All my Gorgeous Guides are written in response to frequently asked questions from clients and other business owners. They’re designed to give you information that can be used when working with me, or general advice on a design problem. Find support with print design, fonts, social media design, publishing, book design, marketing material and websites including WordPress and Squarespace.
Can’t find what you need? Do ask me. My monthly newsletter, Gorgeous also contains inspiration delivered straight to your inbox. Here’s how to subscribe getting gorgeous.
There are several factors that will affect your production costs (editorial, design, proof-reading) when you self publish a book. I’ll cover those in another guide which I’ll share first in Gorgeous, sign up to read it first. One step that has caught out a few of my clients is the print costs and % they will make on each sale and this post offers advice on how authors may lower it.
I love discussing design and I was pleased to update my speaking page with new topics and links. I firmly believe that design should be understandable as well as entertaining. As a trained coach and designer, I often sense frustration with a topic that can be complex. The audience will get the very best from their time with me and get actionable tips.
Your experience is critical. If you loath Wix, then you may not feel there’s any point to moving to another CMS (content management system) site like Squarespace. WordPress might be your thing. Or vice versa. If you loath your platform then the chances are, you’ll be worried about updating it or it simply drops to the end of your to do list.
It’s that time of the year when social media reminds us that we must change our copyright lines on our website. Do you need to do it, and if so should be the current year?
An advanced reader copy (or ARC) is an early version of a book that is shared ahead of publication. It will probably still have some design work to complete and typos to take in but it still has a purpose.
In the June issue of Gorgeous I shared how I played around with Generative Fill and Photoshop. I managed to convince a few people I was in Cornwall. It does result in a query over authenticity and here’s my view on AI generated content.
Fonts must be evaluated against the rest of your content and there are some easy questions to help you, the sort that I would ask you and, if you need support, detangle with you to get the perfect font for your brand, book, website or social media. Read on to get the secret ingredients!
Here’s a guide to how my onboarding or welcome process works, so you are in the know. I believe in transparency and welcome any questions.
A brief sets us up for success. I realised I needed one for Gorgeous, my newsletter, thanks to the wonderful copywriters I know. I figured it might be worth sharing what I've learned lately as many of us have a newsletter, and you may also think 'Eek! I'm not a writer'.
Many projects that I work on contain requests for photos or illustrations. Managing these is important from the start, as assets can easily stack up and it can be confusing. It’s not a post about gorgeous design but, like beautiful creations, it’s really useful!
This Get Gorgeous tip is suitable for you if you are looking to hire a designer, worried about your current design project and the designer you’ve hired, want to get an overview of workflows (you can read more about them in my monthly newsletter, Gorgeous), or you are a designer or creative looking for advice
A professional designer will wear many hats during the creation of your website to support and grow your work. We aim to understand your audience and how best to serve them through your website.
Elon Musk has surprised Twitter users by banning any connections to bio sites. Here’s five reasons why a website link page is better. Book me to create your links pages and I’ll donate £50 to The Trussell Trust too.
Have you seen those nifty slides which are appearing all over LinkedIn? If you head over to Canva, pop in some text into a Instagram post template, export to a PDF - job done. Sort of. This post is a carousel with tips on how to design one so you can avoid the most common mistakes.
Brand consistency is about making sure your values, ideas, and identity are showcased in a uniform way so that they are clear. This makes our brand easily recognisable to clients which helps them to engage with your business. This post explains why guidelines can save you time, create inclusion and engagement.
Personal preference means that everyone can think of exploration and unethical services in a different way, perception is all. When it is right to turn away business? At what point does paying the bills become more important than ethics?
I believe in having systems for everything, and this is my branding design process explained. It’s helpful for clients and any creatives who are curious about workflow.
Redesigning your website is always a bit more complex than a few simple commands. In this Tips and Tricks I give a brief guide to the prep work for redesigning a WordPress website.
Fluid Engine is Squarespace’s new editor for all 7.1 websites. It’s a content editor which uses regular page sections with a range of blocks. The concept is that it allows more flexibility in website design by allowing the creator to resize, overlap and have more freedom with the structure of a web page.
Growing and adapting with more services to help you! Half day VIP days with my dedicated design skills. Taking care of your website with maintenance, or enabling you with a website power hour. Getting your book cover shelf ready with a review and a range of publishing support plus Canva SOS, if your social media isn’t singing, ask me.
Design created for a pitch isn’t 100% perfect, it’s completed to ‘win’ not to meet the needs of the business, product or service through the tested methods of a a good relationship, a collaborative brief, research and communication. It’s free work provided to a brief that could easily express creator bias.
Social media provides a free service on which to publish content. If that content is lost for security reasons or comprised data, you may not get it back. Placing your content on your website and sharing it on social media is one way to keep your own work safe.
Do you have an PSD that won’t open? Have you ever wondered when you should use a JPG instead of a PNG? Here’s a quick guide on what file type and where to use it.
Congratulations! You’ve found me and I hope we’ll work together. This Tips and Tricks post explains what happens when you get in touch from call to invoice. There’s also information on where I work, software, ethics and inspiration.
In this Tips and Tricks post, I will cover the integrity of speculative, crowdsourcing or pitch work so that prospective clients and creatives understand the practice. Maybe you’ve been tempted to enter an award with an entry fee, run a pitch or heard about them in peer conversations.
Launching new website or a rebrand is exciting and a bit overwhelming too. Here’s some tips from me on how to create some interest around the reveal to help you get noticed.
Copyright and licensing of original design and illustration work is complex. There's no one size that fits all when it comes to pricing. What works for one creative may not work for another. Illegal use of images leads to distrust but when an agreement is done well then the rewards are great. The client receives something original and the creative is paid fairly; both can take pride in the outcome. This is a brief run down of common terms and licence maths. Yes, maths!
Yes, I know you are reading this and thinking really?! But it’s only 33 weeks away and us designers will be getting booked up soon with requests for work ahead of the calendar year end. If you want to get organised then now is a good time to start. Here’s some advice to help you.
Working with clients from across the world on their designs can be a different experience to working in your own language. Here’s a few things I’ve learned when collaborating with teams and clients that are international, in honour of International Design Day!