How To Create Gorgeous Printables & Digital Designs
Thursday, December 17, 2020 AD - This post is sponsored, but all opinions are my own!
With access to a computer, you have the opportunity to design graphics and printables that can make you money and help you gain brand recognition. Whether you're a blogger or business, graphics, logos, and printables can be used everywhere. Digital images can help give information, provide a service and allows you to develop a consistent image. Here's how you can create eye catching designs that can boost your views, help you stand out and even make you money!
Why You Should Be Using Digital Designs
Not everyone enjoys sitting down to create pins, banners and logos. But, there are some benefits to doing so. With so many digital creations to choose from, the benefits of doing so are endless. Here are some of the main reasons why I use digital designs:
- Pins help me to expand my reach and increase my blog's traffic
- Visual graphics help my audience understand my notes
- Printable worksheets can be used to help people
- Printables and other graphics can be sold to earn you some cash (think workbooks, postcards, logo designing etc.)
- Logos & matching banners help me to define my business and my blog
- I can create my own artwork rather than spending a fortune on niche designs
- DIY cards and other designs are fun to make, and my family love receiving my creations!
What Kind Of Printables & Designs Can You Make?
Coming up with your design can be the hardest thing to do. There are so many things you could make from card to bookmarks! If you're struggling to come up with an idea, think about what YOU would personally like. For example, you could be looking for a wall print but can't find the right colour for your wall. Creating your own can easily solve the problem that you and other's may be happening. Here are some popular designs you could try out:
- Bookmarks
- Greeting cards/business cards
- Logos & banners
- Infographics or leaflets
- Invitations and certificates
- Pinterest pins/other social media posts
- Homemade prints and décor
- Instagram story covers
- YouTube thumbnails
- Wrapping paper and gift tags
How I Make Printable & Digital Downloads
To start, I decide what I need a printable or download for. At the moment, I don't sell my graphics. I give freebies for signing up for my newsletter. In my media kit blog post, there are some downloadables too. Once I have a blog post idea, I think about what sort of things could be given away. For example, a media kit template or pitching booklet are two of the freebies I give away. I make sure that the freebie is relevant to the post.
I like to brainstorm ideas in a notebook. It's also where I keep future project ideas and other freebies. I note down if it should be a posted, banner or booklet and what sort of size the design should be. Once I have a basic idea, I start making it. I don't plan out colour and layout until an idea is finalised.
Personally, I love to use Canva for all of my designs. It's free and gives you a wide range of options to choose from. There is also a paid version, but the free tools are more than enough. I play around with colour schemes and templates. My blog is pink, grey and white, so I try to make sure anything I make sticks to that theme. It's good to have a set of designs that all match as it defines your brand better.
Once I have created my design, I download it and store it on my PC. If you want to give your design away for free, there are a few ways you can do that. Firstly, you could ask people to sign up for your newsletter. I use Mailchimp, and when someone signs up, it automatically sends a copy of my pitching guide to the subscribers! You could just have a download button on your blog, or ask people to save the image. If you don't want that, you could use Gumroad and set the price to £0. There are lots of ways to give out digital freebies, so chose one that's right for you.
Picking The Right Program & Dimensions
To start your gorgeous graphic, you'll need to pick software that will give you creative freedom. Canva and photoshop are great choices for beginners. I personally love Canva as it offers lots of templates, stock photos and graphics without purchasing a subscription. There is also a subscription you can buy, which offers more designs and stock. You could also use Krita, Inkscape, PicMonkey or even Word!
Once you've picked a software, you'll need to pick a size and shape! Templates are a great way to skip this step as they will cut and shape your design for you! If you're printing your own digitals, make sure your printer can cope with the size. If you're trying to fit the digital image online, you'll need to know the dimensions too!
Once you've picked a software, you'll need to pick a size and shape! Templates are a great way to skip this step as they will cut and shape your design for you! If you're printing your own digitals, make sure your printer can cope with the size. If you're trying to fit the digital image online, you'll need to know the dimensions too!
Use Free Font Bundles To Switch Up Your Designs
If you're looking to make your designs stand out, it's important to have unique features. Every brand has its own font and distinctive image, and Font Bundles allows you to choose your signature too! If you're looking for a fancy font, there are lots of free fonts to choose from. I love fonts and picking ones that match. With such a wide range of fonts to choose from, you can be sure to find one you love. Once you've decided on a font, try to stick with a select few. Building all of your graphics around similar fonts and colour schemes. While it's fun to mix things up, keeping your designs uniform can help you to develop your personal image!
Choose Your Design Type Carefully
I have so many ideas running through my head of what to make next. Narrowing thoughts can be really hard when you just want to make them all. When you're picking what design to start with, think about what you'll use the most. I like to mind map my ideas out and choose something that would increase my productivity or solve an ongoing problem. For example, I have made myself some cute revision notes, and I managed to pass all of my accounting exams! There are so many things you can make, but don't try to stretch yourself thin. Pick the designs you'd like to create the most, and that will benefit you before choosing more complicated ones. If you like all of your designs, roll a dice and get making!
Pick A Nice Colour Scheme
With my blog, everything is pastel because I am a huge fan of soft colours. When studying, all of my stationery is pastel and cute, so I like to make printables which match that. If you plan on selling your designs, the colours really matter. There are so many colours, themes and patterns to choose from that it can become overwhelming to decide. If you're having a hard time deciding, you could either pick a theme to stick with or have your designs in a few choices! Here are some popular colour themes for if you're stuck:
- Pastel colours
- Red, green & gold for Christmas
- Yellow, green, pink and bright blue for Easter
- Orange and black for Halloween
- Neon colours with block backgrounds
- Monochrome or metallic
Be Cautious Of What You Can & Can't Use
If you're making printables and logos, you need to be cautious about content ownership. For example, you wouldn't steal another business's logo or products, so why would you take a creator's design or photos? When you're choosing pictures or fonts, make sure you know your rights to the content. I have a post about the legal side to blogging which touches on photos and their royalties. Especially if you have the intention of selling and distributing your printable, you need to have the correct licences to do so. Font Bundles has lots of free and paid-for fonts which you can use for your designs as they offer the correct licenses for them. Make sure you look into the ownership of content, fonts and pictures before you use them!
It can be so rewarding when you make and share your own creations. I love designing Pinterest pins, logos, and even creating my own pretty blog invoices! Canva and Font bundles are my favourite digital combination, and my blog wouldn't be where it is without them! Whether you're a blog or business, digital creations are part of growth and marketing. You have so much creative freedom at affordable prices and at your fingertips! See what amazing creations you can come up with! Do you make your own digitals, or do you prefer having a designer do it for you? I'd love to know how you perfect your digital creations!
Hi there! I'm Emily, and welcome to my little corner of the internet. You can find me preaching sustainability, hustling hard or working on my endless to do list! Together, we can make a productive, happy lifestyle!
1 comments
I love using canva and font bundles to create designs too! There is so much you can create, isn't there? I need to invest in a good printer to be able to print off designs, especially for card making or even making cake toppers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your tips. Your graphics always look lovely!
Aimsy xoxo
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