DesignSimple
your ultimate guide to taking the guesswork out of graphic design.
Wave buh-bye to bad design.
Take the long hours, endless YouTube scrolling, and blindfold guesswork out of your design routine. DesignSimple was created to make designing for your craft business simple, accessible, and wildly effective all from the comfort of your very own desk, couch, flying carpet — whatever floats your boat, babe!
Yup, you read that right.
DesignSimple is an at-home, self-guided, and jam-packed roadmap that helps you define and design the cohesive visual assets of your dreams by helping you navigate the basics of design—the theoretical, the technical, and everything in between.
If you’re a craft business entrepreneur who is done spending hours trying to create something that’s just “good enough” and eager to bring your business to life with your own hands, you’re in the right place!
No fluff. No smoke and mirrors. Just a simple, actionable, 6-week course with bite-sized lessons that take you from “just another amateur craft business” to a design badass.
Does this sound familiar?
- There’s so much on your plate when all you really want to do is spend time working on the craft you love. Branding, design, and business collateral just feel like another beast to battle.
- You might put design work off because it feels too overwhelming, you might give it a try and get discouraged because of the time and energy it takes to teach yourself, or you might not even give it a thought.
- You constantly ask yourself if the never ending battle to make your work look good is really worth it.
- You want to define a visual brand for your biz but aren’t sure where to start or what tools and software to use.
If any of the above resonates with you, fear not!
The DesignSimple 6-Week Course is here to show you that design doesn’t have to feel like a guessing game and that it doesn’t have to take hours and hours to make something on-brand and beautiful. It’s the ultimate step-by-step plan to guide you from confused to confident in just a few weeks.
Intimidated by Adobe Software?
We’ve got you covered, Babe.
DesignSimple has an Adobe add-on that will parallel the core DesignSimple lessons and teach you how to easily use Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop for your business!
Ready to finally design content you feel proud of?
Join the waitlist to be notified when the course opens again!
Meet your teacher:
Head DesignBabe, Clara.
The beauty and brains behind Gumption Road Creative Co. and an award-winning graphic designer. While I don’t claim to know it all, I have taught graphic design to non-graphic designers at the collegiate level (Go Mountaineers!) and I have a decade of experience in graphic design and helping small businesses harness the power of design to make a splash in their industry.
Even better, as a quilter and quilt pattern designer myself, I also know what it’s like to try and break into the craft world. It can be really tough! Especially when your long list of design needs—print, digital, patterns, photo editing, branding, websites—feels like a giant question mark.
I’m here to share the secrets of design and help you avoid dead ends and back roads— instead, let’s get you on the fast track to creating design materials that you feel proud of and are excited to show off.
“DesignSimple took my design skills to the next level. I learned so much and use the info I learned almost daily. My diagrams have improved 100%!”
– Megan, quilt pattern designer
Questions? I have answers!
Who is DesignSimple for?
This course is specifically designed to help quilt and craft business owners take the guesswork out of design and give you a unique brand with killer collateral. It’s designed for people who’ve tried everything from endless YouTube tutorial surfing to outsourcing and still aren’t excited about the designs representing their brand.
Clara originally created this course for those in her quilt business community that were struggling with design, so many of the examples throughout the course are quilt-related. However, the principles and skills covered can be applied to any craft specialty, industry, and business!
My business isn’t craft related. Is this course still for me?
Absolutely! Clara created this course after seeing first-hand how many craft businesses were struggling with design so much of the content is geared towards that audience but all the principles and skills covered can be applied to any industry and business. If you’re still not sure, contact Clara directly and she’ll be happy to talk through it with you.
What software do I need to buy?
None! I’ll show you some different options, paid and free.
If you already have or are interested in purchasing Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and/or Photoshop but don’t know where to start, check out the Adobe add-on that will parallel the core DesignSimple lessons and teach you how to easily use these programs.
Seriously though, Adobe is so intimidating. Can you really teach me how to use Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop in just 6 weeks?
You betcha! These Adobe programs can feel very overwhelming the first time you open them but by aligning each tutorial with the core content of the course and by tackling functionalities one at a time, you’ll be a pro in no time.
While 6 weeks isn’t long enough to learn everything each program can do (that would take a lifetime!), we will cover the basics and most commonly used tools that are most helpful for beginner and intermediate designers.
What will I actually learn?
DesignSimple will teach you all about design theory, the rules of design, how to make good design, the language of design, and how to practically apply all of that to the things you create for your business.
Each week we’ll cover a variety of topics or dive deep into a special topic, always connecting the design theories we cover back to you and how it applies directly to you and the design work you do for your business. Each day’s lessons will leave you with an actionable, tangible way to apply what we learn to your business including some prompted activities to get your creative juices flowing.
Week 6 focuses specifically on building your brand by using all the concepts we learn in weeks 1 – 5 to design a brand that feels like you, that you are excited to share with the world, and that will make you stand out in a crowd.
If you’re interested in learning how to use Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and/or Photoshop, the add-on course will aligning each tutorial with the core content of the course and tackle functionalities one at a time.
Can you share a breakdown of the course?
This is a brief overview of the course structure:
- Week 1: Introduction to graphic design concepts, designing for social media
- Week 2: Visual hierarchy and flow
- Week 3: Color theory and usage, designing for your audience
- Week 4: Composition, print basics
- Week 5: Contrast and balance
- Week 6: Building your brand
*Subject to change
How much time will this really take?
DesignSimple was created to be an easy to consume course with bite-size lessons that will help you learn the basics of design without feeling overwhelming. On average, you’ll just need 30 minutes each day for 6 weeks!
Also note that this is a self-paced course so you can spend as much or as little time on it each day as you want. Want to jump ahead and do three hours one day? Go for it! Have a crazy week and need to hit pause? That’s cool too, the lessons will still be there when you get back to them.
But I’m not creative/ good at art. Can I really do this?
Leave all that self-doubt at the door, Babe!
First, “creative” and “artistic” are not synonymous. Even if you are bad at drawing or painting or sculpting or whatever “artistic” skill you’re thinking of, you are creative. I’m sure you solve problems all day long or if you’re a craft business owner, you’re already doing something crafty. This makes you creative!
Design at its core is a sort of formulaic activity. Anyone can use the core rules and principles of design to create something great. Yes, professional graphic designers probably have a natural eye for design (and years of experience!) and have developed a deeper intuition about when to break the rules of design but everyone has to start somewhere and everyone can learn the core principles of creating good designs. I believe in you!
Will I get access to any extra goodies?
What would a course be without great bonus material? When you sign up for DesignSimple, you’ll also get access to tons of cheat sheets and guides like simple tips for taking great pictures, how to find design assets, a guide to file types, and so much more! You’ll also have access to the private DesignBabes Facebook group where you can connect with other DesignBabes, share course projects, get feedback, and ask questions.
Have a question that wasn’t answered here?
Contact Clara and she’ll get back to you ASAP.
