As a designer, there are several things in my day-to-day routine that I just can't do without. Here's a look at the 10 most helpful things that keep me on task and fuel my creativity.

1. My iMac

Not only do I love the simplicity and compatibility of all Apple products, but Macs are the industry standard for graphic designers. My design software runs very happily on my "big Mac" and it's what I was taught to use in design school. The 27-inch screen is perfect for zooming in on projects and working in multiple windows at once, the interface is user-friendly, and color calibration and display are more accurate on my Mac, which is important for branding projects and print design. And let's be honest - it's the prettiest computer out there.

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

2. Adobe Creative Suite

How did designers get anything done before Adobe Creative Suite came around? This software makes designing logos, editing photos, and laying out Daybook planners a breeze. Although I work in Illustrator 90% of the time, I subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud so I can also access the latest versions of Photoshop, InDesign, and Lightroom.

3. Coffee

This is just a given. My morning cup (or three) of half creamer, half coffee helps me wake up, gives me something to look forward to when I sit down to design, and sets the "mood" for blog writing each morning. It's become so routine that I just can't work without it.

4. Songza

Whenever Jake is doing a task - studying, helping me in the kitchen, reading an article - he has to be listening to music. And in the 2 years we've been married, he's started to rub off on me. I just can't get in my working "rhythm" without having some background noise.

That's why Songza is genius. It plays the right music for any situation, whether I'm working in an office, going for a sunny stroll, or working out. My morning Songza choices usually go as follows: It's Tuesday morning. Play music for > Waking Up Happy > Peppy Indie Pop/Rock > Indie Morning. Or if I need a little extra boost, I may switch it up with Waking Up with Energy > Dance Pop Hits > Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

5. My Daybook Planner

I've always been a type-A, planner-dependent kind of girl, but having my own business and designing full-time has taken it to another level.

Because I have several design projects going at once, I have to stay organized to keep up with my workflow. As I'm coming up with timelines for my branding clients, I write down each deadline in my Daybook Planner, think ahead to which tasks need to be completed beforehand, and schedule days to complete them. I plan out blog posts 2 weeks ahead of time and pen them in, too, along with little to-do's for each one. It's extremely helpful to see tasks, events, client meetings, and deadlines all in one place.

6. Pinterest

Since I'm a visual person, it's helpful to have a collection of images to draw inspiration from while I'm designing. Before I begin a project, I usually jump on Pinterest and create a quick inspiration board. I look for images that are similar in color, style, and tone to what I'm hoping to design, pull them into Illustrator, fit them into a quick template, and save them all as one photo. I keep it up on my screen while I'm designing and reference it while I'm making design decisions during the project.

7. An organized desktop

I work with a lot of files each day, so my desktop gets cluttered quickly. Nothing stresses me out quite like not being able to find anything, and one of my biggest pet peeves is logging into my computer and seeing a screen full of little file icons. A couple months ago I reached my breaking point, so I created a background a few months ago that helps me organize all my files. It's simple design also motivates me to file things away each night before I log off my computer.

8. Gmail

In order to design projects for clients, I have to keep in contact with them all. Gmail is very user-friendly and it's great for keeping up with and organizing incoming emails. Each of my clients has a color-coded folder, which helps me recognize which emails in my inbox need to be addressed first. I also like Gmail because it connects easily to Google Drive (for sending large design files) and Google Calendar (for more daily to-do's and reminders).

9. My sketchbook

Although I mainly draw everything on my computer, it's helpful to keep my sketchbook by my side just in case I have a quick idea that needs to be drawn out quickly. In design school, we were encouraged to draw 100 quick logo sketches before we started drawing out concepts on our computer, just to brainstorm and get ideas on paper. I think 100 can get to be a little time consuming, but it's a good exercise to start with. Even if I don't have a sketchbook nearby, I always end up with 5+ pieces of paper by my Mac covered in quick Sharpie sketches.

10. A break

I have a really hard time pulling away from projects. While it's good to get into a design groove, it's important to pull away and take a break every couple hours, just for sanity purposes. I've realized that if I've been working on a project for too long, I end up designing in circles and wasting time. Breaks allow me to relax, regroup, and have a fresh perspective on my design work.

How about you? What are some things you just can't work without?

Today's topic is the most practical out of all the topics I've covered in the How to Start a Blog series. While it's important to find your niche, create quality content, form a loyal audience, grow your readership, and choose a name, those posts won't be helpful if you're stuck on which service you'll use for publishing. And it's easy to get stuck. With so many options out there it can be difficult to know which one will be best for your blog or business.

There are several posts floating around the internet on "choosing a blog platform." And while I've used Blogger, Wordpress, and Tumblr in the past, I definitely wouldn't consider myself an expert. So rather than take that approach, let me tell you about the platform I use each day: Squarespace.

Create your website

Quickly build your Squarespace site with my Website Starter Kit.

It's lovely

Squarespace sites are easy on the eyes. They may not have as many themes to choose from as Wordpress, but each theme they do offer is extremely well designed. Their pages are clean and effortless, their user interface is beautiful, and because every design automatically includes a unique mobile experience, their sites look professional on every device. You would have to try really hard to create an ugly website on Squarespace. And from a designer's perspective, this is a major advantage.

But even if you aren't a designer, having a beautiful website/blog should be extremely important to you, too. Studies have found that the biggest influence on people's first impressions of your website are visual appeal and navigation. A whopping 94% of all first impressions are design-related. You could have the best content in the world, but with a pieced-together, unattractive site you'll scare people away before they even have the chance to read it. The saying "you never have a second chance to make a first impression" is definitely true in the blogging realm.

It's user-friendly

One of the most time consuming and frustrating tasks of starting a new blog can be figuring out the back-end of your site. If you're new to blogging, this can be very intimidating and time-consuming, especially if you don't have any previous experience using HTML/CSS.

But with Squarespace, setting up your site is easy and straightforward, even for those of you who don't consider yourselves computer savvy. The drag-and-drop features make editing content a breeze and the visual layout editor allows you to make changes effortlessly. Adding text, images, embeds, or social media is as simple as hitting a button and choosing an option.

It's all-in-one

My blog, my website, and my shop are all in one place with Squarespace. Their E-Commerce feature allows me to easily add products to my shop, keep up with orders and inventory, set up shipping costs and taxes, and create coupon codes.

Squarespace also connects to other sites and services that I use for my business. When people sign up for the Elle & Company newsletter in my sidebar, all of their information is directly imported to MailChimp. Accounting through Xero is available to help keep track of finances and sales taxes. Squarespace also partners with ShipStation, which makes printing shipping labels and shipment notifications a breeze.

If you're blogging for your business or you hope to use blogging as a gateway into starting your own business, Squarespace might be an excellent option for you, too.

It takes care of the things I'd rather not worry about

Who wants to spend all day figuring out things like hosting and SEO when you can have your blog platform do it all for you? Here are a few more perks of using Squarespace:

Squarespace saves you from having to sign into different sites for domains and hosting; both are included in your monthly plan
They have excellent support, including articles, videos, live chat, email support, and community forums
A wide range of analytics are at your fingertips, including statistics on blog traffic, mobile usage, subscribers, referrers, popular content, search queries, and detailed activities
SEO is built in, you just have to be conscious of how you name files, links and captions
Squarespace easily transfers over blog posts and page information from other sites like Blogger and Wordpress
Every template is mobile-friendly; I don't have to worry that my website won't appear correctly on a mobile device

Overall, I don't have many bones to pick with Squarespace. It's beautiful, user-friendly, straightforward, and very helpful. I've had a great experience using it this past year and I highly recommend it to all of my branding clients (and to you, too!)

Click here to view some lovely Squarespace sites, visit this link to learn more about what Squarespace has to offer, and feel free to ask me any questions you have concerning blog platforms! I would love to get your feedback, too.

Create your website

Quickly build your Squarespace site with my Website Starter Kit.

For all of you seasoned bloggers, which blog platform do you use and why?

How to Start a Blog: Why I use Squarespace

Choosing a name can be one of the most difficult tasks in starting a blog. I racked my brain for weeks trying to come up with a couple words that accurately reflected my business. I wanted a name that was simple, yet descriptive. Familiar, but one of a kind. Personal, but gave me room to grow.

Whether you're a brand new blogger or you're going through a rebrand, you've probably experienced the same name game frustration. While there is no 3-step solution to finding the perfect name, here is a helpful guide for finding a memorable blog name you truly love.

1. Make a list

After a couple weeks of this series, you should have a good idea of what you're going to write about. You've narrowed your focus, found your niche, developed a mission statement, worked through content, and considered your audience. If you've done your homework, you already have several lists full of ideas and descriptive words. Pull out your notes from these past few weeks and start another brainstorm to get the creative juices flowing.

Begin writing down any and every word associated with your blog. Even if you're 99.9% certain you would never use a particular word in your blog name, it might springboard into a new clever word that you hadn't considered before.

Think about your blog topics, your tone, and your audience, then jot down words associated with them. If you're starting an interior design blog, you might write down obvious words like "space" or "interiors", but push it a little further. Think about fabrics, upholstery, colors, patterns, how a room might make someone feel, treatments, furniture, interior design terms, adjectives that describe a room, etc. Include both broad and descriptive words.

This might not be a "sit down for an hour and crank it out" kind of ordeal. If you're like me, your greatest ideas might come while you're driving down the interstate or meeting a friend at Starbucks. Carry around a small notebook and give yourself a couple days (or in my case, a couple weeks) to come up with new words.

Once you've exhausted every word option, go through your list highlighting the yeses and crossing off the no-ways.

2. Keep your purpose in mind

The point of a name is to summarize your blog in a nutshell, so what key elements of your blog are the most important for you to communicate? As you begin to weed through your long list of words, keep your mission statement and your purpose in mind. Size up the items on your list in light of them.

3. Make one more list

Once you've done all of the above, start a new list for blog name ideas.

Pair two words together. Take an item on your list and add -ista, -ly, or -ed at the end of it. Consider making up a new word by piecing together the syllables from a couple words. Think about creating a name that sounds similar to a word on your list. Sometimes the most memorable names are made-up words that no one has heard before. Like your last list, don't nix ideas before you write them down; they just might spur an idea that will lead you to "the one." Give yourself creative freedom to explore all the options.

For example, I knew that I wanted my own name somewhere in the name of my blog. While the last name "Hooker" is definitely memorable, I just couldn't bring myself to include it in my blog/business name. I randomly wrote down the name Elle as a play off of the "L" in my first name (Lauren) and the "El" of my middle name (Elizabeth). It sounded feminine, which would appeal to my audience. It was a name, so it was a little more personal and gave my space some character. And it was classy, which played into the more professional feel that I was going for.

4. Consider these questions

Once you've come up with some viable options, consider these questions:

Is this name too literal?
Is it too obscure or confusing?
Does this name give me room to grow and expand down the road?
Is it easy to say and spell?
Does it reflect the tone of my blog?
Will this name appeal to my ideal reader?

When I was going through these myself, I began to think through my business goals to make sure my name would align with them. One of my goals was (and is) to grow. If I ever have the opportunity to bring more people on board with Elle & Company, I want my name to remain the same. And if I ever decide to add another facet to my business, I want my name to be able to encompass it, too. Hence, Elle and Company.

5. Do your research

Now that you've exercised your creative freedom and worked through the questions above, do your research. Look into other businesses or blogs who might have already taken the names you've come up with. Try out possible domain names to see if they are available and make sure that your name won't interfere with any current trademarks or DBAs. It would be awful to have your heart set on a name, design a pretty brand around it, and put it on everything only to find out that it has already been taken.

6. Test it out

Have you settled on a name? Run it by other people and get feedback before you make the jump. They might bring up a different perspective that you may not have considered before.

Like I said before, there is no perfect process. The steps above are just one way to approach naming your blog, so make adjustments as you see fit to find what works best for you!

For those of you who already have a blog, how did you come up with your name?