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Six Leaf Design is a Brand + Web Design Studio for Small Businesses located in Denver, Colorado As a small business, your website is an incredibly crucial tool for attracting visitors and converting them into clients. As you're focusing on your web design, one of the key decisions you'll have to make is whether or not to display your pricing information publicly.
Hey friends! It’s May and I’m here for all the Justin Timberlake memes. The weather’s warming up, grass is getting greener and spirits are starting to lift. This month the free May wallpaper design is inspired by spring growth and is made from a recycled floral illustration that wasn’t used in a client’s logo design. But she deserved to have her day in the spotlight.
When you book a website with me, one of the first things we talk about is the power of killer imagery, especially in your website design. While there's nothing wrong with supplementing with stock photography (that's what it's for!), many of my clients are quick to line up a brand photo shoot as soon as their website is in the calendar. But then comes the big question: "What do I tell my photographer to make sure we get what we need?
Hello friends! We’re entering the fall season and each morning feels a little chillier than the last (even though it’s still getting up towards the 90s by afternoon here in Denver)! I’m trying to enjoy all the lovely things about this season before the doom and gloom of winter hits. So, let’s list a few of my favorite things about autumn that I’m grateful for, because gratitude can literally rewire your brain to look for the good: sunshine on a crisp day, the pretty leaves changing color, pumpki
When I moved to Denver, I was terrified to enter the field as a newbie graphic designer. I knew how saturated the city was with multiple design schools spewing out amazingly talented people every year, while I was mostly self-taught and fairly inexperienced (I even considered going back to school to get some sort of degree or certificate to prove I knew what I was doing).
I’ve been having conversations with clients and doing research into accessibility + ADA compliance for small business websites. Sounds super exciting, right? Well whether it’s exciting or not, it's important. So I wanted to share some of the things I’m learning and 5 easy accessibility upgrades you can make to your web design so that together we can all pitch in to help the online world become a more accessible place.
One of the first steps to take when you start the branding process is to begin defining your brand. It’s also probably one of the more difficult tasks and involves a lot of time spent thinking about your business and target audience. What appeals to them? What do they like? What magazines do they read? Where do they shop? You get the picture. As a visual person, obviously the easiest way for me to do this is…you guessed it, VISUALLY.
There are three main categories that I typically group logo designs into: illustrative, iconic, and typographical. All three have many great attributes, and each also has drawbacks. But the best way to know which is the right one for you is to figure out how you will mostly be using your logo. Once you do, you may find that you want to focus on a specific style.
Hello and happy February! I’m switching things up a bit with the monthly wallpaper post format. So first things first, may I introduce you to the FREE wallpaper design for February ? This one was so fun to create and really therapeutic to draw all the little pattern elements while sitting in the coffee shop where I sometimes work. My future sis-in-law said it gives her major Saved By The Bell vibes and I take that as the highest of compliments.
Maybe it's been a minute since you've looked at your website, and when you do you notice that your Instagram block isn’t showing your most recent posts on Squarespace. In fact, it seems like it hasn't been updated in quite awhile. It's not uncommon to have issues with the Instagram block syncing on Squarespace. There are a couple common reasons this happens: the authentication has expired, you've changed your password, or an update on Instagram itself (Instagram updates can affect how websites l
Hello and happy February, friends! It’s the shortest month of the year, even with the extra leap day. Which for some reason makes me feel like that means winter will be over sooner, even though logically that doesn’t make a ton of sense. I guess we’ll just have to see what ol’ Punxsutawney Phil says tomorrow (and yes, I did have to look up the spelling on that while writing this).
If there's one thing I get super excited about, it's creating brand patterns for clients. It happens to be one of this pattern-obsessed designer’s favorite parts of a branding project. A brand pattern is a distinctive, repeating design that's used as part of a brand's visual identity. It helps to create a cohesive look and feel across different materials and platforms, making a brand more recognizable and memorable.
I open my email to 5 new messages from my web design client and fight the urge to roll my eyes. It's not that she's a bad client — but we've been working on her site for months, and instead of moving forward, she's asking for punctuation updates on already approved pages. I don't think that's what it's really about. I think it's the fear of putting herself out into the world that's losing her time online, which means losing potential business.
Hey party people! Summer will soon be arriving. Can you feel it? I’m seeing tulips blossom, trees budding, and tank tops are making their first appearances at the park (it’s still a little too cold for me, but it doesn’t seem to be stopping the guy doing pushups on the playground equipment while his 2-year-old plays). I’m so glad that May is here and I’ve got a strange little wallpaper design for you this month.
Well, February went by in the blink of an eye, huh? I guess it’s the shortest month of the year, but I feel even less prepared to go barreling into a new one than usual. This first quarter is turning out to be very full for me both personally and professionally — full of pressure, joy, grief, laughter, stress, relief, tears…all of the above! I’m looking forward to things hopefully evening out in the next months as things settle down and I get a grip on reality.
Hello friends! I hope you had a wonderful + restful holiday season! These last 2 weeks looked a bit different to me from the past few years. I actually took time off to rest! Instead of doing internal business things (i.e. redesigning my entire brand and website like I did in one week last year), I spent time with family, played in the snow, read a book, napped, ate lots of pie, saw friends, and overall just tried to savor a bit of time away from my computer.
Great news everybody…we made it! We made it to the end of one more year. And once we get through the holidays we’re home free to enjoy the darkest and coldest time of the year with nothing more to look forward to. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Obviously I’m not the most Christmas-y person, or more so I tend to find this time of year to be exceptionally stressful.
Let's get excited about file types! No really. It probably sounds pretty darn lame, but knowing which file type to use for your new logo + when can be super helpful if you want it to always looks its best. I like to make sure my clients have a variety of file types for their new logos so they can get the best use out of it. And in my experience, I've found these 3 types of files are an absolute must-have to get the best bang for your buck.
Hello hello, internet friends! It's yet again a new month, this time bringing spring/summer weather and what is typically a slower time of year for me. I'm looking forward to taking some time off this month for a beach vacay and hopefully lots of time spent on patios doing yoga and/or drinking margaritas! For the free wallpaper for May I wanted to do some loose flower drawings inspired by one of my client's brand refreshes.
Okay, maybe they're not exactly deadly. But these 7 common website mistakes can potentially make the difference between a visitor checking you out + taking action or peace-ing out because they don't connect with you. Keep reading below to find out what they are and correct them before you lose more customers. 1. You have NO PHOTOS OR BAD PHOTOS As a designer I can tell you that one of the more challenging parts of building a website is choosing photography.
Hello hello fine people of internetland! We’re hitting the homestretch of 2021 and those of us in marketing (and I’m sure loads of other people in general) are really starting to feel the pressure. It’s like suddenly my obligations went from zero to a billion, and I’m being dragged behind trying to hang on. I’ll make it, but it’s about this time I need to really buckle down and be more selective with what I give my time to.
Hey freaky friends! It’s finally autumn and Halloween month! Who’s excited? I’ve been a bit lackluster about Halloween the last few years, but I’m feeling the itch again to do something fun or dress up as something weird. Plus, now I’ve got a tiny human that’ll get to experience this glorious holiday with me. It’ll be the first time he may kind of even understand what’s going on.
April was about 30 seconds long, I swear. So much has been going on the past few weeks that it went by in the blink of an eye. And with everyone getting vaccinated I’m sure we’ll all be getting even busier and busier now that we can socialize again (YAY!!). So the free wallpaper for May is all about protecting your energy as we begin opening ourselves up again.
Everyone needs a website at this point. If you don't have one for your business, chances are that you're missing out on a good number of opportunities. But if you don't have the time or resources to devote to building a big, strategic website with lots of bells and whistles, at the very least you'll want to make sure you have these 3 important pieces of information on your site and they are front and center where people can find them. 1.
So, you’ve taken the plunge and invested in a shiny new website for your business to take things to the next level. But what good is even having a website if no one can find it? That’s where SEO comes into play. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it essentially means making your site visible for search engines like Google and Bing so people can find you when they search.
Your logo is the literal face of your business. It’s the first thing people see and the main visual image that they will remember. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that yours is making the right impression from the very beginning. If your logo looks outdated, boring, or even cheap, you may be losing valuable business when potential customers walk away.
I opened the front door of our house this weekend to feel the crisp air and smell the cool scent of fall on the breeze. It’s refreshing after a ridiculously long, hot summer here in Denver and I’m looking forward to what I’m sure will be a short autumn before winter hooks it’s claws into us. To be honest I’m dreading feeling even more trapped inside our homes than ever with the pandemic plus cold weather keeping us in.
Creating a unique and memorable logo may sound easy, but there are so many things to take into consideration when trying to create the most important aspect of your branding and professional image. Your logo is the first thing that people see and could either result in them jumping into your sales funnel or disregarding you as a legitimate business.
Hello fellow humans! I’m happy to announce that I’ve made it through July hanging on by a thread. It’s been a crazy month filled with 90+ degree days, lots of toddler chasing, and trying to keep on top of client work while maintaining some semblance of sanity. But let’s get to the reason you’re here. The free digital wallpaper for August was inspired by Meg Lewis , a designer that I admire and follow, and her joy-filled interior design sense.
If you missed it on the blog earlier, I created a post called Graphic Design Dictionary to help explain some of the terms that I use in my daily life that may not be common knowledge to everyone. In the post I defined some basic web terms that you should know if you have or plan on having a website. This month I'm switching to another main form of graphic design and explaining some basic print terminology.
This month I’m starting a new series to help explain some of the common terms that I use everyday as a graphic designer, but that may not be as commonly known to others. I’ve found myself answering questions about these more than a few times, so I thought it might be helpful to start defining some of these terms that I commonly use when talking with clients.
Happy December + last month of the decade! I can remember my dad hanging up our Christmas lights every year outside our house. My mom loved the sleek looking strings of all white lights but dad always liked those huge, colorful lights that were real popular in the 80s. I’m with you, Dad! And that’s what the inspiration for this month’s FREE digital wallpaper design is all about.
There’s nothing worse than going to a website only to sit and wait for all the photos to load (ok, there are plenty of worse things…but hear me out). With today’s web surfers getting more and more impatient, a slow loading site can mean that your audience is bouncing before they even get to your information. Not to mention that you will get better SEO results for images that load fast because it provides a better user experience (Google loves a fast loading website).
Happy New Year, friends! I just spent the last two weeks relaxing, traveling and updating my portfolio. And let me tell you, it’s been so refreshing. I’m all charged up for 2019 + excited about my business and what’s in store. Last year I got to work with some of the best, most gracious clients. I found a great flow + process for my packages and feel like I’ve really hit a groove with freelancing finally.
Hello, hello! March is here and so is the FREE wallpaper design for the month. This month I’ve whipped up a pattern that’s just cute to death with happy little heart-eye skulls in navy + gray — my favorite colors! Grab this bad to the bone digital download below and keep scrolling for an update on what I’ve been up to + some super exciting news! Download the size you need by opening the link and right clicking to save.
Hello and happy April! I’m so happy that Spring is finally here and the green is starting to poke it’s head out of the ground. Anyone else start craving all the veggies when spring starts? I’m obsessed with this illustrated wallpaper pattern for the free April wallpaper design featuring some of my favorite veggies and also a little drummie for good measure!
Obviously in my opinion, your visual brand is what makes the very first impression on your website and hooks your audience. But once they’ve decided to stay and look a little closer, your content is what’s going to keep them there. First off — what is website content? Your content is the meat of your site. It’s all the writing that tells people about you + your business.
Did you know that blogging is one of the best ways to improve your search engine rankings so you’ll appear higher on Google? Everyone poo poos on blogging, but it could be the one thing that truly helps you get in front of more people. I get it, I get it…you don’t think you have anything good to say that anyone would be interested in. Or you feel stupid talking on the internet when it feels like you’re just shouting into the void.
Are you a cake cone or waffle cone kinda person? It’s hot as balls here in Colorado this week and that sun is a scorcher, just in time for the 4th of July! So cool down with this FREE digital wallpaper design with all the ice creams. Slap this sweet little ditty on all your screens to fancy them up for the month. Please share and enjoy! Download the size you need here: Desktop Size , Mobile Size or No Calendar Version.
Face to face in the real world, it’s fairly easy for people to get a feel for what it’d be like to work with you. But online, it’s harder to get the full picture of who you really are and what you’re like. And if you don’t have any presence online at all, it can be a red flag for someone who might not think you’re not a legitimate business because they Googled you, and the only thing that came up was your Xanga page from 7th grade (yiiiiiiikes!
Hello all you heavenly beings out there! I’ve got a current branding client who’s materials are inspired by adventure and spirituality and I’m looooooving the designs that we’re coming up with. So much so that I had to create the FREE digital wallpaper design this month based on her inspiration. Bless all your screens with this beautiful design and enjoy!
Designing a logo is more than just creating a pretty looking icon or choosing fonts and colors. A lot of time and consideration should be put into how you want your logo to look and {more importantly} WHY you want it to look a certain way. Before you even get started on the design, you should take some time to decide on the design direction of your new logo to make sure that you are properly representing your business and starting your brand off on the right foot.
I hope you've been kind to yourself and maybe gotten a little treat since you were here last! February has been one for the books, to say the least. With all that's going on around us, it feels weird to just sit down to work every day like nothing is happening. Yet here we are. The last few weeks have felt like a confetti cannon of chaos shot right into my face, filled with so much joy and also so much heartache.
Happy July! We're sweaty, we're sticky, we're hot, and we're ready for fire-based fun! We're in the full swing of summer with feral kids running out of control and the AC on full blast. Last month at Six Leaf Design was another busy one chock full of client projects. I launched not one, not two, but THREE client websites, with more in the works 😅 I made the choice to close my books for a hot second while I work on my internal processes and systems to hopefully streamline my services even more.
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