Design Tips and Tutorials

Tips and Tutorials on design, business and mindset are by far the most important and exciting aspect of owning and growing your business.

Whether it is for a print-on-demand site like Redbubble or Zazzle, creating new surface patterns and designs is what drives us. We want to express our creativity and share it with the world hoping we are able to help people find what they need. If we are lucky we stumble across tutorials by other designers, business people or life coaches who in many ways have paved the way us and by sharing the information with us.

Soaking up all the knowledge they have to offer and learning as much as possible is crucial to improve on your designs but also to grow your self-confidence as a creator and establish yourself as an artist.

3 Types of Design Business Tips and Tutorials

1 ) Design Related

Improving your designing skills and evolving your art style will undoubtedly increase the quality of your designs. And it will also help you become more efficient and will help you create good quality designs in a consistent basis.

18 Steps to make your own Balloon Brush on Procreate

For the written list of steps refer to the blog post

2 ) Business Related

Let’s face it, if you start a business, you have to treated as a business if you want it to succeed. Yes, as creatives it is exciting to create and create and create. But if your goal is to share your art and make a business out of it, then there are certain concepts you must learn and implement. I am relatively new in the design industry, but not in the business industry. Here is the summary of what I think are the most important business concepts and practices, that are coincidently, applicable to any business.

1. Know your numbers: Know your number, in other words, how much money does your business brings and how much money does your business cost. Know your numbers by learning how to read your website analytics: which designs are better than others; what are the best times to post on social media. Know your numbers by learning how much time are you spending on a design vs the return it will bring you.
2. Follow best business practices. Specifically for the design industry include: following copyright and/or commercial license rules, and giving credit when credit is due.
3. Continue learning about your industry, about its trends, and adapt your productivity to meet the current trends.
4. Focus on creating pieces that will help or provide a service to your customer. After all your clients are the ones who will purchase your art and designs.

It was not too long when I realized or visualized my design could become a business opportunity. Then, I stumbled across an Elke and Jen Clarke blog of this mother daughter duo who after being successful designers themselves also teach/coach/encourage other designers and entrepreneurs with their businesses. If you are interested in leveling up your design business, I highly recommend them, they are awesome! Specifically I recommend The Profit by Design Academy, I learned so much!

3) Mindset Related

Mindset tutorials are as important as design and business related tutorials, because even if you are a great artist and know business related aspects of selling your art, you have to be confident and know you are on the right path.

Here is the ever-growing list of mindset related topics that will help you succeed. In a truly creative and artistic manner I will share with you some of designs inspired by each of this topics. They are nice life hack reminders to have around, they help me to be present and move forward.

Confidence

Address and eliminate any limiting beliefs

If you find yourself stuck or in- doubt. Perhaps it is time to reassess your beliefs and decide if these beliefs are serving you.

Here are my two tips to keep a positive mind:

1) It is better to think the Universe is Abundant; and

2) if you you can visualize your dreams they turn into goals; and your solving problem brain will automatically start focusing on how to accomplish them. Your mind will be open to seeing new opportunities, new possibilities to make your goals come true.

Gratitude

This is one of the most important and most effective mind hacks. Why? Because after wholeheartedly acknowledging how appreciative you are for only a few aspects of your life, your entire attitude changes. And if you belief that what you focus on, grows, then why not grow gratitudes that will expand and bring more of it.

Drive

Is crucial! after all, it is your business and your responsibility to get things done! This 3-2-1 Do it design is one of my favorite mind hacks for this. I have the sticker version of it on my laptop. And it works! By saying 3-2-1 Do It, I start taking action before my mind is able to wander and come with a long list of excuses.