Yet another awesome feature in Canva (even on a free account!) - you can create a mockup with your design on all kinds of objects - phones, laptops, cards, posters, t-shirts, mugs . . . with full background scenes, or with a blank (transparent) background. In this quick demo video I'll show you how to use […]
They've rolled out a new feature in Canva Pro - a new "styles" option to help you create branded designs by applying your Canva "brand kit" to any design with just a couple of clicks! I love opening Canva to find a fun surprise. I went in there to pick apart everything that's wrong with […]
How to create a month’s worth of Instagram content in a couple of hours Everyone on Instagram knows that the key to visibility is creating consistent, quality content. Yeah? The more people that see your posts, the easier it is to grow your following (with REAL people). The bigger your following, the more new leads […]
In case you missed it, we've been talking about repetition and how it's what actually gets a message across. I introduced you to the wonderfully weird comic strip, Robonk, created by my friend Brock Frazier, because I want to show you how subtle repeated elements can be while still being critical in the design process. […]
Once upon a time, I was driving. Fascinating story so far, yeah? Don't worry, it's a short one. See, as I was getting off the freeway, I noticed a white Hyundai Sonata in front of me. Except I didn't. I noticed three white Sonatas. And then a fourth pulled up next to me, and a […]
First, a little back story: I stumbled across a new book about what it takes to self-publish successfully, and with a catchy title like "Million Dollar Book Formula", of course I had to check it out. I'll get to a few thoughts about the book at the end of this post...but there's something we have […]
It happens so often. People just starting out in business, not sure yet how they're going to sell their thing or who their audience is, and what do they tell me? "I need a logo." But do you really? Is that actually what you need? Almost always, that's a no. What you need is clarity. […]
What's the deal with mood boards? In case you're not familiar with them, a mood board is "an arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. intended to evoke or project a particular style or concept." Basically, it's a collage that explores ways to evoke the feeling (or mood) you're after in a design I […]
If you haven't read part 1, go check it out. I'll wait. So you know what you're trying to do, who you're trying to reach, and how you define success. That is FREAKING AWESOME. Do you know how few people really think through all of that? Now you're in a great position to actually get […]
If you're not writing (or thinking about writing) a book, you might think my ebook 6 Things You Should Know Before You Self-Publish doesn't apply to you. You’d be wrong. These six things apply to any sales situation and make your offer sell better no matter what it is. Don’t believe me? Let’s walk through […]
Once, I did some online sessions with a fantastic dance coach. I'd been admiring and following his work for years, loved his style, his personality, and his knowledge of the culture & history of the dance form. The guy is freaking amazing. I was so excited to learn from him. For the first couple of […]
Let's talk about Elizabeth Gilbert for a minute. Some of you are probably thinking, "Do we have to?" Here's the thing, though: Elizabeth Gilbert has a very clear author brand. You may love her, you may hate her. You may not know who she is, but if you do, you're probably in one of the […]
Besides simplicity, you know what else works? Starting. The other night I got home tired and cranky, head full of pressure, heart full of a powerful desire to curl up under a blanket, fire up some Netflix, and do my best impression of a bowl of jelly. Not gonna lie - there was a blanket. […]
Here's what I notice: When I feel like I have more than enough - time, money, energy - I feel generous. It's delightful to give. I'm warm, welcoming, at ease. When I don't have enough - whatever that means to me - not only do I have nothing to give, I feel stingy. I'm guarded […]
<nerd alert> Did I ever tell you I saw Serenity before ever seeing a single episode of Firefly? Really, it's true. What happened to Wash hurt a lot less that first time through - I hardly knew him. You non-Firefly people wondering who Wash is, did you know you can watch every episode on Facebook […]
In college, I never did quite manage to decide whether I was an artist or a writer. When I was focused on writing, I loved poetry best, because of the music of it, because of the intensity, because it cuts out every non-essential word and distills what's left down to the deepest truth, speaking directly […]
You know I'm all about the positive, but I'm going to go ahead and be snarky here. I can't help it, the material is just too good. I ran across a video on a site that offers self-publishing services (including book cover design). They were basically saying that $500 is the max you should ever […]
I never get mad at people for saying that my job is to "make it pretty". But it does make my skin crawl a little bit. See, "pretty" isn't enough for me. Pretty is skin deep. Pretty is decorating the surface without diving in to the full experience. Pretty is fleeting and shallow. Beauty is […]
Every time I hear the interior design of a book referred to as "book formatting", it's like this: It's the commonly-used term, so I'm pretty much just going to have to suck it up and get used to it, but still...ech. Book Formatting vs. Book Interior Design To me, book formatting is about the technicalities […]
Ready for another book cover takedown? Today we’re looking at The Secret Watch by Lisa Robbin Young. Here we have a great example of a book cover design that looks pretty and really, really doesn't do the job. At first glance, without reading the subtitle, what kind of book would you guess this is? I'm […]
It's been a strange week, filled with reminders of how fragile life and health can be. Due to all of that, and more, I'm feeling a little bit dark - in a true romantic kind of way (Ah! We suffer so beautifully!) and a lot nostalgic. The nostalgia piece is probably what prompted me to […]
If there’s one thing that drives a designer completely freaking insane, it’s awful fonts. Well, okay, it’s not so much the fonts themselves, it’s how they’re styled. I can spot a DIY design from across the room by its wonky typography. So let me save you some heartache (and keep your viewers from wanting to […]
The other day I stumbled across this article about getting your book cover done on the cheap, part of a series called "Self-Publishing on a Shoestring". The first part is great, well-written and smart, and it's awesome to see someone who is NOT a designer talking about how essential a great cover design really is. […]
(no matter how good it looks) The other morning I got an email from someone whose list I’ve been on for a long time. I appreciate her work a lot, and I’m excited to see that she’s launching a new thing into the world. Her subject line promised some great new training, the email copy […]
Pantone's color of the year: Ultra Violet. I love this one. It's the first that has appealed to me since Radiant Orchid in 2014. It's gorgeous, it's a color I can wear (unlike last year's vibrant Greenery), and I love the philosophy outlined in this image from Pantone's website. So how do you incorporate things […]
(or "what I really wanted to do with my life") You probably didn't know this about me, but I didn't always want to be a designer. When I was a little girl, what I wanted to be more than anything was one of the Heritage Singers. Now, that's pretty specific to the subculture I grew […]
In a Facebook group exclusively made up of designers, I recently saw someone post variations on her own logo & ask, “Which one do you like?” I see this kind of feedback request ALL THE TIME, and it drives me nuts. After several comments came in about various designers’ personal preferences, the original poster finally […]
