Design tips for those who draw stick figures

TIP #1 FOR NON-DESIGNERS – A design hack that’ll make you look like a pro in no time!

Life’s busy, right? If juggling a dozen things at once sounds familiar, this tip’s for you:

Use templates!

Here’s why templates are your new best friend:

• Just drop in your text

• Change up colors to match your vibe

• Done! Ready to post without pulling your hair out

Templates are life-savers for social media, presentations, newsletters—you name it!

Check out the examples below: a promo post for a store sale and one for a photographer accepting bookings. I used one of the free sale promotion templates to create the photography post.

Guess what? It only took me 1 minute and 42 seconds to make! But you can see the transformation in less than 7 seconds.

TIP #2 FOR NON-DESIGNERS - Use Fonts as Your Brand’s “Look” to Help Master Brand Consistency

Wearing multiple hats can make it hard to keep your visuals consistent, but it’s key for building a recognizable brand! 

Here’s a simple hack: Choose a color palette (3-5 colors) and two fonts, and stick with them across your: 

- social media;

- website; and 

- print materials. 

Fonts don’t just make words readable—they can add a vibe or personality that acts as part of your brand’s imagery. So pick fonts that feel true to your brand, and they’ll work like visuals to reinforce your style. 

TIP #3 FOR NON-DESIGNERS: Visual Hierarchy Basics

Want your posts to grab attention? 

Try playing with visual hierarchy – a fancy way of saying, “What do you want your audience to notice first?” 

You can guide the viewer’s eye where you want it by making your headlines: 

- bigger and bolder;

- adding some breathing room around key elements; and 

- using colors that contrast.

Little tricks like these make a big difference in getting your message across!

Check out the example below of one that uses no visual hierarchy and one that does.

These are just three tips provided. I have also created a Design Guide that provides more detail and tips all to help you! What other tips do you want to learn about? Send me an email at inkbluebda@gmail.com.