Name: Back9 Creative Studio
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What is Canva and Should You Use It?

Posted on October 8, 2021January 8, 2023 by Phil

.save If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or marketing manager, chances are you’ve heard of Canva. It’s an easy-to-use design platform that allows users to create beautiful visuals for social media posts, websites, and more! But before diving into the world of Canva, let’s take a look at what it is and explore the pros and cons of using this popular design tool.

What Is Canva?

At its core, Canva is a web-based DIY graphic design platform that enables users to create their own graphic design visuals. This can be done from scratch or with one of their pre-made templates. Whether you need an eye-catching logo for your website or a memorable post for Instagram, Canva has plenty of options to help you get started. Plus, it offers plenty of helpful tutorials if you need assistance along the way.

Pros Of Using Canva

For starters, it’s incredibly user-friendly – even those who are not tech-savvy can make stunning visuals in minutes! You can choose to start from scratch or choose from a range of templates. The drag-and-drop functionality and thousands of templates available at the click of a button. Essentially anyone can start designing graphics with relative ease. Additionally, you can save time is money. Well maybe not time, as it will take you some time to sit down and use. But with Canva’s library of stock images (and no licensing fees!), businesses can quickly create visuals without breaking the bank.

Cons Of Using Canva

Despite its impressive features, there are some drawbacks to consider when using Canva. For starters, if you want access to additional features such as animation capabilities and premium fonts & illustrations – they come at an additional cost. Additionally, while it may be easier than ever to get started with graphic design – if you want to go beyond basic designs & achieve truly unique results – then you may need to rely on professional graphic designers instead. Lastly – depending on your business needs & budget – investing in premium software may be more economical in the long run as opposed to paying a monthly subscription fee for access to certain features within Canva Pro.

Canva is a good DIY tool for creating visually appealing designs quickly & affordably! Its intuitive interface and wide selection of templates make it easy for anyone. And regardless of their technical expertise – they can produce graphic visuals themselves! While there are some drawbacks… Like limited customization options and extra costs for advanced features. But overall it’s a decent resource for any business with a limited budget. Ultimately though – whether or not it’s right for your business depends on your unique needs & budget – so do your research before committing!

What do Graphic Designers do?

Posted on March 24, 2021September 28, 2023 by Phil

When something becomes second nature, it’s almost impossible to describe it in its most simplest form and that’s how we feel about Graphic Design! We’ve been living and breathing design for well over a decade (that makes us feel old!) so to say that we are passionate about it is an understatement. But what do we actually do?

What can you design/create?

The sky’s the limit – all we need is a brief! One of the biggest parts of graphic design is planning. This involves researching, understanding the client’s needs, creating a brief, and then making sure that it is fit for purpose.

Once all of these things have been done then we can move onto the design stage.

Some things that a graphic designer will typically design include:

Logos. Logos are the first thing a lot of people think of when they hear “Graphic Designer”. It’s for a good reason. Logos are probably the most important part of your brand identity. It’s how people recognise you, your brand, and what you do.
Websites. The design of your website can make the difference between a person choosing your business or competitor. A good graphic designer takes colour, shapes, fonts, usability, and much more into account when creating a custom design.
Apps. Apps might seem similar to websites, but they can be quite different. Getting the design of the website (and extra features too) to an app is no easy task. The designer will typically work close with an app/website developer to make sure it looks good and works like it should.
Print collateral. Digital may be the biggest part of design these days, but print is still important. Having flyers, booklets, handouts, guides, or something else you can pick up can mean a lot. Having something your customers can take home with them can be an excellent reminder later on too.
Business cards. There are several ways to get business cards like Vistaprint if you’re keen on doing them yourself. But a professionally-designed business card can make a huge difference. A lot of our clients found it was worth having us design the business card, then they can reorder it with the same design as needed.
Promo products. Branded products still have an impact but the design of those products is crucial. Sometimes that means doing some tweaks to the logo or putting your branding in the perfect spot. A designer can help you get this just right.
Adverts. These can be printed for newspapers and magazines, or digital for Facebook or Google. For an advert to be effective, the design needs to be eye-catching but also represent the values and culture of your business.
Much more! Graphic designers can work on many more things, even speciality designs like building signage, books, vehicle wraps, and much more.

A day in the life of a graphic designer

A typical day for a graphic designer will be different depending on where you go. Some designers are specialists in one area. Others do a little bit of everything. Let’s break down a typical day for a Graphic Designer at Back9 Creative.

No two days are exactly the same as a designer at Back9. We might be working on a logo concept part of the day. This involves researching imagery, competing businesses and sketching out ideas. Later on, we might move on to designing some business cards. And then it’s over to a digital marketing campaign and we need to design an eye-catching Facebook advertisement. Then to finish the day off, we might design a new website page. Are you getting the feeling that multitasking is key?

Do you have to be qualified to become a graphic designer?

You don’t have to be qualified but it certainly helps when competing in the job market. Employers will typically look for a new graduate that has a Bachelor in Design or has a minimum of three years of experience.

It also helps to have experience with software like Adobe Creative Cloud. Some software has its own certifications you can get by taking a course online (lots of them are free). The more of these you have, the better! Click here to learn more about Graphic Design as a career option.

How can an experienced designer help your business?

Designer Lormindo Mamo said “Every great design begins with an even better story”. An experienced designer can help tell that story. A professional designer in your corner helps to bring your brand to life!

With experience comes wisdom and the ability to make informed decisions quicker which in turn can help to deliver results for your business. Here at Back9, we are brand experts. We understand what can elevate your business and help it be communicated exceptionally to your target audience.

Why should I invest in Graphic Design?

You might enjoy playing around with Photoshop, Canva or Microsoft Publisher and feel fairly confident in your abilities. And if this is the case, we probably aren’t a good fit for your business and that’s ok.

But once you see the value that a design agency can bring to your business you might change your mind. Often all it takes to completely change a brand’s visual identity is a fresh set of eyes from an external party and there are a number of great design companies in Invercargill. Here at Back9, we can audit your existing collateral/messaging and identify ways to improve and better communicate your brand to your audience.

One of the main services our graphic designers do is to create a logo and brand identity. Our logo package starts at just $175 + GST per month for 12 months. Or feel free to get in touch or give us a call to see what we can do for you!

Colour me Impressed! Why Colour in Design Matters

Posted on August 7, 2019January 6, 2023 by Allison Robinson

Everybody has a favourite colour, something that stands out and brings positive feelings. One theory is that individual humans perceive colour differently; so really, everyone’s favourite colour looks the same, but they call it something different (So everyone’s favourite colour is teal of course). But if we agree that most people see colour roughly the same way, we can agree that certain colours mesh while others clash. So how is colour used in design?

There’s a lot more to colour than simply matching well. Have you noticed that brands aiming to be high-end use colours like black and dark purple, while brands that want to show nature and health use greens and browns in their branding and logo? When choosing what colours to use for your brand, there’s a reason our designers don’t simply ask what your favourite colour is and translate it into hexadecimal colour code. Like font choice, colour also has meaning. And while the subconscious feelings behind colour might not be exactly the same for everyone, in general, colours give off specific feelings and meanings that are all considered when designing your brand.

Colour Coding

Colour science is a field of science that studies colours, how to apply colours through technology, and the effect of colour on thoughts and behaviour, and is even a Master’s Degree in the EU. While the correlation between colour and its effect on moods, imagery, and behaviours isn’t concrete or the same for everyone, in general, certain colours suggest certain features for many people, and colour choice is much more involved than simply what looks cool. So what do these colours typically represent and when is a good time to use them?

Red

Red is a colour of action. It represents passion and excitement, and creates a sense of urgency. The colour red has the potential to trigger more raw, powerful emotions–but can do so for both negative and positive ones, so should be used with caution.

Orange

A colour that ranks high for making products seem less expensive is orange. A bit more on the playful side, orange typically is suited for more fun or adventurous brands. It’s typically not ideal for formal, corporate ones. If used poorly, it can instead make a brand appear childish and immature.

Brown

Brown is earthy, the colour of tree bark in the forest and the ground beneath. It’s a solid choice for companies that want to look natural or organic. This feel is emphasised when combined with other earthy colours such as green. It’s often seen as an honest, trustworthy colour, but used badly can look dirty or unrefined.

Yellow

The colour of happiness and sunshine, yellow is youthful and vibrant. While it tends to have a lot of positive effects such as optimism and increasing sales, it’s difficult to use well due to contrast issues and being hard to read. Using a wrong shade in the wrong contest can also look unclean or smudgy.

Green

Choose green when going for something healthy and fresh. As the colour of grass and leaves, green has gained traction as being the colour of environmental friendliness. When used properly with food, it can show vitality and healthiness… And when done wrong, make people think of unpleasantness such as mould.

Blue

Blue is on the opposite end of the colour wheel to red, and has a calming, cool, feel. It’s often used as the colour of logic, reason, and wisdom. While it’s usually a safe choice, the conveyance of reason can make it feel cold, unfriendly, and emotionless.

Purple

For much of history, purple has been the colour of royalty, and thus still has an air of luxury to it. And, since royalty is “more elite” than non-royal, purple brings about feeling of sophistication and superiority. But, that can also become a negative if used improperly and can be seen as over-extravagant or elitist.

Pink

Pink is a great choice to show caring and gentleness. It exhibits youthfulness and represents hope and is a bold choice to help a brand stand out. But when used poorly, it’s more likely to look childish or needlessly rebellious.

Black

Used somewhere in a good portion fo designs, black shows power and luxury. Many high-end brands use black and white palettes to show sophistication and simplicity, that the product or service is good, plain and simple. Like blue, black can also show coldness or even heaviness and seem domineering when used poorly.

White

Often representing cleanliness and purity, white is used often by modern brands. Usually, white is the best colour for the background of a website so that attention isn’t drawn away from other elements. This means using white for branding requires using an offsetting background colour like white, and using it wrong can look boring, empty, and plain.

So remember that colour is complicated, and the meanings behind colour is just one of the many things our designers think about when designing your brand, website, and logo!

Category: Graphic Design