Somewhere Studio

🎨✨ Finding Your Niche in Graphic Design: A Journey of Discovery 🚀

Hey designers! Let's talk about something near and dear to our hearts: finding our niche in the vast and ever-evolving world of graphic design. 🌟

We all know that graphic design isn't just about making things look the goods; it's about telling stories, evoking emotions, and creating meaningful connections. And to do that effectively, finding your niche is key. But how do you discover that sweet spot where your passion meets your expertise? Let's dive in!

1️⃣ Explore Your Passions: Take a moment to reflect on what gets your creative juices flowing. Is it branding for small businesses, creating illustrations for children's books, or designing sleek interfaces for tech startups? Your niche lies where your passions lie.

2️⃣ Assess Your Skills: What are you really good at? Are you a whiz with typography, a master of colour theory, or a pro at crafting killer social media graphics? Identify your strengths and leverage them to carve out your niche.

3️⃣ Find Your Unique Angle: What sets you apart from other designers? Maybe it's your quirky illustration style, your knack for minimalist design, or your expertise in eco-friendly branding. Embrace what makes you unique and use it to stand out in a crowded market.

4️⃣ Listen to Your Audience: Pay attention to the feedback you receive from clients, peers, and followers. What type of work resonates most with them? Use their input as a guide to refining your niche and honing your skills in the areas that matter most to your audience.

Remember, finding your niche is a journey, not a destination. It's okay to experiment, evolve, and pivot as you grow as a designer. So embrace the adventure, trust your instincts, and most importantly, stay true to yourself. Your niche is out there waiting for you to own it!

Got any tips or stories to share about finding your niche in graphic design? Drop them in the comments below! Let's inspire each other to reach new heights in our creative pursuits. 🚀✨

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Branding || This eye-catching branding for Stafford Eye Specialists is sure to stand out from the crowd 🤩

Stafford Eye Specialists is well established Ophthalmologist clinic that required new branding to reflect their ever-growing services and clientele. We were honoured to create a brand new logo, a suite of stationery (business cards, appointment cards, letterhead) and eye-catching signage for their new office.

I can't believe how fast this year has gone! 🥳

A very big THANK YOU to all of my amazing clients – I have loved every minute working with you all, and loved getting to know your business, your team and your dreams.

It has been a wonderful mix of project this year....from website builds, to new branding, stationery, signage and eDM campaigns... I have enjoyed each and every project! I have worked closely with my existing clients, as well as had the pleasure of working on projects with new clients, who have been absolutely amazing!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and a well-deserved break 🥰
I am taking a little time off over the holidays, but will be back beginning of next year to hit the ground running.

A lovely branding project I worked on a few months ago 😍 The Stafford Dermatologist is a well-known dermatology clinic located in Stafford, QLD. Having been opened since 2016, they had outgrown their existing branding and contacted us to design new branding for their business.

The much-needed update included a complete new look and feel, including a new logo and sub-icon, a fresh colour palette and updated, modern typography. We also worked with the team to update their existing signage, design new stationery, create easy-to-use Word templates and also update their social media.

It's certainly been quite a few months since my last post 🙈 But my excuse is that I've been busy creating wonderful things for my amazing clients!

For a recent project, I helped my client move their staging site to their live domain, replacing their existing website with some new features. For all the web developer enthusiasts out there, I have created a little step-by-step guide on the process, as I know that it can be daunting if not done before.

Head over to my journal to see the process: https://www.somewherestudio.com.au/how-to-move-a-wordpress-staging-site-to-live-using-cpanel/

Mailchimp eDM // A gorgeous, on-brand custom eDM campaign designed for my wonderful Sydney client 🤩 The eDMs were designed specifically for various target markets, and were custom coded to ensure they were mobile/tablet/desktop friendly.

eDMs don't have to be boring – you need your email marketing campaigns to stand out or your potential customers will hit that unsubscribe button.

Let me show you how it's done! I'd love to create something that is going to get conversions for your business.

BLOG // Along my small business journey, I have come across some great tools to streamline my processes, so I thought I would share some of them with you :)

Here are a few below, or to check out the full list, head to my link in bio to read the blog!

👩‍💻 Accounting software – how did I survive without this? Big rookie error there, straight up haha! These days I use Rounded, which is an online app aimed at streamlining the proposal and quoting process. It's more focused towards those in the creative industry, although it would be just as useful for those with a small business too.

🗂 Project management – one of my favourites is Trello, which is organises your projects into boards so you can keep on top of your projects/jobs. Definitely better than post-it-notes everywhere!

🎨 Canva – I mostly use this to create social media templates for my clients so that they can take ownership of their social accounts. They love the user interface and find it simple to use. I highly recommend this to non-professional designers to keep their brand consistent as it’s so easy to upload your brand colours, fonts, logos and imagery – all in one place.

Branding refresh // A simple, yet stylish rebrand for Hunter Med Review – a local Pharmacist that provides amazing consulting for the local medical field.

A slight refresh of your current brand can make a world of difference to your business. To stay competitive in your niche, appeal to your target market and evolve as a business, it's so important to revisit and refresh your branding. A few simple tweaks may be all your brand needs to look more modern and up-to-date!

If you're need in of a little *tweak* I'd love to help!

When starting out, or revamping a business, there is a lot to get sorted and often it’s hard to know where to start! In an ideal world, you would be able to invest in all of these creative things straight up, but that can sometimes be daunting, plus a big commitment. So, here is my recommendation on where to start….

🎨 Branding: First things first, you need to get a unique brand designed (or updated!). Without this key item set in stone, it will be tricky to get the rest in order as your brand/logo/visual identity will influence all other elements of your business.

🗒 Copywriting: This can be done in tandem with your branding or you can wait a little bit until you are ready to update any collateral such as flyers or brochures. Ensuring your tone of voice matches your vision & look/feel is a step not to be missed.

📎 Stationery/print collateral: Are you a business that needs business cards, letterheads, flyers, packaging and all those tangible touchpoints? I recommend updating these with your new branding, prior to jumping into anything else. This will ensure your new/updated brand is reflecting across any tangible things you hand out to the world.

⭐️ Signage: If you have a physical business, get this sorted out whilst you are updating your printed collateral. Professionally designed signage makes your store look inviting, well-thought-out and on brand.

📸 Photography: Professional photography can work wonders to your business. Whether it be photos of your products, updated photography of your team or inspiring imagery to match your brand, now is a good time to get this sorted.

👩‍💻 Website design: This is generally the last step, however is a top priority!! A website can make a huge difference to your business and is a one-stop-shop to showcase what you offer and how you can help. A website needs a lot of key items (branding, photos, copywriting), so this is why it is generally done after you have the rest of the list sorted.

A regular question I often get asked is how long it takes to design and launch a new website, from start to finish 👩‍💻
There are so many things to consider when designing, building and launching a website, and this can vary from site to site (no two websites are the same!), so I wrote a blog about how the website development process works and what to expect, step by step.
Click my "journal" link in my bio if you're keen to get a greater understanding of a Website Designer's process 🥳

Corporate brochure design // We loved working on Verton's Capability Statement to highlight their core values, history and solutions they bring to their industry.

Using their established brand guidelines, this project also involved designing a collection of bespoke icons to compliment the existing brand elements. The pop of colour throughout the brochure really made their service offerings stand out from the rest 💛

WEBSITE TIPS // Every business owner should spare time each month to make updates & adjustments to their site. Here are a few tips that you need to implement!
No time, you say?! Hand it over to a website designer and let me help boost your site's performance whilst you concentrate on your business 👩‍💻

EMAIL MARKETING // There are a lot of benefits of email marketing, which is why it's still one of the most effective marketing tactics for businesses.

This custom eDM campaign was designed in Mailchimp for our client's newest residential development located in Hurstville, Sydney. The campaign was targeted to different demographics, with specific imagery, layout and content tailored for each market.

If email marketing is something you have wanted to delve into for your business, we'd love to help create something bespoke to your brand & business needs.

Looking for beautiful photography and images for your business? Gone are the days where finding quality imagery was an extremely difficult and long process... Nowadays there are so many amazing websites for stock photography.

Head to my blog page for my top picks for quality stock photos, as well as my thoughts on investing in a professional photographer 📸

https://www.somewherestudio.com.au/the-best-websites-for-beautiful-photography-for-your-business/

I have found that one of the biggest concerns my clients have is how they can optimise their SEO and be found in search engines such as Google.

To help any small businesses out there, I have put together my favourite free SEO website tools I use to improve my client’s websites.

Here is a link to my blog below – I hope it helps bring a little more online reach & success to your business!

https://www.somewherestudio.com.au/free-seo-website-tools-to-improve-websites/

FREE SEO website tools I use to improve my client's websites - Somewhere Studio | Graphic Designer Find out what SEO tools a professional website designer uses on their client's website to get more leads and rank in Google searches.

Testimonial // Kind words like this is what makes the hustle all worth while.

Client Spotlight // My wonderful client, Wellbeing Science Institute, recently announced an amazing partnership with Loughborough University to run their World-Class Elite Athlete Wellbeing Management Course in the UK 🥳

This is a huge achievement and I could not be prouder of their hard work & dedication to shape the future of elite athlete wellbeing for both athletes and professionals.

Happy Valentines Day to all the lovers out there ❤️🧡💛

ORGANISED // I was in a "make life easier for someone" mood, so this gorgeous template is for all the teachers out there 😍👩‍🏫

Teacher life would be difficult at the best of times, let alone throwing Covid into the mix, so I made this stylish teacher note to make life that little bit easier.

This printable 'While you were away' note is a trendy & simple way to communicate with the classroom teacher what happened during the day.

Available by visiting my Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/thesomewherestudio

Happy teaching!! 😍

THOUGHTS // Keep going to keep growing 🌻This is your Monday morning reminder that small steps all add up to big changes. Keep going, you are doing amazing things 🌟

Happy Australia Day 🇦🇺 We are a beautiful country, full of stunning landscapes, cultural diversity and many things to celebrate as an extraordinary nation. I hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating with family & friends 💚
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New year, fresh branding 🌟All these summer vibes have me feeling happy... and happiness calls for a sale on my Signature Branding Package 🥳

If you have been thinking about re-branding your business, or finally ready to jump into your dream career & start your own gig, then my branding package is for you.

Until the end of February 2022 I am offering $300 off for any new client that mentions this post. I have a few spots available end of Feb/early March, so we can jump right in & get your dream brand started. Let's go!

Moodboards // We love working with moodboards – it's such an important part of our initial creative phase here at Somewhere Studio.

It helps us outline the visual inspiration & the overall look/feel that guide us through the design process (it's not just about pretty images 😍).

I officially started back at work last week, and I must say as much as I enjoyed the time off, I'm happy to be back to working on my business!
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The new year is here and it goes without saying that many people set a ton of goals they want to achieve personally & professionally.

For my business, I’ve learned the hard way that without setting a solid strategy, it can be tough to make those business goals a reality.
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So this year, I’m working towards my goals one step at a time using these 3 tips to help me make it through 2022:
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⏰ Focus on identifying the tasks that matter most⁠ & will have the greatest impact to your business, and work on these first. And most importantly, don’t over-commit because a long to-do list can be overwhelming (trust me, I’ve been there!).
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🎯 Prioritise completing goals and not getting caught up in perfection (arghh, this one still stresses me out, but often I get so caught up in making things ‘perfect’ when they are fine just as they are).
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🧘🏾‍♀️ Schedule where I can and take time off throughout the year⁠ to reset, unwind and reward yourself for working so hard.
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⁠⁠⁠I hope you have found this post helpful!

Looking for some gorgeous new fonts? There are some beautiful Google fonts that I believe won't go out of style anytime soon.

And the best part – they are open source, meaning they are free to download! 🥳

Which one is your favourite? Or are there are any fonts that you are currently swooning over? 😍

NEW WEBSITE // The Wellbeing Science Institute approached me to design & build a new website that was fresh, functional and easy for them to maintain & update in-house. They had outgrown their old site and were ready for an overhaul!

Their gorgeous new site is one of my favourites 😍Their colour palette is so clean & fresh, and the selected imagery speaks in-tune with their core business.

I love how this turned out and so happy that my wonderful clients love it as much as I do 🥳

Have a peak by going to: wellbeingscienceinstitute.com

It's been a hot minute since I have posted on social media – mainly due to lack of time! And it got me thinking of how big this year (& the one before) has been for everyone.

It has been a year of uncertainty for many, and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that there has been a lot of stress & anxiety to go with it.

Taking time out for self care is NOT selfish. We need it to reset, recharge and be our best selves! As I take my own advice tonight and clock off work on-time for once, this is also a gentle reminder for you to make sure you set time aside for YOU 💜

END OF YEAR // Oh my goodness, there are only a few months left until Christmas! 🎅🎄 Not only does that sound like the whole year has flown, but it also means my remaining spots for bookings are flying out the door.

If you are interested in any design (websites, branding, or other collateral), I have places still available in November 2021 and a few little spots left in December.

I'm so excited to round out the year with some amazing clients that I have been working with, and am feeling very excited to see what 2022 brings ✨

Please get in touch via my website contact form if you would like to get your project launched before 2022 🎉