Business - Page 7

Learn how to run your design business, work with clients, manage expectations, and handle your finances.

Should You Design Your Brand Based on Digital Marketing Needs?

Business / 11 Aug 2020

Should You Design Your Brand Based on Digital Marketing Needs?

What comes first: branding or strategy? It’s an age-old question for designers and marketers and today extends to digital marketing as well. Should your brand design be based on digital marketing needs?

In today’s marketplace, the answer is overwhelmingly yes. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a brand that isn’t leveraging some type of digital marketing, including social media, to communicate with audiences.

Here’s why.

How to Design a Presentation for Screen Viewing

PowerPoint Templates / 10 Aug 2020

How to Design a Presentation for Screen Viewing

Given how the world is changing, you are probably presenting more commonly on screens in virtual conference or webinar settings. That can impact the design of presentations, and you’ll need to think about what to change to make it work well.

There are multiple considerations when designing PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides templates for screen viewing versus when you are presenting live.

Here, we’ll walk through key considerations to help you make the most of designing presentations for screen viewing.

How (And Why) to Design for Local Businesses

Business / 22 Jun 2020

How (And Why) to Design for Local Businesses

Designing for a local business can be one of the most rewarding projects that you take on. When done well, you create a relationship with someone in your community that helps them grown and succeed.

Whether you’re creating a website or designing menus or flyers, working with a small business can stretch your creative muscles but it will make you think about the process a little different. Small businesses can be quite different than some of your bigger clients. They have a lot more on the line when it comes to design services and return on investment, they may have more questions, and they need to know how design can help them grow.

When you take a small business client, your approach to design will likely be a little different. Here’s how to think about it.

Design Psychology: 8 Strategies to Use in Your Projects

Business / 26 May 2020

Design Psychology: 8 Strategies to Use in Your Projects

Psychology, the study of the human mind, is a very complex subject that even the scientists struggle with. In fact, scientists and researchers are still trying to figure out why we have dreams when we sleep.

However, thanks to many studies, years of research, and the dedication of brilliant minds like Sigmund Freud, we now have a general understanding of how the human mind works.

As it turns out, our minds are pre-programmed to respond and react to certain things in certain ways. There are also specific patterns of how our mind reacts and the way we think. In psychology, these patterns are called “schemas”. Researchers have also found strategies that could influence these patterns to control our reactions.

Everyone from magicians to big brand corporations and the mass media have been using and taking advantage of these strategies for generations. To influence our behavior and sell products.

In this guide, we look at how you can apply the same psychological strategies they use for the good of others. And make better and more effective designs.

7 Tips for Developing a Website Redesign Strategy

Business / 23 Mar 2020

7 Tips for Developing a Website Redesign Strategy

With the average lifespan of a website being somewhere between 3 and 5 years, chances are that you’ll have a website redesign project soon (if you aren’t already working on one.)

The foundation of a solid redesign is strategy. What do you (or your client) hope to get out of the redesign? Why is the change being made? What does success look like?

Answer these questions and it will help bring the design together. Plus, we have a few more tips for developing a website redesign strategy. (Take note of the images in this post, they are pretty nifty website designs from the Design Shack gallery.)

What Is a Website Privacy Policy (And How to Write One)

Business / 25 Sep 2019

What Is a Website Privacy Policy (And How to Write One)

Maybe you first noticed it in WordPress, when the admin started settings asking for a link to a privacy policy. Maybe you’ve been following news and the passing of GDPR. Or maybe you’ve just been talking it over with peers. Regardless, it’s probably time to include a privacy policy in website projects.

But with so much legalese, where do you start? What is a privacy policy? How do you write one?

Here, we have help! Since we aren’t lawyers, it’s always a good idea to have your counsel read over your policy, particularly if it gets complicated in any way.

The good news is that it doesn’t need to be earth-shatteringly complex to fairly quickly have a privacy policy on your site that covers off the most common issues.

How to Make a Personal Marketing Plan (With Examples)

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.

How to Convert Keynote to PowerPoint

Keynote Templates / 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.

How to Find or Create Your Brand Personality

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?

How to Start and End a Presentation: 10 Unique Ideas

PowerPoint Templates / 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.

What Is a Company Profile? (And How to Write One)

Business / 1 Apr 2019

What Is a Company Profile? (And How to Write One)

Whether you’re creating content for an established business or a startup, a company profile should be part of your plan. In this post, we’ll discuss what a company profile is, and how to write one.

A company profile can be an effective way to highlight the business to customers or stakeholders. And you’ll quickly find that it is a vital part of business communication.

It’s a way to state what your business stands for, what your goals are, and where you place your focus. As well as featuring all the practical information that anyone might need to know about your company.

Graphic Design Internships: 5 Places to Begin Your Search

Business / 23 Jul 2018

Graphic Design Internships: 5 Places to Begin Your Search

Most students know that the right internship can get them on a path to the right job after graduation. Internships provide valuable work experience that help you get an idea of what daily life as a graphic designer looks like—and what skills you need to be successful.

The main difference between an internship and a job is the temporary nature of an internship, which is limited to a specific time frame or a number of hours worked.

The challenge with internships is that not all of the “jobs” are posted in regular job search locations, although some companies do post internship listings on job search websites. So where do you begin your search for the perfect internship? You’re going to have to do some homework.