the logistics of running a business can squash your creativity.
Branding
If you ever want to edit your raw design files, (think business cards designed in InDesign, or logos created in Illustrator, or social media templates made in Photoshop), you’ll want to have access to Adobe Creative Suite. While you can subscribe to just one of the programs, it is worth the extra few dollars to have access to nearly all of them.
Another route to create branding pieces is Canva, which as a free and a pro version. The perk of going Pro is you can create a Brand Kit, allowing you to save your branding colors and elements to ensure consistency and efficiency. Canva also allows you to create animated graphics, easily resize designs for different platforms, and access tons and tons of templates.
So far, this is my favorite place to get marketing materials printed. Amazing quality, fun add-ons, and great turnaround time. This link saves you 25% off your first order. (Plus, if you use the Rakuten Shopping Assistant, you get an additional 2.5% back!)
If you’re looking for unique fonts, graphics, or even marketing templates, Creative Market is a great place to start. Plus, you can get six free goods each week!
When I need photos for a project and my client doesn’t have their own, Unsplash is the first place I look to find free, high-resolution photos.
Logistics
Yes, you can use Google apps for free, but they have their limits. The biggest perks for me are the custom email address (awesome@yoursite.com) and the extra storage (30GB!). Use this link to try G-Suite free for 14 days. After you’ve tested it out, contact me to get a promo code to save 20% off your first year of G-Suite.
Note: Some links on this page might be affiliate links. Read my disclaimer here.