MY DIY DESIGN TIPS

I know what it’s like to want to DIY when it comes to business things and with the increasing number of tools such as Canva available it is so essential that what you are creating looks professional. My top design tips will make sure whatever you are designing looks beautiful and on-brand. 

I believe getting better at design is a skill we can all learn, it just takes a bit of practice! I usually design a template for brands so they can simply update the text but I thought I’d share a few ‘designer’ top tips. You can use these for anything from writing a Word Doc to thinking about interior design as these are fundamental design rules whatever the medium!

Remember your brand tells your visual story and adds value. It emotionally connects people to your vision and business and helps you to stand apart from your competition. It attracts the right type of customers that want to invest in your brand and become your fans. Most importantly your branding visually reflects who you are as a business and gives you a sense of pride and power in what you do.

MY TOP DESIGN TIPS…

1. Give everything space to breathe.

A common mistake is squashing everything together and making things too large. Both are quick ways to make design look cheap and unprofessional. So give every element space to breathe and embrace empty space to keep everything feeling un-cluttered.

2. Give it some HIERARCHY.

Our eyes should be taken on a journey through design so decide what is most important and make sure this has the most prominence, then work through each element to make sure they aren’t fighting with each other. If your photo is key then make sure the headline is smaller and less prominent.

3. Keep it on brand.

Hopefully you have a brand book or guide to your colours and fonts (if not feel free to give me a shout!) Look at these and make sure you are using them so that whatever you are designing looks consistent. Don’t start using new fonts and colours just for the sake of it and also try and think about your Instagram story fonts and backgrounds and make sure these are consistent with your brand.

For help on how to DIY your brand and choose the right brand colours, fonts and visuals for your brand check out my ‘Brand Builder Course’

Our eyes should be taken on a visual journey through design

You can see an example of a brand book I’ve recently created for ‘The Live Kindly Drinks Co’ below:

4. Check the alignment.

Is everything lined up correctly? If centered make sure you have used the tools in the software you are using to automatically align your elements. Check the space at the top and bottom and make sure they are equal.

5. Stand back and reflect.

Take a step back and look at your design from afar. Does it ‘feel’ right and balanced? Is everything legible and does it feel easy to read. Have you got across your main point and when you look at the design does it reflect your original brand values? Don’t be afraid to make any tweaks.

I have plenty more tips to share but these 5 should get you off to a good start!

I wrote about my Design Trend Predictions here if you want to read and make sure you are on-trend with your designs.