Blog Post Archives

Today I’m excited to talk about one of the easiest ways to take your design work to the next level. To be honest, when I look at websites, magazines, billboards or really any professional advertisements—font selection immediately differentiates the best from the rest for me. When selecting fonts for your brand, it’s so crucial to keep in mind the overall vibe you want to convey. Sometimes the most subtle font changes can completely refresh a company’s look or share your message in a stronger way. Ask yourself what words would you use to describe your brand? Who is your intended audience? With what “feel” will that audience resonate most?

For example, if your target audience is made of predominantly male farmers over the age of 40,  your brand elements need to portray a drastically different message than if you are trying to reach female CEOs of small fashion and lifestyle companies. Think about the type of clients you want to attract and consider what they might relate to.

In order to decide the type of fonts you want to use, you need to know the basic principles of typography. Don’t let that word intimidate you… typography is just a fancy way to say the appearance of letters. But, to feel confident in the font-selection process, you need to understand the terminology. Take a few minutes to read through my breakdown to help you feel like a typography expert!

I would define a brand as the visual and emotional recognition of a business. Webster defines it as: “a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer”

“Put simply, your “brand” is what your prospect thinks of when he or she hears your brand name.  It’s everything the public thinks it knows about your name brand offering—both factual (e.g. It comes in a robin’s-egg-blue box), and emotional (e.g. It’s romantic).” —Forbes

Have you ever considered what makes up a brand and considered why it's important? Today, I want to talk about why a brand is much more than just a logo.
 

Your website is your main point of contact for online clients. You print your website on business cards and stationery, put it in your emails, and give it to anyone asking to view your work. If you’re a business owner or freelancer, chances are you have a website.

You use your website as a tool to show potential clients your work, tell them about yourself, explain your services, and present valuable content through your blog posts. Ultimately, the purpose of your site is to drive traffic, gain exposure, and book clients.

When you send potential clients to your website, you want to make sure they have a positive experience. After all, it may be the only interaction they have with your business before deciding whether or not to purchase what you’re selling.

Here are a few simple ways to make sure your clients have the positive experience they’re hoping for.

When I first built my website back in January, I used a platform called Weebly. I chose it because it was affordable and seemed like a simple place to start. It had a drag-and-drop builder that was easy to use and intuitive.

After using the platform for several months, I made the decision to switch to Squarespace. I wasn’t disappointed in my experience with Weebly, and in-fact it is a great place to start if you’re just getting into the website arena. However, I decided it was time for me to move on to something bigger and better—Squarespace—and here's why.
 

Branding is more than a logo. A successful brand has a voice, a purpose, personality and a distinct style. A brand is a feeling and an experience for your clients.

Before you leap into choosing pretty colors and fun icons, you need to answer the tough questions. It’s important to establish a direction for your company in order to create a brand identity that meets your needs.

Each of my branding clients are asked to answer these 10 questions prior to the start of their project. I encourage you to consider your answers to these questions as well, especially if you’re considering investing in a branding package.
 

Designing for yourself as a designer is a really tall order. It’s so hard to decide which direction to go, because your options are endless. When I began to work on the branding package for Casi Long Design, I tried to treat the project like I would any other client.

I forced myself to answer questions I would have my clients answer: Who is your target audience? What are the emotions you want your brand to convey? How would you describe your brand’s style and personality?

A few words I came up with were classic, simple, airy, clean, fresh, authentic.

Using those 6 words and a simple, 7-step process, I was able to develop my own brand into something I can be proud of. Here’s how you can too!

One of my friends says every book has little “nuggets” of truth or knowledge to be learned in them. You just have to mine sometimes.

I’d say I count every finished book a success if I walk away with one new thing I didn’t have before. New knowledge, a different perspective, a new truth.

I typically try to switch back and forth between business/self-help books and christian or leisure reads. So in my (short) list of books I read this year—because let’s face it, who ever reads as much as they hope to—you’ll find a variety of genres.

As business owners, we all wear many hats. Designer, bookkeeper, social media manager, marketer, email manager. The list goes on.

It can often get overwhelming.

The best way I’ve found to maintain sanity and keep things running smoothly, is to use systems. I have a system for just about every portion of my business from client design process, to invoicing, to content creation.

In order to stick with those systems and processes, I use programs designed for those specific tasks. So I’ve put a list together of which programs I use that help keep this business running.

Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic to your site, especially if your intended audience consists of women. I know several successful entrepreneurs who get a lot of their traffic, and ultimately clients, from Pinterest.

Pinterest is considered a search engine, even though most of us lump it into the social media category. I personally go to Pinterest anytime I’m looking for help on a business topic, or searching for design inspiration.

If you have a blog, Pinterest will be your very best friend. You’ll want to get setup with a business account so you can view analytics, create ads, and expand your audience.

When I first took Casi Long Design full-time, I quickly realized how much went into running a business. There were so many moving parts—from client work to marketing and business development—that I quickly became overwhelmed by it all.
 

I was wandering aimlessly and I needed help.

But the problem when you first start out on your own, is you have no money. You’re struggling just to make ends meat and every paying client is just so darn valuable. I, like a lot of entrepreneurs, fell into the trap of thinking, “I can’t spend any money on my business when I’m barely making enough to get by!”

So I would spend hours scouring Pinterest and different blogs trying to piece together a plan for my business. Trying to come up with a way to quit treading water and actually start gaining momentum. But honestly, I was guessing and had no clue where to even start.

I knew something had to change.

If you work from home, you know the struggle. The struggle to ignore the dishes and laundry and switch on work mode. The struggle to get out of those jammies and turn off Netflix. The struggle to turn off work mode at the end of the day and enter into quality time with your family.

When I started my business, I had no idea how many obstacles I would have to overcome to feel like I was being successful on a daily basis. I found myself sleeping in too late, and then working all evening until I was so exhausted I could barely function. I found myself struggling to make time to workout, shower, get dressed, leave the house. My schedule was all out of whack and it was taking a toll on my mind and body.

Over time I’ve developed a pretty good system that keeps me feeling productive and accomplished, all while keeping some resemblance of a work/life balance.

Like many of you, I’ve always known I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But like a lot of you, I had to work in the corporate world before I could make that dream a reality. It’s often difficult to enjoy your 9-to-5 when you’re hoping to go out on your own. You go to work everyday thinking, “If only I were going to a job I was passionate about.”

Luckily, I didn’t hate my 9-to-5, however, I was constantly dreaming of “one day” when I would own my own business. While I was able to design every day, I wasn’t passionate about the work I was designing or the clients I was working with. I knew what I wanted and that wasn’t it.

I found it difficult to see past the annoyance of not having what I wanted immediately. And once I had set a timeline for myself of when I planned to quit, everyday at my current job seemed like a waste of time. I’m willing to bet several of you reading this feel the exact same way. You know it’s not your forever job and you’re just trying to get by until that glorious day of sunshine when you hand in your resignation and head out into the world of entrepreneurship.

Friends, I’m here to tell you take heart. Your time is coming. For now, even though it may seem like a waste of your time, it absolutely is not. You are being molded and shaped into a better you. The BEST you who is going to accomplish amazing things when your time comes. But for now...

We all know the person who talks the big talk, but rarely walks the walk. They are constantly spouting off the things they're going to do, saying how much they hate their job, or dreaming of moving somewhere exotic. Do they ever actually do the things they love to talk about? Not very often.

On the contrary, we also know the person who just gets things done. I call them doers. They hardly ever go on and on about what they're up to, but all of a sudden they've accomplished great things.

There's a reason they don't spend time talking about it—they're too busy actually doing it.  After all, actions really do speak louder than words.

Spending money on your business can be hard. Especially when you are first starting out and have little-to-no money coming in. Most entrepreneurs spend their first couple of years just trying to get by, which can often mean you’re not investing anything back into your business. You’re cutting corners every chance you get in order to keep your business afloat. Trust me, I get it.

Have you ever considered that investing a little bit of money into your business could potentially set your business up for success? If invested in the right areas, you could actually see more benefit and more income than if you hadn’t spent any money at all.

I am a firm believer in, “you get what you pay for.” Sometimes exactly what your business needs is a little TLC and blind faith that it will all pay off in the long run.

We all use photos on a regular basis. We use them for social media, blog posts, powerpoint presentations, pricing guides, websites and many more things. If you're a business owner, you've likely ran into the challenge of finding high-quality photographs at an affordable price.

I know I certainly have. 

To prevent you from scouring the web for hours in search of the perfect photograph, I've put together a list of stock photo sites I use on a regular basis. And get this—they're all completely FREE!

It’s that time of year where we dream of all the things we’re going to accomplish in 2017. We love to dream BIG dreams of getting in the best shape of our lives, traveling the world, and building our businesses into six-figure success stories.

I, too, am a big dreamer. I lie awake at night thinking of all the things I want to accomplish in my business. I then lie awake stressing out about how much time it will take and how little time I have.

All of our BIG dreams are 100% attainable, but they can seem overwhelming when you don’t have a plan for how to reach them.

I personally like to break my goals up into categories: health + fitness, business, spiritual + emotional, relationships, and financial. Once I’ve done that, I follow these six guidelines for creating achievable goals.

How many of us are guilty of dropping random files on our desktop because we aren’t sure where to save it in our files? Or what about a “junk folder” similar to a junk drawer in our house? And I know I’m not the only one who gets anxiety when my desk is messy.

Earlier this year, I spent a lot of time getting my life—and business—organized. It was no easy task to take on, but I’m so glad I did it. I now have a system for everything and it prevents me from frantically searching for things or getting flustered by the stack on my desk.

I am by no means perfect at maintaining my system, but It’s leaps and bounds better than having no system at all.

If you’re looking for ways to be more organized, keep reading.

I can't tell you how many times I would forget to post to Facebook or Instagram and then I would be away from my desk and unable to post something of quality.

I started scheduling my posts ahead of time and it made a huge difference in my daily routine. I was no longer glued to my phone or constantly worried if I had posted for the day.

I experimented with several different scheduling tools before eventually landing on Buffer. I love the interface and how user-friendly the site is. I recently upgraded to the awesome plan and have been happy with it so far.

If you’re looking for a way to relieve the stress of social media, let me tell you how Buffer can help.

I never really considered myself “artsy” or creative. I was athletic. My brother was known as the smart one and I was known as the athlete. My dream was to play college softball and I never really considered what I would do after that. I must have assumed life as I knew it would be complete once I reached my goal.

Thinking back now, I guess I have always been a little bit creative. I loved to doodle and draw from a young age.

When I was 3 I painted my mom’s vacuum cleaner with white out. The entire thing. A few years later I gave the underside of our butcher block a nice makeover—it included our home address and a lovely flower drawn with sharpie. I remember getting in trouble often for drawing on myself, too.

Like I said, I didn’t put much thought into what I wanted to be when I grew up, but once I started college I was kind of forced into deciding. I didn’t decide to become a designer overnight. My journey to where I am today was both unconventional and unpredictable.

Have you ever heard the saying, “It takes a village.”?

Typically this statement is referring to raising a child. While I have zero experience in the child-rearing department, I do have experience in running a business and I will say this statement certainly applies.

It’s a lot of work to operate an entire business by yourself. You likely find support and advice from loved ones, mentors and peers, but ultimately you are the one who has to do the work.

You are the one putting in the long hours, and stressing over what to post to social media. You are the one figuring out how much to charge clients and how to collect their late payments. You are the one trying to stay organized and on-task without anyone holding you accountable.

I, too, share in these struggles. And yes, it can definitely be overwhelming at times.

To make it easier on myself, I started using a few resources to help my business run a little more smoothly. Hopefully, you’ll find them helpful too.

If you read my last post How to Create Quality Photography for Social Media, Part 1 you learned all about how to choose your props, set up your studio, style your photos, compose your photos, and capture your images. You learned a few rules of photography like rule of thirds and balance. 


ow that you’ve had time to practice styling and snap a few images, lets talk about selecting the right photos and how to edit them.


Today, I’m going to walk you through my process and talk about the tools I use. I will also break down some of the adjustment tools in Instagram and hopefully give you a better understanding of what each function does. 
 

When I began to work on launching my new company, I knew I would need to develop a specific look for my business and social media platforms. I knew I wanted my brand to be clean, airy and simple with pops of color, but I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that through photography.


I started doing research. 
 

I would google, “How to take professional-looking images,” and “how to photograph for your blog.” I also spent a lot of time looking at what others in my industry were doing. I took notes of what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what kind of props they were using. I debated whether I liked the more organized, aligned style or if I should go for a more organic, messy feel.


While it was great to do research, and it gave me a base knowledge of what I needed to know, I realized I would only truly learn by doing. So that’s what I did. 


I started experimenting and figuring it out. And that’s when I really came into my own. Now I want you to do the same—here are the first five steps to taking quality photos. 

Have you ever said to yourself, “I’m not creative enough,” or “I’m not qualified,” or “I don’t have what it takes.” Every entrepreneur on earth has had these same thoughts at one point or another. I can’t tell you how many times I have questioned if I have what it takes to be a successful designer or business owner.


I had these thoughts this week actually, which is what prompted me to write this post. Through a lot of trial and error, I’ve discovered a few ways to silence that little voice in our head telling us we can’t…
 

Since high school I have dreamed of being self-employed. Back then I liked the idea of being my own boss and sleeping in as often as I wanted. But the older I became, the more I realized being your own boss comes with a lot of responsibility. It's not always easy and accommodating, but more often than not it requires a large amount of discipline. Discipline to work even when you don't necessarily feel like it.


When deciding to leave my full-time position I had to weigh all the odds, create a pros and cons list and prioritize all aspects of my life. 


For many people, being self-employed means they no longer have to answer to their terrible boss or go to a job they really don't enjoy. 


But for me it wasn't about that. For me, it came down to one really simple yet important thing—Freedom.
 

There are a few questions I've been asked on more than one occasion. I thought it was about time to address those questions in a blog post.

People often think good design equals more design. More colors, shapes, photos, patterns. However, the most effective design is often what appears to be less design, when in reality it’s simply smarter, more efficient design.

I ran across this quote and I thought it summed up my thoughts quite well:

“Apple pie has endured through the years because it’s something people easily understand. In the same way, a simple, classic design that doesn’t require your audience to think too hard to understand the message will still be relevant after years of fancy fluff and bad trends have come and gone.” —Speckyboy Design Magazine

In a world of fast-paced, hustle and bustle, I for one think simple design is working quite well. Here’s why:

In the past two posts you read about how non-designers can use alignment, white space, hierarchy, and typography to create professional-looking designs.

wanted to wrap up this series by talking briefly about how to choose color.

This can be tricky, because color rules are less concrete than other rules like typography. To get you started off on the right foot, here are a few basic rules for choosing the right colors for your design.

When someone receives your designed flyer or postcard in their mailbox, they may only spend 2-3 seconds looking at it before they decide to either keep reading or to trash it.

It’s imperative the viewer sees the most important information first to entice them to keep reading. Hierarchy can make or break a good design piece.

In the last post, I walked you through how to use alignment and white space when creating pieces like flyers, cards and advertisements. If you missed it, you can check it out here.

In this post, I’ll go a step further and discuss hierarchy and typography.

Have you ever tried to design something and couldn’t quite put your finger on why it wasn’t working? If so, this series is for you.

ver the past few years I have discovered a few tips and tricks for designing pieces like flyers, cards, advertisements, magazines, or books.

I will walk you through a few simple rules for making a card.

This series will consist of 3 Parts. Part 2 will be covering hierarchy + typography, and part 3 will be about choosing color.

Let’s dive in.

You know when you see that superhero mom juggling 2 or 3 kids, a dog, and countless other things and you immediately ask yourself, “How does she do that?” Or when you see the restaurant or coffee shop owner who seems to be working every single moment the lights are on? I have certainly thought, “I wonder how they do that,” so many times in life. I would bet they have a list of “things” they would tell you they couldn’t live without. 


I am definitely not a superhero mom (or a mom in general) and I don’t run a restaurant or coffee shop, but as a designer and business owner I also have a list of items that make my life a whole lot easier. Here's my top 10 list.
 

I’m super excited to celebrate my latest client as she launches her new brand and website today! When Michelle first reached out to me about designing her blog, I thought, “What an interesting combination—running and eating donuts.” But the more I learned about her story, the more excited I became.

Michelle travels a lot for her job, and she’s also a runner. (In fact, she is currently training for a full marathon!) She discovered a while ago, as she was training for these races, that she had to take in a lot of calories in order to keep up with her training. So she started eating donuts (naturally).

While in New Orleans, she stumbled upon a donut shop listed on The 33 Best Donut Shops in America (by thrillist.com). As she looked through the list, she realized the author hadn’t actually visited all 33 shops, and a lightbulb went off, ”I should try all these donut shops before I turn 30,” she thought.

That’s when Donuts for Miles was born. Michelle travels around the US discovering the country’s best donuts and running trails, and shares it with all of us through her blog. How cool is that?

I have never craved donuts more in my life than I have throughout the span of this project! It’s nearly impossible to spend weeks looking through images of delicious donuts and not want some for yourself. (I only indulged a couple times.)

Here are the details from this super fun (and delicious!) design project.

One of my past colleagues (and friend) sent me the name of a guy who was looking for branding for his custom clothing company. Oddly enough, I had been wanting to design branding for a fashion company, so I was super excited when this all came together.

After my first meeting with Robert, I could tell he knew his stuff. He was very knowledgeable about clothing and current fashion trends, but what really struck me was his desire to use his gifts to serve others.

Robert moved to DC from the midwest to work in politics, but has a background in the custom clothing industry. He wanted to help his peers dress for success and hopes to utilize his business as a way to help clothe the homeless population, or those who may not be able to afford a nice suit.

Robert’s style is original, neat, and intentional. I can’t wait to see the pieces he’ll create for his clients. Here are some of the details from the brand design process.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ginny last spring when she took photos of me and my husband. Ginny does beautiful work, so I was super excited when she contacted me about updating her brand and website. I couldn’t wait to help display her gorgeous art in a minimalistic, authentic way.

Her photos are full of life, emotion and details. (And from the amount of images I’ve seen, it seems as though she never puts her camera down!) It’s very clear how passionate Ginny is about photography and capturing life’s most important moments. It’s been a true joy to work with her over these past several weeks.

I’m super excited to celebrate Ginny Filer Photography today as she launches an all new brand and website! Here are some of the details from our design process.

One of my dear friends is a wonderful baker. She’s constantly blessing others with her delicious baked treats and everyone raves about them. For the past couple years, I—and several others—have been telling her she needs to open a bakery and sell her goodies.

This friend is also a huge baseball fan (all the more reason why we’re friends). She particularly loves the Washington Nationals and their head coach—Dusty Baker.

So when she mentioned her dream bakery would be called “The Dusty Baker” and would be located right in our neighborhood, I thought it was genius. I knew I had to create a branding package for her.

No, this isn’t an actual building or an actual bakery (yet!), but it sure was fun to create the brand + website for when she does decide to make it happen!

I recently made several edits to this brand and I wanted to share it with you guys. I created a full brand style guide as well as collateral items and social media branding. 

During two of my summer breaks in college, I worked for a woman and her husband who ran their own directional drilling company out of Oklahoma. At that time, I was planning to get my degree in Interior Design, and this woman—Beth Ketchum—had worked as an interior designer for years, so we hit it off right away.

Beth and I stayed in touch after I returned to school (and ultimately decided to forgo the interior design route). A few months ago she messaged me about creating a logo for the new design + consulting company she was starting, Wunderhaus Interiors Design + Consult. 

I was so thrilled to work with Beth again on such a fun project! She is super talented and I can’t wait to see all the beautiful homes she will create.