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How to design a new brand identity for your businessDesigning a brand identity for your business is a creative and fun process, but the pressure to create a design that represents your company's values ​​and has commercial appeal may seem like a difficult task.Following a structured action plan will help you avoid brain drain and keep advancing your ideas. Here I share my essential nine-step guide to approaching a brand design project, which will help make your business identity feel unique, developed and super professional.Branding detailsWhen designing a brand, the number of tasks to be performed (Logo! Website! Stationery!) Can be overwhelming. Breaking the process into manageable blocks will allow you to balance creative and administrative work, which leads to real progress.Before breaking the process in this article, first take a look at our new course, Design and construction of a brand . In it, you will learn how to create visual brands from scratch and develop your brand designs in professional and comprehensive brand identities.BRANDNew course: Design and construction of a brandNow we are going to immerse ourselves in these nine steps to develop a new brand identity design for your business.1. Do your researchcosmetics brandingCosmetic Packaging SketchNo business exists in a vacuum, that is obvious. But it is amazing how many business owners completely forget this when they embark on a brand design project. Many will immerse themselves in design ideas immediately, neglecting the fact that their brand will inevitably exist in a competitive market.To prevent your brand from being designed by a foreigner or, worse, to avoid mistakenly imitating an existing design (see the unfortunate debate about the Tokyo 2020 logo as an extreme example), you need to investigate your competitors' brands.If you're an independent creator, check out the way design firms and local advertising agencies present themselves online and in their offices. Design of a brand for a product? Google and switch to images to get an idea of ​​what is considered appropriate (read: salable) for industry brands. Pinterest is a brilliant resource to investigate which brands are in a particular sector; They are considered at the top of the game in terms of design.BRAND10 Essential characteristics of the best small business brandsTake a notebook and write down some of the most common traits shared by the brands you are investigating. Cosmetic research? You should be aware of the common colors or font styles used in a series of skincare and makeup brands (Key: you will soon find yourself in a sea of ​​pastel colors and Vogue style serifs ). Coffee? Keep your eyes clear for the types of graphics used (Hint: rarely photography, and almost always vintage).coffee brandingCoffee brand sketchThis approximate list will be your anchor for the broader commercial market as you delve into the design of your own brand. When you have completed the design process, return to this list. Does your design have any of the features listed? If not, it could be a sign that your brand will be unconventional to do well in a competitive market.2. Know your nicheYou have sought competition and dissected how they approach your own brand designs. Now you need to archive this knowledge in the back of your brain and focus on the goal for your brand.The hard part? How can you make sure that your brand fits into the right market sector and, in a way, looks relevant compared to competing brands, but also make sure that your brand is not only unique but also superior to these competitors ?chocolate brandingChocolate packaging sketchImagine staring at a painting by Van Gogh for hours, and then you get to paint something like that, but different and even better. It's not an easy feat, right?Now that you've put together your competitor brand research list, you can put this aside for now. Don't worry: you won't forget what the competitors' brands were like now that you've spent time researching them. The important thing is that you feel in a position to create a brand design that feels fresh and unique. A design that refers to your positioning against these competing brands without copying them.chocolate branding barsChocolate packaging sketchYou need to focus now on your PUV (Single Point of Sale) . What makes your business completely different from your competitors? Let's say you are designing a brand for a small photo agency. You have searched for local photographers and seen what they offer. Do not start a business without knowing what you can exploit in the market and in some way that you are different from others. Maybe you offer a unique portrait photograph or superior post-editing services. This is your PUV and this needs to be referenced in your brand design.Struggling to define your PUV? Knowing your brand values ​​can help you feel more secure than your business really offers to customers:BRANDHow to define your basic brand values ​​(and why you should)Advertisement3. Place the pencil on the paperWhen a consumer comes into contact with a brand for the first time, the first visual thing they are likely to find is the brand logo. What is the first thing you see on a store sign? That's right, the logo. What is plastered on the side of your morning cup of coffee? You guessed it.Unless you are finding a product blindly, such as testing a product that a friend already bought without first knowing your brand, it is almost impossible to interact with a product without first seeing the logo of the company that manufactures it.For most brands, your logo is a condensed interpretation of everything the brand represents. You can interpret a large amount of information about a business with only its logo. You could have opted for a serif font to look for something more formal or elegant, while a script font could make a brand feel more casual and craft-oriented. The psychology of color could also be at stake: orange feels optimistic and of good value, soothing and technological. Bringing in a metallic tone like gold or copper can be the luxury factor and make a brand feel more aspirational.logo sign brandingOutdoor logo sketchBecause a logo is not only the first port of call for customers of your brand, but also a visual summary of everything you want your brand to be, the logo is a natural starting point for creating your design brand identity.To start creating a logo , you need to get away from the computer at the moment. Take a pen or pencil, and a large sketchpad. Start by writing fast scribbles that represent basic ideas.logo sketchSketchbook Logo SketchPoint to some ideas that have a symbolic emphasis (more image-based) and others that play with the type of company name style. Don't devote yourself to a single idea for a long time; A couple of minutes for each will be enough. Write down each idea with quick text notes to remind you later of any ideas you have about color, style or possible ways to improve the concept.When you have filled the page, set it aside and turn to the next page. Try to fill 2 to 3 large pages with lots of different and interesting ideas. Don't worry if you feel that some ideas are weaker than others, you never know what a springboard will be for an amazing idea.Logo Design SketchingWhen you're done, put aside your notebook and have a little break, either for coffee or overnight. When you return to your work, you can see your ideas in a new light with a fresh mind.4. Reduce to three logo conceptsImprove it and then seek an external opinion. Value the brainstorming process and avoid emotionally committing to an idea too soon.When you return to your logo feel refreshed, take a critical look at your designs. What sketches appear immediately stronger than others? Are some of your concepts too symbolic and complex for a stranger to understand instantly? Identify the three designs that have the greatest potential - perhaps they have a stronger thematic idea or simply a stronger visual style - and highlight them even more in different sketches, allowing each idea to have its own page.buzz logoBuzzTalk Logo TemplateAt this stage, it is much better to avoid thinking of a single idea. Even if you feel that an idea of ​​the three is stronger, you should keep your options open at this stage. Once you have your refined sketches, seek external opinion. Take some friends, family or colleagues and ask them to take a look at the three designs. You may find that they prefer a design that is not your favorite, but don't be discouraged. This will ensure that your brand has commercial appeal and is not based solely on your personal taste.Reduce sketches to your strongest design, based on others, as well as your own opinions. Make a copy of the sketch in black ink, taking the opportunity to refine the design. This is also a great exercise to judge if you do the slightest and silhouetted design.All logos need to work well in white and simple black as they do in full color. Then, you are ready to transfer your logo design to the computer for vectorization. Scan the black ink sketch using a scanner, if you have one, or use a camera or phone to take a high resolution photo.logoMarketing Logo TemplateStill not sure about your logo designs? Do not panic! A logo template is a great starting point to create a professional-looking logo design. Check out this article with our selection of some of the best:BRANDThe 15 best creative logo design templates for business brandsSean HodgeOr if you need help creating your logo design, work with one of the professional designers, carefully chosen in the Envato studio.5. Think of the colorOnce you've uploaded your black and white sketch to your computer, it's time to vectorize it. You can use the scanned design as a template to create the final vector logo.Place the original design on a locked layer in your program of choice (such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW ) and build your vector on top of this, using the image as a tracking aid. Although not ideal, if you lack confidence with vector software, there are ways to "cheat", try the image tracking function ( Window> Image Tracking ) in Adobe Illustrator .You can see how Roberlan Borges vectorized the logo for the internal design and illustration team, 'Team Awesome' in this tutorial:LOGO DESIGNTeam Awesome: From Logo by hand to Vector in Adobe IllustratorNow is the time to start experimenting with color too. Think again about your market research: was there any color that appeared frequently in your brand sector? You can also take advantage of the principles of color psychology. Try changing the color of your logo and judge how this changes the overall effect. How does a particular color make you feel? Does this emotional push fit with what you are trying to achieve with your brand?If, for example, a golden color makes this gym logo feel luxurious you could be sending the wrong message if your USP gym offers cheap rates to customers. In that case, a more soothing, efficient looking blue would be a better option.gym logoGym Logo TemplateYou should also take into account the effects of long-term color associations with certain brands and products. For example, the crisp colors of packages in the United Kingdom almost always mimic the long-established brand colors of the Walker business firm. This color coding is so ingrained with customers that it has been shown that changing the color of food containers can change the way a consumer perceives the taste of the product .crisps packet6. Expand your brand: TypeOnce you have vectorized your logo and decided on a suitable color, you are ready to start expanding your brand. One of the key ways to define the personality of your brand is to choose the fonts that have some of the characteristics that you would like to give to your brand identity.Most brands adopt two "brand fonts," one for headings and slogans and one for body text. Some larger brands may commission a custom font that is completely unique to them, but most companies simply adopt fonts that they feel fit their brand.Here are a number of brand guidelines to find out what popular technology companies use. Adobe uses the Clean and Minion fonts for its brand identity, pointing out where each one should be used in marketing assets:Adobe font used in their brand identityThe Adobe font is used in the guidelines of your corporate brand .Examine a wide range of sources to get some ideas on what might fit your own brand identity design.Sans serif capitals feel confident and modern. The replacement of a rounded style for a more acute graphic look, can give a feeling that the brand is more assertive and masculine.falco typefaceFalco lyricsTypes of writing are popular with brands that seek to look more informal. The vintage-inspired scripting look takes advantage of the market trend for craft styles.southampton typefaceSouthampton TypographyThis makes it a great match for brands that seek to appear less corporate and more independent.north land fontNorth Land font typeTry to associate your logo with a sample of text in different sources. Make impressions of some options and compare them. What personality traits does each typeface have for your brand? Can you identify a better fit, which complements your logo design and has the right personality for it?7. Expand your Brand: Photography & GraphicsA brand identity is not made up of a logo and only one type. Continue expanding your brand thinking of other visual elements such as photography and graphics. While your logo, colors and fonts may remain constant in your stationery, marketing and website, the images you use to communicate particular messages, such as special offers, advertisements or product-specific packaging, will inevitably vary.However, variation is the enemy of a strong brand identity design. When using different images, you must ensure that an element of consistency remains between them. This can be as simple as saying that you will only use one photo style to advertise your brand. Suppose you are designing a brand identity for a food company. One of your brand rules could be that only shots from above are used.food aerialTakes from the top of a Japanese saladaerial slateFrench fries with sea saltYou can be as simple or complex with your image rules as you want. This is the type of practice that becomes essential for the survival of a brand that as a business grows and more employees get ready with the use of the brand every day.Suppose you are designing a brand to be used by a lifestyle company with multiple offices. You may want to make some more rules about the images so that the entire marketing output seems consistent and in tune with your brand overview. You could say that all images have to be pictures of people, but not only that, they also have to be black and white portraits and have the person facing the camera. These three photos will mark the box:8. Apply your BrandYou have a logo and classified fonts, and you set your rules for the use of images. Now is the time to start applying your brand to print and digital media.triad stationeryTriad stationery setPrioritize the means that your company uses daily to communicate with customers. If you work remotely, this could mean prioritizing your website and don't forget to add your logo to your email signature . If you attend a large number of network events or conferences, a business card will put you in good place.polygon business cardBusiness card template in PolygonsHere we share our selection of the best business card templates that you can easily adapt to your own brand, changing the logo, color and type:BUSINESS CARDS15 Business Cards — With Unique DesignsSean HodgeAlthough postal mail may be out of fashion these days, it is really important to extend your brand to stationery printing as well. When you want to introduce yourself to new potential customers, the best impression you can give is to have a brand letterhead (and an envelope too, if you have time).goldGolden set of Corporate StationeryFor starters, here is our selection of stationery template packages , which do all the hard work for you, and are quick and easy to customize:BRAND15 Corporate Brand Identity Packages — With Creative DesignsSean HodgeBe sure to extend your brand through invoices and receipts , this will also leave a business impression ... it could even mean that you get payments on time more frequently !If your business has a number of employees or offices, you should also look for the creation of a brand guidelines manual. This will be a document to show staff and contractors the correct way to apply your brand to everything they may need, from smaller-scale items such as stationery, brochures and marketing materials to large-scale interpretations of how the company is publicly represented. As office design, advertising and website design .9. Check your BrandYou have finished your brand identity design, congratulations! Now what?Well, it may seem like the last thing you want to do, but you have to keep your mind open to review your brand now that it is in use.brand manualBrand Manual TemplateThe first part of this is based on research. Take note of how customers respond to the brand. This could be easier if you have a physical store, and you also have a great opportunity to conduct surveys on your brand in person.If your business is online, you may want to use email lists to conduct surveys (use discounts and offers as an incentive to give feedback) or analyze sales performance in the weeks and months after launching your new brand look. If your sales are improving, that is a strong signal that your brand is working well. If your sales remain the same as before, or worse, running out, this could be a sign that your brand is not being well received.If your brand is not working well, you should not feel discouraged. This is really common as companies try to find their visual identity and a unique place in the market. What is more important is how it reacts.Now is the time to consider reviewing your brand and adjusting elements of the existing identity (changing simple elements such as color can have a huge impact on how a brand performs it) or creating a new identity from scratch. . Go back to the market research stage and see if there is something you could have missed. Could you be more thorough with your industry research? Could you seek more external advice on your logo designs?Designing a brand identity is not a precise science, but with a methodical and measured approach, you can take a good opportunity to create something that connects with people on an emotional and commercial level.If you need a professional to help you with each step of the process, browse through a selection of graphic designers in the Envato Studio that offer affordable logo design and brand packages.Your Essential Brand Identity Verification ListCreating a new brand identity design for your business can be a challenge, but it is a rewarding and creative challenge if you have the right steps in place. This is your checklist to create any new brand identity. This nine-step process will put you in a good place to address any brand project:Do your research — Look at the brand identities of competitors in your sectorKnow your niche — Understand your PUV ('single point of sale') within the sectorPut the pen on paper — Start with the logo and develop a series of symbolic and type-based ideasReduce up to three logo concepts , before selecting a final design to refineThink of color — Look at the psychology of color to choose the best color appropriate for your logoExpand your brand with typefaces — Choose two types for headings and body textExpand your brand with images — Define the rules for using photos and graphics in your marketing materialsApply your brand in print and digital media, such as websites, letterheads and business cardsCheck your brand — Assess if your brand works and consider checking it if it doesn't work well

Excellent landing page design will help to attract users, retain users, and improve conversion rates. The success of many websites has proved the affinity between the landing page and the website themselves. All of these successful cases have one thing in common: they have the best UI/UX designer and the best landing page design.Good designers know that an effective landing page design should clearly convey the unique selling proposition of product or service and focus on the UX design of a perfect CTA button, such as allowing visitors to register or buy a product.Tricks on How to Make Excellent Landing Page DesignThe best landing page design example should be beautiful and attractive for users to gain knowledge to complete the registration and purchase. But how to make one for your own site? There are lot of tricks on how to make an excellent landing page design. Here is a prepared checklist for you.Who is the target group of the site?Is a new visitor who knows nothing about your product? Or, is a user who already knows something about the product? The arrival pages for the two kinds of people are quite different.Set the conversion target.Ask yourself, what do you want the visitors to do? To leave emails, download apps, buy items, register members or read more articles?Accurate delivery of service/product information.Keep the information for different sources and arrival pages be clear and equal. Otherwise, it will only make your bounce rate soared. The reason why users arrive the landing page is to find the correct answer! All they want is to be useful and helpful here.Does it need a responsive web design (RWD)?To put it in practice, responsive design is the best way to address the friendliness of landing pages on different devices like cell phones, tablets, and computers.Data Analysis and A/B TestingThere is no absolutely 100% excellent page, also no standards for success. To make a good landing page, data speaks louder than stories. So the most suggested method is to optimize the gained data, study visitor's stay time, bounce rate, conversion rate, read what, click on what ... Study the colors, comparing red Button and green button, who is performing well? Copy A or B? Then let A/B Test speak.Good product can help you improve the work efficiency-KyvioA unique, all-in-one marketing platform that helps you chart a life path of innovation and creation. It has everything you need to develop and effectively manage your business. From creating landing pages and sales funnels to having your own secure members area, collecting leads and sending email campaigns as well as managing your affiliate network. It’s simple, it’s easy and with a 14-day $1 trial, you can’t go wrong!Based on the points above points, personally, I picked 8 of the best landing page design examples for your inspiration in 2018.1. MailchimpHighlights:Black on whiteSpecial logoClearly user positioningThe slogan in white background and bold black font attract user's attention at the first glance, positioned the site itself as e-mail marketing.The gorilla image on the corner clearly shows that this landing page is created by MailChimp. The color contrast of blue registration button and white log in button stimulates users to create an account. Moreover, free is always welcomed.2. Landing Page - WebsiteHighlights:Bank cardClear business processesThis is a landing page designed in blue background by Ramotion on Dribbble. A prominent bank card shows the site's main product and services. Smooth business processes display the steps for users to apply for a bank card. The clickable point allows users to click and jump to the specific introduction at the same page.Mockplus iDoc, handoff designs with accurate specs, assets, code snippets automaticallyGet Started for FREEAs supplementary, the clickable process node and jump flow introduction enrich the presentation of the product, exposing as many details as possible for users on the same page. That is a smart design reducing the bounce rate of the landing page.3. UpworkHighlights:Clever CTA button designMotivational copywritingThe best way to design a landing page is to put the main CTA button in the first place. Obviously, Upwork makes good use of this. From their CTA design, it is easy to see that their goal is to attract businesses and freelancers to register.From the user experience point of view, the green "Post a Job" button targets on businesses, small characters, "What type of work you need?" is for freelance groups.Their copywriting is also very directional. Instead of using a rigid CTA like "Employer: register here," they use a profitable language ("Let freelancers do more work"), and then an action-oriented CTA tells the potential users to "post your work" here.4. Captico - AnimationHighlights:CTA + animationFlat designClean and concise flat design helps to show the smooth animation on the landing page. The creative combination of CTA button and animation makes the user experience of the entire page natural and vivid. Lively animation is also a good complement of the responsive theme for the site.5. SlackHighlights:Anthropomorphic design of collaborationBrand colorEasy CTA buttonThe fixed head allows all the necessary information to be displayed while the page is scrolling, allowing visitors to receive information without moving the page up or down.Slack's most important collaborative capabilities are presented to clients as a personified image. Diversified collaborative document presentations enhanced Slack brand image.The landing page design provides a strong sensation of brand on colors.The CTA button on the page takes a short, straightforward "Get Started" as the customer's activity guide.6. MatchpoolHighlights:Flat designMinimalist copywritingEye-catching CTA color designAs a website in flat design, color match of Matchpool is very fresh and lively. The concept of community reflected in the move of elves. The short copy also tells users that they are free to create their own community.The sharp color contrast of the CTA button makes it very eye-catching. Like I mentioned above, "Free" is always attractive for users.7. AirbnbHighlights:Simple graphic backgroundPersonalized displayWord-of-mouth marketingTo help turn visitors into landlords, Airbnb offers some engaging personalization features: Estimated weekly average revenue based on your location. You can enter additional information about your potential accommodation in the field for more personalized estimates.How to become a landlord for income? How to get security? Step by step guide to the page provides users with a clear direction of web browsing. The performance of word of mouth and trust on the landing page more enhanced user experience mentally.8. FlickrHighlights:Picture CarouselBig and visible CTA buttonAs we all know, Flickr is a photo sharing or storage platform, both amateur and professional photographers can join and be inspired. Its landing page design takes the form of a picture carousel to showcase the user's photography. With the artwork scrolling along with the artwork's signature and author's name makes people be curious about the author and his work, and he can not help but want to know more about the author's work. This is also one of the charms of the landing page.The large, visible CTA button design draws users to the Flickr community and gets their inspiration from tens of billions of photos.How to Start a Landing Page Design for Your Own Website?With reference to the best excellent landing page design examples I selected, how to start a landing page design for your own website? Here are some tools recommended.Prototyping design - MockplusUsing prototyping tools to design landing pages is one of the most convenient and effective ways. Start a web page project in Mockplus, with the help of available 200 components and 3000+ icons, you can make a landing page prototyping simply and quickly in drag-and-drop.Generally speaking, elements used in most landing page design examples are common components such as pictures, text, buttons, input boxes etc,. For example, this music project, So Stereo, prototyped by Mockplus.Design handoff - iDoc(Free- $99/month)System: Mac & WindowsAdvantage: Online collaboration design & hand-off design for UI designers and developersAs a brand-new collaboration and hand-off tool, iDoc has powerful plugins that support to import files from Photoshop, Adobe XD, and Sketch. With the help of plugins, iDoc is possible to generate specs and assets automatically for UI designer’s use. To make the static design files into interactive and animated hi-fi prototypes, just upload your files into iDoc’s prototype module.On the working canvas, iDoc has four parts aim to different design purpose. Storyboard for logic lines to display the whole workflow and the progress. Specs for assets and color through importing files from the plugins. UI designers and developers could take the necessary visual elements such as position, size, CSS code, and other front-end parameters. That’s quite convenient for front-end developers to grasp codes and accurate information.Targeted as a collaboration tool, you can invite multiple team members to cooperate together for more effective and smooth teamwork. A great new tool to save your time.TemplatesIn addition to using the convenience of a prototyping tool to design an ideal landing page before the project begins, templates can also be applied directly. For example, Unbounce and Leadpages, have provided a number of very good landing page design templates.Unbounce - The best-known landing page design toolThere are many great landing page templates on Unbounce. Most of the templates focus on guiding users to switch. Unbounce also has a first-rate WYSIWYG page building tool to help users create their own landing page web pages.Leadpages - Multi-purpose landing page design toolsLeadPages offers many features such as web page layout, A/B test and optimizes SEO. Its biggest advantage is to integrate with other tools. For example, LeadDigits can help users to subscribe by entering their email address using SMS.ConclusionHope the best landing page design examples and design tools I listed above will be inspirational for your own landing page design in 2018. In addition, there are also many small details need to pay attention, such as how to make the CTA layout, how to use color in web page design, the location of the company LOGO, to enhance the page effect. As well as the title copywriting, support improvements may be greatly enhanced your conversion rate.Mockplus iDoc, best collaboration app for designers and developers

15 Skills You Need to Be a Successful DesignerWeb designers (and related jobs like visual designer, user interface designer, and user experience designer) create the designs for the websites and web apps that we all use on a daily basis. Whether it’s the website for your favorite local restaurant or a huge site like Facebook, a designer decided how the site looks.On smaller sites designers might be involved by creating stock templates that can be used as the basis for a site design, while a larger site likely has a completely custom design.The bottom line? Designers are crucial to the tech industry, and play a role in every website, app, and product out there (the good ones at least).If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to actually become a designer, dive into the checklist below for the details on what web designers, visual designers, and UI designers need to know to get hired and be successful.1. UX designUser experience (UX) design is all about how to control (or at least influence) the way users experience your designs. When working on UX, you’ll think about user psychology—What colors are likely to make people click?? How long will a user keep scrolling down a page?—and merge that with design conventions and patterns that are standard in the industry.2. UI designUser interface design (UI) is very closely related to UX design, but is focused more on the looks and how they influence functionality, rather than the functionality itself. In other words, UI designers spend a lot of time on the look and feel, rather than the immersive experience of clicking around a site and using it.3. Information architectureThe way that content on a website is structured and presented to best benefit the user falls under information architecture. When working on information architecture, you’ll think about how much information to put on each page, how to categorize that information so that users can find it, and everything else related to how users experience the content on a site.4. Responsive designIt’s been two years since mobile internet users surpassed desktop internet users. It’s vital for web designers to understand responsive design and how it works. While not every mobile website is responsive (and there are definitely cases where a dedicated mobile site makes way more sense than a responsive site design), knowing how responsive design works and how to design for it is crucial to being a successful designer.5. Common design patternsThere are a lot of common design patterns on the web. These are things that users have come to expect on websites. Things like sidebars, header navigation, and copyright info in the footer. Users are accustomed to finding certain things in certain places, and designers have to be careful about breaking those conventions so that they don’t negatively impact user experience. To be a designer, you’ll need to get familiar with these common design patterns so you can apply them to your own projects.6. Graphic design basicsWeb designers need to know how to create aesthetically pleasing visual elements for a website or web app. Many graphic design basics (balance, harmony, hierarchy, etc.) apply to web design just as much as they applied to designs for print. If you have an “eye for design,” some of these concepts might be intuitive, but if you want to be a designer it’s important that you spend some time getting the fundamentals down solid.7. TypographyTypography, when it comes to the web, includes not only how to pair different typefaces to create the look and feel you want in your designs, but also how web fonts work and how to use them. You’ll need to be well-versed in how to select the perfect typography for a design, how to scale and size it, and how to use webfonts in your designs.8. Color theoryColor has a HUGE impact on how users perceive a website. Changing the color of a design from a muted green to hot pink can drastically change the impact that design has. Creating color palettes that convey the right emotions is a vital skill for any designer.9. CompositionComposition is just the way different elements—like headers, sidebars, etc.—are laid out in a design. Grid design principles are a big part of composition for the web, though there are tons of great websites out there that don’t necessarily follow a strict grid. Just like with design patterns, you want to be familiar with composition conventions so you can apply them to your own work.10. Design softwareYou definitely need to know how to use the tools of the trade if you want to be a designer. The two most popular general design software programs are Adobe Photoshop and Sketch. You need to be proficient in at least one of those programs, though knowing both could also prove useful. As you get more advanced, you’ll also want to dip your toes into programs like Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. There are also specialized design programs out there for things like wireframes, font design, and mockups that you’ll learn as you need them.11. CommunicationDesign is just a visual form of communication. Knowing how to effectively convey information through your designs is an important part of being a great designer. This can mean everything from communicating well with clients to fully understand a project to using your designs to send a visual message.12. User modelingUser modeling includes how to create and use “user personas” and scenarios to create better designs. That means imagining who the user is and creating a detailed avatar of the user who will be visiting a site or using a product, and using that to inform the design. It involves coming up with common scenarios (what if the user is visiting to find contact information?) and solving problems for a specific type of user. Imagining the users who will use the website or product you’re creating means you can create a design custom-tailored to them, which will make the end result better resonate with your users.13. User testingUser testing is a lot like what it sounds like. You’ll test designs to see which ones perform best with actual users. User testing doesn’t have to be super complicated, but it should be done for every design you create. Knowing how to perform A/B and multivariate testing to find out how to improve your designs with actual user feedback is a super helpful skill for a designer. It keeps you from building a site or product without an audience!14. LimitationsWhile you can do amazing things with modern web technology, there are limitations. Some of these limitations depend on the device type (what you can do on a smartphone varies from what a laptop is capable of), and some are dependent on the browser (Firefox works differently than Chrome, which works differently from Internet Explorer). And some of them just aren’t really possible yet at all. It’s important as a designer that you know what the web is really capable of, what’s still experimental, and what you should avoid doing (for now, at least). If something looks cool but doesn’t work on 2 common browsers and causes sever load time? Save it for 2020.15. Design briefsWhether you’re working as a freelancer, at an agency, or in a corporate design department, knowing how to collect and interpret information about what a design needs to do is a key skill for a designer. If you don’t know how to get the information about what the design’s end users need (and what the design’s stakeholders want), then you’ll spend a TON of time on unnecessary revisions and dealing with frustrated clients (or bosses).If you’re eager to dive into design, be sure to get on the First to Know list for our new Visual Designer Career Blueprint! It’s a great first step to an exciting career as a professional designer.