It’s been a minute since I posted here.

I could tell you that I traveled the world, worked on some big secret project, or had another baby. All sound like exciting, legitimate reasons for disappearing for 5 months.

But the truth is that I needed a break from all the noise.

We live in a world of constant notifications, influx of information, posts, tweets, videos, ads, emails, and texts.

Our lives are spent looking at screens, whether we’re working on a computer, watching TV, or staring at our smartphones for an average of 5.5 hours a day (that’s a true statistic, by the way).

We’re “digitally caffeinated,” wired on the messages, entertainment, and information that are always at our fingertips.

And as a business owner I felt the pressure of not only keeping up with the noise, but contributing to it.

With the increasingly louder “hum” of the digital world building in the background, I was also trying to figure out what life looked like not only as a business owner, but as a new mom and a pastor’s wife.

I needed time to get my priorities in order, find a new rhythm, and gain some clarity about what Elle & Company would look like in this new season.

So I went dark.

Pinterest is one of my top website referrals.

With nearly 1 million monthly viewers, 30,000+ followers, and 100,000+ website visits from Pinterest each year, you might be surprised that I don’t put any effort into the platform.

You might also be surprised to learn that my Pinterest strategy doesn’t even involve Pinterest.

So how do I reap the benefits of Pinterest without putting in the work? Better yet, how can you reap the benefits of Pinterest without putting in the work?

Here’s my secret.

These past couple weeks I’ve been working with one of my first official freelance design clients, making small updates to the original brand and website I created for her 5 years ago.

As I’ve revisited fonts and tweaked colors, I’ve found myself subconsciously using designer tricks that I’ve learned both in design school and by experience.

I haven’t been shy in sharing these design secrets. In fact, you’ll find many of them scattered throughout past Elle & Company blog posts.

But I’ve never compiled them all in one place.

Whether you’ve designed your own brand, hired a designer to create the elements of your brand for you, or you’re a self-taught designer trying to improve your design skills, implementing these insider tricks will help you create a more cohesive, professional brand.

Squarespace officially rolled out their new email campaign feature on Wednesday.

Up until then, users have had to use a third-party platform (like Mailchimp or ConvertKit) and sync it up to their website either by a form block or a piece of code.

But not anymore!

Squarespace now offers beautifully designed email campaigns that are easy to create, edit, and automate. It’s just one more way that the website builder is helping people create a beautiful online presence.

This new feature will be beneficial for a lot of Squarespace users. But is it right for you?

Before you ditch your current email marketing platform, consider these pros and cons.

We just wrapped up the 2019 Brand Challenge last week, and over 1,300 business owners took part to create a one-of-a-kind brand from start to finish!

Fonts, colors, logos, photos, icons - we left no stone unturned.

But creating a brand is really just the beginning. From here on out, your days will be spent implementing it.

Whether you took part in the challenge or not, every business owner who can’t delegate their design work is faced with the important task of choosing an app to help them create their graphics.

The two most popular options at the moment? Canva and Adobe Illustrator.

Both apps are helpful, but they aren’t created equal. So in today’s post, I’m highlighting the biggest differences between the two so you can figure out which program is the best fit for your design needs.

Did you miss out on the Brand Challenge? It’s never too late to jump in and take part! Visit this page to sign up and get started.

Congratulations! You’ve officially made it through Elle & Company’s Brand Challenge.

But before you start implementing your new brand on your website and collateral items, take some time to compile all of your hard work and create a beautiful reference for your brand by creating a brand style guide.

This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.

You can do a killer job on all of the steps we’ve covered over the past 3 weeks.

But if your photos are amateur or inconsistent with the rest of your brand, your brand will fall short. Every. Single. Time.

This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.

Just like icons, patterns are another fun way to add interest to your brand and make it more memorable.

When you create a custom pattern that’s unique to your brand alone, you have the opportunity to stand out from competitors, communicate the message of your brand, and add some flair to your stationery, packaging, designs, and website.

This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.

Differentiation is all in the details.

While borders and backgrounds may seem insignificant and small compared to logos and color palettes, they can have a large impact on the consistency and professionalism of your brand.

You already determined your graphic style last week, so considering your borders and backgrounds should be a fairly easy task.

This post is part of Elle & Company’s 4-week Brand Challenge. Click here to see more details, sign up, and access the free workbook.