The Design Block
If you're looking for the latest in advertising and marketing, design related technology and lifestyle tips, and art or design highlights then you're in the right place. Find all this and more with the Design Block blog.
How to save for and survive unemployment
Amid economic uncertainty, people are actively seeking methods to save money and find additional income.
Design tips for perfectly crafted emails
Just because you’re not an email marketing master doesn’t mean you can't create perfectly crafted emails.
7 tools to use as a blogger
Blogging is a commodity, especially for small businesses. These tools can help you better market your business.
5 steps to using psychology in your advertising
To help your ads stand out in a crowded market, you first need to learn about consumer thought processes.
Get creative advice from 11 of the world’s top architects
These famous architects demonstrate how to excel in any creative endeavour.
Yelp 101: A guide to Yelp for small business
The meteoric rise of Yelp has given nearly every customer a way to share their experiences with the world.
Handy skills you might need to future-proof your career
By 2030, about 800 million jobs around the world will be replaced by bots. Is your job secure?
Tips to optimize your next email marketing campaign
What can you do to compel your readers to open your email when they have dozens of others in their inbox?
Designer shares animated Illustrator cheat sheets for creating icons
Icons and symbols are powerful tools that have been used by humans to communicate ideas for over 100,000 years. Computer-based illustration tools like Adobe Illustrator have made creating icons easier than ever.
How to calculate freelance rates more efficiently
The one question that most freelance designers have trouble answering is, “what is your time really worth?” If you’re a full-time employee at an agency, your salary takes into consideration business costs like healthcare, licensing, taxes, and other business essentials. But when you work for yourself, you’ve…
Watch: How to better present logos and branding to clients
As designers, we know that we need to motivate people through communication. However, sometimes we forget that when it comes to our own work. Great design poorly presented can kill an idea. So how best to present logos and branding to the client to win them…
Get invaluable advice with free tarot cards made for designers
When designers design, they sometimes become so immersed in their work that they forget to step back and make sure they’re on the right path. Often, a second pair of eyes are what’s needed to help designers stay on brief and create amazing designs; that…
5 tips to attract clients with your LinkedIn profile
When a company is looking to hire you to their team, they often vet you online first. During this cyber investigation, your LinkedIn profile will typically show up in the first three to five results. You now have the opportunity to control what they find about…
What to do during downtime at work
Downtime is a rare thing in most workplaces, but there’s a good chance you’ll experience a slow day every once in a while.
Become a better writer with these 15 ways to write faster
Sometimes it seems as if there aren’t enough hours in the day to get all your work done—especially if you’re a writer. Some people are writing machines; they get an idea, pound it out in minutes, and move on to something else. For most of us,…
How to start marketing with little to no budget
Unfortunately, starting out really isn’t as easy as becoming an overnight sensation. As much as we think and hope that our product or service will be an instant hit, that doesn’t happen. When it comes to getting your name out there, startup marketing is a…
Why did your great employee quit?
To have success in business, you need to have exceptional employees. However, hiring them is only half the battle. Have you ever had a great employee, and thought, “This is the one!” They’re smart, engaged, driven, and seemed to really love the job. You can…
What are the best times to post on social media?
The easy answer is that the best times to post on social media are when the people you want to see the content are on the network. However, each social network has its own best practice. Data from 16 studies proves that posting at the best times will help…
How to hide the fact you’re having a bad day at work
No matter how positive of a person you are, or how much you love your job, bad days happen to the best of us. You spilled your coffee, got stuck in traffic, or tear your pants. By the time you sit down to start work, you’re…
Designer explains how to price logo design and other services
In a 30 minute video tutorial, designer Chris Do explains how to price logo designs with real-world examples.
How to spot a cheap logo design and improve it
Whether you know it or not, consumers are able to tell the difference between a good and bad logo. And having a cheap logo design not only reflects badly on your skills as a designer, but on the brand it was created for. Your logo…
Photoshop cheatsheet for novice graphic designers
While there are plenty of online tutorials available, it’s often difficult for novice graphic designers to know where to start. When opening Photoshop for the first time, it’s easy to look at all the confusing features and buttons. If only there was a Photoshop cheatsheet that could help…
How to get recruiters to read your CV
Day in, day out, recruiters sift through piles of résumés for available job openings. They’re usually searching for a specific skill sets or experience that matches their clients’ requirements. And if nothing of interest stands out, they move on to the next one.
How to use the Colour of the Year in your designs
A few weeks ago, PANTONE revealed its bright and zesty Colour of the Year 2017, called Greenery. Because it evokes nature, Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate. Thus, people respond on a deeper level to this hue, making the eye catching Greenery an ideal shade for design. This is especially…
Do designers need post-secondary education?
Gaining a post-secondary education can be an incredibly valuable experience for your design skills. The popular perception of needing education to be successful is getting a college or university degree and working for a company which pays you per your education level. However, it doesn’t…
A handy guide to keeping your beard well-groomed
As someone who has had facial hair for nearly twenty years, I can tell you it takes a lot of work to grow out a great beard. Good grooming habits are essential, no matter if it’s for a cause like Movember or just because you want…
How to help avoid a hangover
Ask any expert, and they’ll tell you that the best way to avoid a hangover is to lay off the booze. Or just stay drunk, your call. To fend off the nausea, headache, dizziness, and general misery that often follows an intense night of drinking, check out this infographic…
The essential guide to easily writing a catchy headline
Do you want to know how to quickly write an attractive and catchy headline for your blog post? It’s one thing to write great content, but it’s another thing to get it read and ranked.
How creatives spend an average day
There’s no argument anymore. Neuroscience confirms that highly creative people think and act differently than the average person. Their brains are literally hardwired in a unique way. So what is it like to lead a creative life?
21 tips for a successful job interview
Company Folders has compiled this helpful infographic with 21 tips for a successful job interview.
Learn how to escape zip-tie restraints
With a little bit of practice, it’s actually fairly easy to escape from zip-ties. Find out how.
How to increase conversions on eCommerce sites
These factors help customers decide whether or not they’ll make a purchase from your website.
Psychological tips and tricks to get clients to buy your idea
As creatives who have to deal with clients, we all face one difficult and uncomfortable situation in our careers. You already have the project, so this isn’t about convincing them to pick you for the job. This is about guiding the client to accept that…
Common Photoshop mistakes and how to avoid them
As the industry standard, Photoshop is a powerful image editing tool for designers. There are lots of Photoshop resources around to help us keep on top of thing, including handy tutorials. But in the wrong hands it can affect quality and make things less productive.
5 things clients want to see on your portfolio
A full thought out and cleanly designed portfolio is not only vital to showcase your artistic talents, but it also creates the first impression that a potential client will have of you.
How to quickly prepare for your job interview
Take a breath and don't stress out, there are ways you can quickly prepare for your interview.
How to charge more for your work
How do you grow your business when you can't handle more clients? Charge more for your work.
How to write an About Me page that will get you hired
Here are a few tips to writing an About Me page to help you get hired.
Idyllic places to go if the world ends tomorrow
Where on Earth are the best choices for riding out the coming apocalypse?
Psychological tricks to help get what you want
The art of persuasion is a subtle, complex discipline. There are, however, a few psychological tricks you can use.
5 tips for taking creative criticism
There's no need to go on the defensive right away. Here's how you can get through someone's feedback.
10 signs to look for that you should NOT take the job
You’ve managed to finally get an interview with what you think is your dream employer. You heard they have a fantastic culture and that it’s the hippest new place to work. You’re ecstatic. It turns out, however, you never really know what it’s like on the inside until you get…
3 proven ways to prevent awkward conversations
Did you know that there are proven ways to prevent the conversation from turning awkward?
How to survive the office holiday party
We’ve entered the peak of the holiday party season and most companies are gathering to celebrate the end of a hardworking year. This is the time of year when your colleagues get hammered and make complete fools of themselves.
Learn 3 ways to tie your scarf, keep warm and look good
Besides a warm winter coat — and polar bear repellent — a scarf is a gentleman’s best defence against the Canadian elements. But a scarf is much more than just frostbite protection. Tying it the right way can add boatloads of charm and personality to…
What to do when a client rejects your designs
You and your team have invested hours into research, insight and come up with a presentation that will blow the client away. When it comes to present the designs, you’re excited to share what you’ve all been working to show. When you’re through, you gauge…
Learn how to leave work early with these 6 tips
Where’s the worst place you can possibly be at 4 pm on a Friday? The office, of course.
Subtle body language tricks to make you instantly likeable
Verbal cues aren’t the only way that humans express what they’re thinking or feeling. In fact, we express a lot through visual cues given off by our body language. It also plays a large factor in the type of impression we make on others.
Smart questions to ask at the end of every interview
So you’ve searched for potential employers, sent out dozens of queries and you finally landed an interview. Good job. Now you have to navigate dozens of questions about yourself and successfully explained why you’d make a great addition to the team.
Making the most of your internship
Ad agencies and companies are constantly looking to sign designers up for an internship—both to help those starting their career and as a way to find potential hires (on a trial basis). Win win, right?