There are about one bazillion things you need to think about when you decide to start a new business, and none of them seem to be any less important than the others. But the one thing can that separate you from your competitors is how you present your brand to the world.

Your business’s image is a vital part of your identity that can set you steps above the others. Creating a cohesive brand for your business can even help build trust with potential clients by projecting a professional image. Tell the world that you have your stuff together and that you demand to be taken seriously!

Here is my list of the 3 branding items you absolutely must have for your new business.

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?" It's a question I hear a lot, and it makes total sense! So, here’s a little guide I’ve whipped up to help you chat with your photographer like a pro and nail those brand vibes right from the get-go.

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. The pattern can be abstract or representational, simple or complex, and I’ll sometimes pull elements from a client’s logo design to make it even more ingrained in the overall brand foundations. It's a versatile tool to inject your business's personality into just about anything and strengthen your brand's appeal and consistency.

So, let’s roll out the patterned carpet! I’m sharing some nifty ways to sprinkle a little more you into your universe with 35 ways to use your brand pattern:

I recently sat down at a coffee chat with a networking buddy, and he hits me with this bombshell: his friend quoted what could only be described as a small fortune to do his logo design. His disbelief was evident, which led me to drop my own bombshell: I wouldn't do a logo design for less than three times that amount. Cue the disbelief and raised eyebrows. Let me be clear, you don't need a crazy expensive logo to get the job done if it's not worth the price tag to you. But it is important to recognize that a logo isn't just a doodle. It's the face of your business, and that's worth a bit more than pocket change. Here’s why I charge what I do for a well-crafted logo design.

Color is one of those tricky things that can look different depending on so many factors. Something blue on my screen, might look more purple on your due to the quality of your device, resolution, and individual settings. It gets even more complex when you're comparing the colors on a digital screen, which uses a 3-color process (RGB), to printed colors, which uses a 4-color process (CMYK). Not to mention the differences you may see depending on your printer brand, the quality, ink levels, etc. So, if you've ever wondered why the engaging colors on your screen lose their luster on paper, you're not alone. Let's demystify the reasons behind the color discrepancy between digital screens and print.

You've got a business that you work hard on day in and day out, and you're ready to take it to the next level by developing your brand + website design. Now, you're faced with a crucial decision: do you hire a local freelance designer here in Denver, or do you go the agency route? Before you start summoning the corporate cavalry, let me share a few of my thinking-est thoughts on why hiring a freelance designer might be your best choice — or not!

I know that your business is your baby. You've birthed it, raised it, and watched it develop. So, when it's time to level up your branding or website it's important to decide whether or not working with a freelance designer in Denver is the right choice for you. If you're on the fence, I'm dropping 5 compelling reasons why partnering with a freelancer can be the secret sauce to your business's success.

One of the biggest jobs your website has is to build credibility for you. And there are lots of ways to do that, but social proof is a super powerful one. What does that mean? It means showing other people have already had a great experience using your product or working with you. Testimonials are one awesome way to do that, but another great way is to display the logos of big, reputable companies you’ve worked with or been featured by. Why does this help build credibility? Well, because if those companies trusted you enough to work with you, then so can Suzie who found you on Instagram!

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. Which brings me to the hard news I’ve got for you today: no matter how hard you strive, you'll never achieve a perfect website, brand design, or image. So, I want to talk about how embracing imperfection is the only way to move forward.

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). Now I've got over a decade living + working here under my belt, so I feel pretty confident in what I’m doing. And I can say that while there definitely are tons of designers in the Denver market, doing your due diligence to find the right one for you will pay off in the end.

HERE ARE MY TOP TIPS FOR HIRING A BRAND + WEBSITE DESIGNER IN DENVER TO MAKE YOUR PROJECT A SUCCESS.

I’ve been freelancing for 6 years now. And I think that I’ve finally come to accept that there are ebbs and flows when it comes to the amount of work I have. I used to panic every time I had a little lull (ask any of my business besties about the frantic phone calls they’d get). But nowadays I try to embrace the slower times and have faith that it’ll come back around. So when you find yourself coming down from a peak into one of these valleys, here are 3 things you can do when business is slow that continue to build your business and help you get more work coming down your funnel.

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. This time I’m starting with a few basic terms that anyone with a website or who is planning to have a website should know.

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.

How long has it been since you updated your website? Heck...how long has it been since you've even looked at your website? Sometimes we forget (and I'm just as guilty of this) that while we may not be working on nights and weekends, our website is on the clock 24/7 making the first impression that many potential customers or clients see. Here are 5 easy steps to take to make sure your website is working while you aren't - and not embarrassing you behind your back!

You know how some people cringe at the word moist? It's just got a gross sound to it and sends a nasty image through your mind. Well, if you're not watching the language you use for your brand and website you may as well be shouting MOIST MOIST MOIST MOIST MOIST from your proverbial rooftop. The words you choose to use give off a certain impression of you and when you're representing your brand, you gotta make sure that impression is the right one. Here are three ways you can watch your language and more effectively communication with your audience.

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).

All the more reason you should be resizing and optimizing your photos for web before posting them to your blog or website. Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds and I have a few tips to help get you started.

By now, putting a contact page and form on your website should be basic knowledge so that potential clients can get in contact with you and know that you’re a legitimate business. We all have the basic fields on our contact form: name, phone, message, etc. But there is one simple question you can add to your contact form to give you important insights into your clients and tell you where your time and money should be spent….

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. Here are a few steps to get you started on creating a design direction for your logo:

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!). So start here if you’re looking for a way to look more professional online, level up your online presence or maybe even just get started with the basics.

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. But if even one person makes it to your blog, then it’s worth it if you ask me. So whenever you’re ready to pull up your big girl pants and share your expertise, here are 10 fresh ideas to help get you started on your new blog.