I love creating graphics but doing this might feel like learning a new language for you. I totally get it!

I want to help you out with a few design hacks that can make creating these little artsy graphics easier.  So whether you make the designs for fun for your social media profiles or for promoting your blog/artwork, you’ll feel good about what you’re putting out there.  It’s not as hard as it might seem, so let’s get to it!

Simplify the text you use.

Remember the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words”?

Well friend, let that be your mantra when you’re deciding what to say in your visual.  There’s nothing worse than a cluttered graphic that you can’t read!  And besides, you don’t need to tell your viewer everything in the graphic, it’s just to whet their appetite.

Best practice is to use text that contrasts with the background (and not a lot of it): use light text on dark backgrounds or dark text on light backgrounds.  If you stick to the title, it will make your reader curious for more and hopefully they will click through.

Use pictures to tell your story.

There are so many ways to say something, especially with graphic images.  Use your imagination and create different ways to send your message!

Experiment with quote visuals (overlaying a quote on a background of your own art or a picture you took) or flatlay pictures of items that link to your message.

Do whatever feels fun and right to you–if you put your heart into the message others will feel that and will want to share it. That’s how you create fans. 🙂

Keep the message clear.

Don’t you hate when you get overwhelmed on a blog post from too much information and just click off? Yeah, me too.

Don’t bombard your audience with a lot of thoughts or actions–stick to one simple principle and it will be much more memorable.   And if you’re not sure what you want to say, here are 3 easy options to use that will get people thinking about you without scaring them away:

-Offer a solution to a problem

-Show them how to do something

-Tell a relateable story

Show them who you are.

A picture of my defunct studio that I shared on my blog.

Don’t be afraid to get personal!  Everyone loves a peek behind the scenes to get to know the ‘real’ you.  Show them your funny/silly/weird side and they will love you even more.  Let that freak flag fly, girl!

Are you an artist?  Show a picture of a work in progress or of your messy studio.  Are you a designer?  Show them how you come up with your ideas before they look perfectly staged.

Everyone is a secret hot mess inside!  If you show your audience a little of that messy side, they will relate to you even more.

Be Consistent.

If you want to attract people to your home online, create a style that they can recognize.  The best way to go about this is to pick 4 or 5 colors and 2 or 3 fonts, and use them consistently in your graphics.  If you scroll through pinterest, you will recognize people just based on the images they post– they usually have a similar style with variations in color and information.  Their consistent branding method is a great way to get recognized!