Graphic Design Guides

Learn graphic design, one guide at a time

Graphic design guides teach small businesses how to make a logo, a brand, a social post, an ad, a thumbnail, and stationery. Each guide answers one question and teaches one skill, so you can use it the same day you read it. Use the guides to design your own work for your audience, or to know what to ask for when you hire a designer. The guides cover logo design, branding, social media posts, ad creatives, thumbnail design, and stationery design, in that order.

Most small businesses start with a logo and stop there. A logo alone does not make a brand. Your posts, your ads, your thumbnails, and your stationery must match the logo, or customers see a different business each time they meet you. These guides close that gap, one topic at a time. Which topic do you start with?

Guides by Topic

Each guide answers one question. Start with the topic you need now.

Logo Design

How to design a logo that people remember, and what makes a logo memorable. What a wordmark, a lettermark, an icon, and a mascot are, and the difference between a wordmark and a lettermark. What files (SVG, PNG, PDF, EPS) a logo delivery includes. How much does logo design cost for a small business. Logo design AI, and when a designer should finish the mark.

Branding

How to build small business branding and a visual identity that looks like one brand. Colour theory, font pairing, and a branding package keep brand consistency. What the difference is between a logo and a brand identity, and what does a branding package include.

Social Media Posts

Social media post ideas, Instagram post ideas, and social media content ideas that stop the scroll. How to design a post that matches a brand, and the best times to post on Instagram.

Ads Creatives

What makes an ad creative stop the scroll, how to write a hook, and how to write a call to action that sells the offer.

Thumbnail Design

What makes a thumbnail get clicked, and how to match it to the video title.

Stationery Design

What a stationery set includes, and how stationery builds trust.

How Do You Use the Guides?

Read one guide at a time. Start with the topic you need now. Apply the guide the same day you read it. Each guide shows the layout, the visual hierarchy, the whitespace, and the files, so you finish with deliverables you can use. The guides cover print design and digital design, so your work looks the same on paper and on screen. What mistakes should you avoid while you use them?

What Mistakes Should You Avoid?

A common mistake is to use a logo as a brand. A logo is one mark. A brand is the logo, the colour palette, the typography, and the guidelines, used the same way on every touchpoint. Other mistakes follow the same pattern: colours that change from post to post, text too small to read on a thumbnail, an ad that does not match the landing page, and a post with no clear offer. Print files need bleed and the right resolution, or the printer cuts off your design. Print uses CMYK and screen uses RGB, so a file made for one looks wrong on the other. Fix the mistake, then use the guide for that topic. What do you do after you fix the mistakes?