Business

Business / 9 Sep 2019

How to Make a Personal Marketing Plan (With Examples)

You probably understand that everything you do online – and in-person – contributes to your personal brand. But did you know that having a personal marketing plan to establish, maintain, and promote that brand can be equally important?

Particularly for freelancers and anyone working in the gig economy, both full-time or part-part, having a distinct personal brand can impact your design work. Your brand will attract a certain type of potential client and work. Do you have a plan to draw in projects that are most appealing to you?

It can start with a personal marketing plan. Here’s how you do it.

Business / 6 Sep 2019

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 / 3 Sep 2019

5 Tips for Building a Website for Friends or Family

How often does someone in your inner circle ask for a website? It happens quite often! Building a website for friends or family members can get tricky fast. These can sometimes your best (or worst) customers.

If you start projects with the right ground rules and a few tools, you can navigate these projects easier. And you can avoid any potential fall-out from setting the wrong expectations or committing yourself to a project that blows way past the time you have to spend on it.

Here are a few tips for approaching a family or friends project in the right way, and setting yourself up for success from the start.

Business / 23 Aug 2019

How to Convert Keynote to PowerPoint

Apple Keynote is one of the most popular apps professionals use to create presentation slideshows. Although, there may come a time when you’ll want to edit a Keynote slideshow in PowerPoint because not everyone has access to the same app.

For example, you may run into problems when you’re collaborating on a team presentation or want to share your slideshow with someone else who’s using a Windows device because the Keynote app is exclusive to Apple devices. Thankfully, the Keynote app has a built-in solution to this problem. In such cases, you can convert your Keynote file to PowerPoint format quite easily.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to export a Keynote presentation to PowerPoint format, step by step.

Business / 25 Jul 2019

What Is a Pitch Deck? (And How to Make One)

It’s a tool that every startup business or entrepreneur needs – a great pitch deck. A pitch deck is a presentation that you’ll use to help explain or showcase your product or service and potentially drives sales or investment. It needs to be polished and professional to do the job well.

Today, we’ll take a look at what a pitch deck is, how to make one, and how to establish a design that will wow people who come in contact with your new business.

We’ll also feature a few stunning pitch deck templates along the way, to help you get started fast.

Business / 24 Jul 2019

How to Find or Create Your Brand Personality

What is the personality of your brand? No, it’s not a trick question. Is your brand formal or spunky or socially conscious?

Identifying and defining the identity and personality of your brand is crucial.

Even if you don’t define it, some sort of personality (even of the multiple variety) will come through. So it’s best to think about it now. The last thing you want is anyone else getting any say in how exactly your brand is defined.

Who do you want your brand to be?

Business / 8 Jul 2019

7 Ways to Create a Website on a Budget

A great website doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can get a professional-looking design with a few pages – that’s enough to get started – with a small budget. Here’s how.

The good news is that you can create and design a website yourself using a tool such as an online site builder, or work with a professional while maximizing your budget. The key is to be realistic. A website is not free. Even if you do it yourself, you’ll need a domain, hosting, and other tools (many site builders have a monthly fee) depending on how you plan to create the website.

The best practice is to start with a little research, then set a budget. That way you know what you can afford and how to have conversations about planning the website design. Here’s how you do it!

Business / 3 Jul 2019

How to Be a Freelance Graphic Designer in 2019: A 10 Step Plan

Do you have dreams of ditching your day job and becoming a full-time freelance graphic designer? Start putting your plan in motion.

Most freelancers start with graphic design as a side hustle, but with determination, business planning, and a solid work ethic, you can build as much business as you want to create a sustainable career.

Here are 10 steps to help you get started.

Trust me, I’ve tested them all in my decade as a freelancer!

Business / 19 Jun 2019

How Do You List Freelance Work on Your Resume? (We Have the Answer)

Congratulations, your freelance business is proving successful. But how do you handle talking about it or explaining freelance work to potential employers, or on your resume? It can be a hard subject to explain as a single entry on paper, and you don’t want freelance work to look like an employment gap.

There are some things you can do to on paper (and on LinkedIn) to help present freelance work in a way that is more understandable to others. The key for many freelancers – especially those working part-time – is remembering to include freelance work as part of your resume and design portfolio. Sometimes those jobs can be just the thing you need to help land the next big gig!

Business / 17 Jun 2019

How Many Slides to Use in a Presentation? 5 Tips

There’s nothing worse than a presentation that goes over time or poorly-designed slides that cram too much information onto the screen at once.

While there are a lot of things that can dictate how many slides to use in a presentation, key factors include how long you have to speak, what content you are presenting, and the visual nature of the content. (Some speakers don’t need slides at all to keep audiences engaged!)

Here, we’re breaking down common presentation times with a guide for how not to overload slides, and use them well—no matter what type of talk you are giving.

Business / 12 Jun 2019

How to Start and End a Presentation: 10 Unique Ideas

A good presentation leaves you wanting more. It engages your thirst for information. These presentations are a mix of killer content, striking visuals, a charismatic speaker and—crucially—a memorable start and end.

And with the right tools, almost anyone can give a great presentation. When every minute matters, how you start and end your presentation can have a huge impact on what people take away from the time you’re talking to them (and whether it makes a lasting impression!)

Today, we’re breaking from traditional visual design techniques to think about how to craft a dynamic presentation, with a memorable beginning and ending.

Business / 10 Jun 2019

How to Edit a PowerPoint Template: A Quick Start Guide

Whether you’re starting from scratch and building a custom template, or have a PowerPoint template you’ve downloaded and want to customize, knowing how to edit a PowerPoint template is a great skill to have in your kit.

We’re going to walk you through editing a PowerPoint template step-by-step, explaining all the PowerPoint terminology along the way!

If you like the presentation template we are using here—Creativa—you can get it from Envato Elements. It’s a great multi-purpose template that’s great for all types of presentations.