Adobe Illustrator is my go-to software for anything and everything design-related. It's the one program I truly couldn't work without.
And while it's easy to assume that the program's primary focus is illustration based on the name, there is so much more to this design software.
With tools for type, color, photo cropping, image tracing, drawing, and much more, it has innumerable benefits for bloggers and business owners, alike.
To get your creative gears turning, here's a look at 40 ways Adobe Illustrator can take your blog and/or business to the next level.
First impressions are crucial, especially in business.
Potential customers and clients make judgments about your business within the first few seconds of coming into contact with it, whether it’s through your website, your social media accounts, or a simple blog post graphic.
And those initial thoughts - whether they’re spot on or far off from what you want them to be - are within your control. You have the opportunity to make a killer first impression through high-quality, branded visuals.
If your blog is a large part of your business or you’re hoping to drive more traffic back to your site through your blog, you have to have eye-catching blog graphics to not only generate a positive first impression, but to encourage readers to share your posts on sites like Pinterest and be seen by an even wider audience.
So how do you create eye-catching blog post graphics? And better yet, how can you set them apart so they’ll stand out from the rest and be recognized time and time again?
“When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for 5 days.” - Michael Scott
Video platforms like YouTube (and more recently, Periscope) are easily the world’s greatest time-wasters. We’ve all been guilty of losing track of time on YouTube at least once, because videos are easily consumable, very addicting, and highly entertaining.
As a matter of fact, studies show that a whopping 78% of us watch videos online every week and 55% watch videos online every day.
Which is why Youtube is also the world’s greatest overnight-success-maker. If you’re on the production-side of a video and you’ve come up with a clever idea, you might just have a viral hit on your hands.
Video holds a lot of potential for interaction, engagement, and shares for creative businesses. And for that reason, it’s one of the best visual marketing tools you can use.
But it producing videos can be a little overwhelming, can’t it? Even with helpful video tools out there like Animoto, many of us struggle to come up with simple ideas for video content that would appeal to our audience.
And that’s where this post comes in. I’ve rounded up 40 easy, engaging video content ideas to help get your creative gears turning. My hope is that you’ll find a few ideas to implement and as a result, bring your business more exposure.
If you’re looking for a good way to kill at least an hour of your time, type in the word “infographic” in the Pinterest search bar.
Thousands of clever graphics will pop up on everything from “how to make a salad taste awesome” to a baby’s first year in a review. There’s even an infographic that answers the pressing question, “Is your dog sleeping a little too much?”
Then, after you’ve admired the genius creativity behind them, take a gander at how many repins and likes each of those infographics receives. Thousands upon thousands.
In fact, infographic volumes have increased by over 800% in 2 years. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t.
What is it about infographics that makes them so appealing? And better yet, how can you come up with some clever infographics for your business so it gains more exposure through likes and shares?
I have all the answers for you in this post.
Is your headline the first thing you consider when you sit down to write a post?
Probably not, but creating a catchy blog post title is one of the most important aspects of each blog post. It's the gateway to your content; it convinces people to click or scroll right past your latest post'.
In fact, studies show that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 will read your entire post.
Here are a few pointers for drawing in potential readers and a couple "templates" to help you create a catchy headline for your upcoming posts.
With the 2016 presidential election right around the corner, the candidates are using visuals to characterize themselves and appeal to the American people.
But how effective have their attempts been and what messages are their visuals actually portraying?
I'm picking their logos apart in today's post and casting my vote on the strongest, most accurate design.
Change is the nature of a creative business.
Just when you think you have something figured out - whether it’s blogging, your service package, or your marketing strategy - it changes on you and you’re forced to adapt and reevaluate.
You can either fight it and get frustrated or look at it as an exciting challenge. And if I’m honest, I do a little bit of both.
That’s what happened with the Elle & Company website.
I made some updates last summer, but as my business has grown and changed my goals for the site have changed.
I needed to find a way to make it easier to navigate. I wanted to include content upgrades and opt-ins to grow my mailing list. And instead of doing a facelift and making things look better for a season, I knew an overhaul was in order for the long-term.
Maybe you’re in the same boat. Or maybe you’re just curious about the changes to our site and the reasoning behind them.
Either way, this post is for you! Here’s a look at what’s changed and why.
First impressions are crucial, especially in business.
Potential customers and clients make judgments about your business within the first few seconds of coming into contact with it, whether it’s through your website, your social media accounts, or a simple blog post graphic.
And those initial thoughts - whether they’re spot on or far off from what you want them to be - are within your control. You have the opportunity to make a killer first impression through high-quality, branded visuals.
If your blog is a large part of your business or you’re hoping to drive more traffic back to your site through your blog, you have to have eye-catching blog graphics to not only generate a positive first impression, but to encourage readers to share your posts on sites like Pinterest and be seen by an even wider audience.
So how do you create eye-catching blog post graphics? And better yet, how can you set them apart so they’ll stand out from the rest and be recognized time and time again?
Ever since I shared my 2-week design process on the Elle & Company blog a few months ago, I've received a ton of comments and emails about the ins and outs of how it works.
So we decided to switch things up a bit from our normal blog content with a video explaining the benefits of the 2-week process as well as some tips for how you might be able to implement it for your service-based business.
There are many different directions you can specialize in as a graphic designer. In design school we got a taste of each one - packaging design, advertising, user experience design, web design - but I was always drawn to branding. I loved the idea of creating a cohesive visual representation of a business through fonts, colors, graphics, illustrations, and patterns. The organization and strategy behind it all was right up my alley.
But I never understood just how valuable brand design was until I started Elle & Company a year and a half ago. While blogging, marketing, advertising, and social media strategy have contributed to my business’s growth, much of it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for a strong, recognizable brand.
There are innumerable benefits to dedicating time and resources into a streamlined brand. Today I’m touching on 8 of them with the hope that you’ll gain a better idea of the great impact a cohesive, well-designed brand can have on your business.
