My favorite business tools as a graphic designer

Business tools can make your business so much easier. It can make for a better workflow, you can keep track of analytics, or maybe even save some time. No matter what the tool is we all have our favorite tools. Here are some of mine.

Sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time can wreak havoc on your eyes. Nowadays it's not uncommon to sit in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day between work and personal use. After 3 years of a computer job I definitely noticed the strain, it had on my vision. At first, I blamed it on the eyelash that I was using at the time but after the 2nd and 3rd-year eye prescription change, I realized it was computer use. After some research, I found this timer which I use every time I sit in front of a computer. When it goes off every 20 minutes all I do is look out the window 20 feet for 20 seconds and I have 100% noticed a difference in the clarity of my eyesight and have not needed to change my prescription since.

Try it yourself: https://ergonomictrends.com/20-20-20-rest-eyes-health-tool/

Creating captions and hashtags can get very tedious on a smartphone. This is why I love using the Later app. I can type my captions for the week and schedule them to auto-publish onto Instagram or send a push notification on my phone which reminds me to post at my given time and all the images will be in my photo gallery with the click of a button. If you want to spend less time on your phone but still want to take advantage of free social media marketing I 100% recommended using Later or a similar scheduling app. My favorite part of later? The Instagram grid preview. Since I am a designer I take care in creating a visually pleasing profile and Later definitely helps me get there. Try it for yourself: https://later.com/

Creative Market is heaven for a graphic designer. I can normally find the perfect font with the exact vibe that I need for a logo or even premade graphics for a floral wedding invitation.

I am not an illustrator or painter so it is definitely worth it for me to support another artist but still get the look that I want to achieve. Look out for font bundles, it's a great way to save money and get a ton of great products. Don't forget to subscribe so you get FREE GOODIES every Monday! https://creativemarket.com/

Canva Pro is great for light graphic design work or client templates. I use it a lot for social media templates so clients can stay on brand without me and have the fun of creating the graphics themselves. I love that all you have to do to change images is a simple drag and drop. No cropping at all, it's simple and easy. Personally, I like to pay for Canva Pro so I can upload my own fonts and there is more selection when you are looking for stock images.

The paid version also lets you sell templates by using the "Share a link to use as template" button. You can share templates on the free Canva version but you won't be able to sell your designs as templates because the client's changes will override the original template. If you do not want to pay for Canva pro you can still create templates for your clients but you will have to duplicate the template because as aforementioned the client's changes will override the original template. Try it here: https://www.canva.com/

Pinterest is the most underrated social media app for businesses. Pinterest is a search engine that makes this platform perfect for a store or website owner to find customers who are already looking to buy.

The great thing about Pinterest is that your pins stay around WAY longer than an Instagram post and will continue to bring traffic to your site long after you post it.

I pin my Etsy Listings, Society 6 items, finished logo, and website design, and blog posts so people can find my Etsy, Society Store and bring traffic to my website. Check out my board here: https://www.pinterest.com/ZSquaredStudio_