Posts by Susan Sullivan
Free Stock Photos
We’ve talked in the past about how good photography is an essential part of a website. We’ve also talked about how not every small business has the money to hire a photographer. If you are one of these businesses there is no need to worry because there is a wide variety of stock photography that…
Read MoreShould I Have My Ad Campaign Managed or Can I Set It Up and Let It Run?
It boils down to asking yourself the following questions. Did I set up my campaign right? Setting up a campaign seems easy enough, but to get the best ROI you need to do some research. Understanding the types of ads and ad formats is a good start. Adwords – google search and display networks, Facebook,…
Read MoreExpert tips on working from home with Kelly O’Neill
Working from home is fantastic and Sumy Designs has successfully operated from our home offices for over 11 years. But while working from home has its benefits, like not having to deal with rush hour traffic and a flexible schedule, it also has its challenges. Amy and I have blogged about working from home over…
Read MoreTraits of a good brand
Uniqueness This is the mark of your small business and it needs to stand out from your competitors. Of course, if you have developed a good brand it is only a matter of time before one of your competitors has a similar design, so be sure and keep your brand up-to-date by evaluating it often.…
Read MoreTwitter Profile and Header Photo Sizes 2017
If you own a small business you are probably already on Twitter, if not, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be on Twitter. Your social media presence is one of the ways your customers will connect with you. Twitter gives you a fast and easy way to connect with your customers on a daily basis.…
Read MoreFacebook image sizes for 2017
The photos and images you put on social media are the ones that will be representing you and your brand or business so you’ll want to make sure that the images are not just of good quality but are also sized correctly. With that in mind, it seems like the sizing on social platforms is constantly…
Read MoreWhich logo extension do I use and when?
Your logo is your identity and your identity is what separates you from your competition in the marketing world. Your visual identity has a key role in building customer relationships and it gives your product a brand. Having a brand is an important step in representing yourself and your business. If you’ve made the decision…
Read MoreIs a logo a necessity?
We get a lot of questions from small business owners wondering if they really need a logo. Honestly, not every small business does. You can certainly sell your products or services without a logo, but there are definitely more benefits to having a logo than to not having one. Here are a few reasons why having a logo…
Read MoreDo I need Facebook for my business?
Yes, Facebook is practically a necessity for businesses today. The right profile page can be a great tool in marketing directly to the clients that are best suited for your particular services and/or products. Creating interesting posts and updates show your audience that your business is thriving and engaging with the community. Facebook has nearly 1.8…
Read MoreThe difference between tints, tones, and shades
TINTS Adding white to a pure color creates tints. Tints are often associated with pastel colors because they are softer and subtle. You can mix any of the basic twelve colors together and then add an amount of pure white to get a tint or pastel palette. In the graphic design world, you can adjust the…
Read MoreWhy your business needs a logo
We get a lot of questions from small business owners wondering if they really need a logo. Honestly, not every small business does. You can certainly sell your products or services without a logo, but there are definitely more benefits to having a logo than to not having one. Here are a few reasons why having a logo…
Read MoreA few ways to get more blog followers
1) Write searchable posts This means you will need to know a little about search engine optimization, or SEO. You can search Google about blog SEO, and find tons of information. But if you want help, there are many WordPress plugins about there than assist you. Yoast is one we like here at Sumy Designs.…
Read MoreJust Launched: Women’s Holistic Health
We designed both a logo and website for Women’s Holistic Health, and we have to say that both are incredibly beautiful. Women’s Holistic Health has a goal to help you restore balance to the body, mind, and spirit and we think their website is the perfect balance for their goal.
Read MoreThankful
We have a lot of to be thankful for here at Sumy Designs, more than we could possibly put in one blog post. But, in the spirit of being thankful, we’d like to take a few minutes to list a few: We are incredibly thankful for our wonderful clients who have helped us survive for over…
Read MoreLogo file formats
Your logo is your identity and your identity is what separates you from your competition in the marketing world. Your visual identity has a key role in building customer relationships and it gives your product a brand. Having a brand is an important step in representing yourself and your business. If you’ve made the decision…
Read MoreSimple ways to improve client retention
Work on your people skills As a business owner, you’ll work with different types of people and not all of those people will share the same wavelength as yourself. Some of your clients will be bossy, lazy, rude or unorganized. Or all of the above. It is difficult at times, but treating everyone respectfully and…
Read MoreThe Principles of Good Design
Dieter Rams is an industrial designer who wrote the book on what good design is – and it’s pretty much law in the design world. Even the Apple designers were influenced by Dieter Rams ten principles of good design when designing their products. Dieter says that all designs need to be: innovative, useful, aesthetic, understandable, unobtrusive, honest,…
Read MoreWordCamp DFW 2016 Presentation
I had the opportunity to present for WordCamp DFW, at the University of Texas, Arlington, in September and the video of the presentation is now up on WordCamp TV. Even though I was recovering from a pretty bad cold (which felt like the plague), presenting was a lot of fun and I had a great time.…
Read MoreAn brief introduction to variable fonts
In September, I read news introducing variable fonts and I was excited about the potential they have in the web design world. Responsive design had mammoth impacts on web design and variable fonts will most likely have the same impact on typography. There is a great deal of work that went into the making of variable fonts,…
Read MoreStyle Guides and Branding Mockups
When a client begins a website with Sumy Designs we start by asking our client a lot of discovery questions. We work with our clients to find out just about as much as we can to get the most information available so we can design a website that our not only our clients will love…
Read MoreNo fail font combinations
These days there is no shortage of font choices to use on your website or marketing materials. This is great because the choices are limitless and this is bad for the very same reason. If you are having trouble deciding on a font pairing will create the right atmosphere for your design, here are some…
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