integrate with a t-shirt sales portal as well, making the process even easier.

Here, we’re going to look at some of the best free t-shirt design software options available and how you can make these tools work for you.

Lightroom Presets / 3 Jan 2025

How to Install & Apply a Lightroom Preset

Whether you are a photographer or designer with a need to edit photos, Adobe Lightroom can be a great tool. Designed for photo editing, it allows batch work that can be cumbersome in programs such as Photoshop.

One of the most popular elements of Lightroom are the number of presets available. These tools within the tool are super filters that allow you to enhance photos, add creative effects and add functionality to your design workflow. If you’ve used any Adobe product, the feel of Lightroom is familiar and easy to learn. Get started by installing and using a few cool presets. Here’s how to do it.

PowerPoint Templates / 30 Dec 2024

Choosing the Best Font for PowerPoint: 10 Tips & Examples

There’s a fine art to creating a great PowerPont presentation that wows. With so many tricks and features in this little bit of software, it’s more likely to see a bad presentation than a good one (and you don’t want to be that person!)

While there are a lot of factors that contribute to the overall design, choosing a suitable font for PowerPoint is near the top of the list. The audience needs to be able to read the words on the screen with ease, to ensure that your presentation is as effective as possible.

So how do you do it? Where do you start when choosing a font for PowerPoint? We have 10 tips for you with a few examples of PowerPoint slides (and templates) that will impress your audience.

CV & Resume Templates / 23 Dec 2024

10 Skills Every Designer Needs on Their Resume

Even if you aren’t actively looking for a job, your resume is an important piece of your digital portfolio. From sites such as LinkedIn to personal portfolio pages such as Behance that showcase your work, glimpses into your design career are everywhere.

You want to control that message to ensure that you are putting the right vibe out there about who you are, the work you do and why (quite frankly) you are a rock star designer. And while a stellar portfolio is a great way to start that conversation, your resume is equally important. It should highlight some of the skills that aren’t as apparent from looking at a few marquee pieces.

As a bonus, every example resume here is a template from Envato Elements. Visit and download usable graphic design assets to boost your resume design today!

Font Collections / 20 Dec 2024

Serif vs. Sans Serif Fonts: Is One Really Better Than the Other?

There is an ongoing debate among designers – both print and digital – about what makes an ideal typeface for a project. The debate almost always breaks down to a single question: serif or sans serif?

Before you answer that question, think about all of the things you know about serif and sans serif typefaces and all the myths associated with them.

Today, we’ll take a look at both categories of type and try to determine if one is really better than the other, and in what circumstance.

Layouts / 16 Dec 2024

8 Rules for Creating an Effective Responsive Website or App

Users are spending a lot of time interacting with websites on mobile devices, rather than desktops. And that number seems to be growing daily. According to eMarketer, adults in the U.S. spend an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes on their phones, and the amount of time engaging on these devices is expected to pass TV viewing next year.

That has significant implications for all web designers and developers. You must be creating effective responsive websites or apps to meet this need. Today, we’re exploring eight rules to make sure you follow whenever you’re designing a responsive experience (whether for a website or an app).

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.