Business for Designers Course Reinvented (Available in the Design Suite Break Thru)

The Design Suite courses have been going through an amazing transformation starting with Illustrator for Beginners in January 2024 and now with the release of Business for Designers in February 2024.

So what’s the big change? Every course in Design Suite is being rebuilt and expanded into 15-week, semester-long coursework. These fully expanded courses are being updated as they become available to all lifetime course members for no extra cost. 

Business for Designers might be the most interesting semester-long class Carina has ever taught because it goes into detail about many of the models from Design Bootcamp and her books to show you how to create a profitable design business. 

Don’t know how to research platforms? There’s a video on that.

Don’t know how to write a business plan? There’s a video on that.

Want to know how to problem-solve your struggles? There are several videos on that.

This course bridges the education gap necessary to create a design business. Get the structural pieces needed to truly get your business underway. 

 

Ever wanted to be a surface pattern designer? Learn more at www.designsuitecourses.com/designbootcamp

Models that we go into depth in the class include The Signature Framework, The Design Process Model, The Good Better Best Formula, and the Make Art That Sells Formula. Classwork includes quizzes, essays, and a final exam. You write a business plan and build a newsletter list.

Many of these models are touched on in Carina’s books Design Profit & Prosper and Make Art That Sells 

The best part? Business for Designers is in our foundation Design Suite Break Thru Tier. Learn more by joining a Design Bootcamp today  DESIGN BOOTCAMP

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Are you a Creator, Surface Pattern Designer, or Crafter, if so join us for our next Design Bootcamp!

Do you consider yourself a designer but looking to level up? Or are you a creator and want to make your own designs? In the virtual world we live in, the demand for skilled graphic designers is higher than ever before. Instead of spending money on designs, there are plenty of ways to make/save money on your own designs.

There’s no better way to work, than to love what you do and to make money at it. If any of this sounds like you, and you’re passionate about art, design, creativity and making money, then Design Bootcamp could be an excellent way to move to that next level and a pathway to meet your goals as a designer.

What is a Design Bootcamp?

A Design Bootcamp program is an intensive five-day training designed to equip you with practical skills and mindset needed to set you up for success.  Design Bootcamp specifically, covers a multitude of topics including design principles, industry standard software tools like Adobe Illustrator, how to make money as a designer, mindset and the steps needed to succeed.

 

 


Why choose Design Bootcamp?

Our time together offers a creative learning environment that is intense but fun and offers you the knowledge to ramp up your graphic design career with inspired direction for next steps.

Our Design Bootcamp offers hands-on learning through practical applications that allow you to see how to create designs that are industry standard level so that you can then apply those skills to your design business.

As the instructor for Design Bootcamp, Carina’s experience in the industry comes from many years and areas of design and experience. For example, she has a Master’s Degree in Design; she’s been a College Professor, Creative Director; and is currently a Surface Designer, Paper, Clipart, SVG Designer, and more.  In Design Bootcamp, Carina combines all that knowledge and skill and pours that into this bootcamp. 

 

Is Design Bootcamp right for you?

If you are passionate about design, creativity, making money at it, and looking to thrive in a creative environment, spending some time in Design Bootcamp could be the best launchpad for your design career.

Are you ready to jump in? We would love to have you join us for our next Design Bootcamp. We look forward to getting to         know you and your goals.

 

Click here to join today.

https://www.designsuitecourses.com/designbootcamp

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Turning Creativity into Cash: Simone Bowles’ Profitable Journey with Design Suite

Simone Bowles, a two-year Design Suite member, discusses with Carina Gardner about the incredible success and money she has made after joining the program in this podcast. She begins by talking about how she chose a career that was not quite creative enough for her.

Simone states, “I read this book by Julia Donaldson called the Artist’s Way, and she said that a lot of people who were creative go into careers that are almost creative.” In a world brimming with opportunities, the journey of fulfilling one’s creative and entrepreneurial aspirations can often feel like a daunting task. Simone took a leap of faith that many are afraid to do, leaving her past career and pursuing her creative dreams by joining the Design Suite program, tailored for aspiring designers who want to make money with their creations.

“In terms of actual graphic design, I knew nothing,” Simone explains, “I came from a world that was so different. [I felt like] the imposter, like ‘how am I going to do this?’ …But then I [remembered] that they chose me for a reason… It grew me in so many ways… and if you were to ask me the year before ‘would I do freelance graphic design’, it would be a definite no… I thought it would be so hard.”

Simone went into the program with hardly any experience of creative design. However, as the process went on for her, passion was ignited, breathing life into her artistic visions. She quickly found a love for what she was doing. She explained that, “This is for me, I want all of the things,” as the program went on for her. After the first year of the program, there was so much that Simone learned. She felt the strong desire to continue for another year, allowing her to make lots of money from this. “Honestly I feel like I can call myself a designer now… once you do, the jobs come!” Opportunity was met with hard work, and Simone’s work took off.

When talking about her success, Simone stated, “Just be open to the path that [comes] to you. If you try to go down one road you get so much resistance… I made the money within my second year [of the program]… I made enough to pay for the kids’ school tuition which isn’t cheap… and that was in my second year!”

 

 

After the decision was made to pursue this dream of Simone’s, she was rewarded. Design Suite is the catalyst for inspiration to make money, and Simone did just that in her second year of the journey. She was extremely grateful and emotional over the success she has reaped in the podcast when explaining the money she made to pay for the tuition of her kids’ educations. You truly get what you pay for when you join the Design Suite courses, along with opportunity and fulfillment bursting at the seams.

Not only did Simone make a great amount of money, she also built incredible relationships with those in the Design Suite community, which is huge. Simone goes on to say, “It’s key… I just know people I can go to who are now friends of mine… in the sewing world… in the patent world… in the papercraft world… that is gold.” She continues by saying, “There’s so many things [that make Design Suite good value]… It really is the community and the information… Design Suite has those supports.”

From all across the globe, there are members of the Design Suite program, and these members build one another up, offer advice, help, and friendship, taking things to a more meaningful level through this program. This brings that human connection that is missing in a lot of programs.

 

The opportunities are endless when becoming a member of Design Suite and embarking on the journey, allowing for personal and professional growth. The program serves as a catalyst for self-discovery, empowering individuals to leverage their strengths and carry out their niches in the creative landscape. Simone Bowles is an excellent example of this coming to reality.

 

To access Simone’s business and creations, you can follow her on Instagram: @_simonebowles_  or find her on Etsy: SBPARTYPRINTABLES.

If you want to watch the entire interview with Simone here:  

 

Or listen to the podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2040698/14510635-episode-415-making-money-as-a-designer-with-simone-bowles.mp3?download=true

 

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The Top Three Things You Need to Start Your Surface Pattern Design Business 

Many people dream of creating a surface pattern design business or businesses in the craft field like sublimation, Cricut or Silhouette files, Glowforge files, or printables. As my own design business has flourished over the last 14 years, I have turned part of my focus to helping other designers get started in this field.

Today I want to focus on surface pattern design since this was one of my early goals when I was a new designer.

Many of the things that I’m going to cover today are also in my New Designer Checklist. You can get this free download by going to my Instagram and following me at @carinagardner. If you comment “CHECKLIST” on the most recent post, I’ll send you a PDF link in your DMs.

This checklist contains six practical points to help you get started. Today I’m going to talk to you about three of those.

The Top Three Things You Need to Start Your Surface Pattern Design Business 

Tools

1. Tools are everything. In Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” he says to “sharpen your saw.” Abraham Lincoln said, “If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.”  Both Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Covey understand that tools save you time and money. A sharpened saw or axe will make the work go quicker.

I’ve been known to tell people to hold off on joining my Design Suite program until they have purchased the right tools.

One example of something I do not skimp on is computer memory. I will pay extra to put more memory into my laptop because I know it will save me hundreds of hours of time because the computer will go faster.

Software

2. I’m a huge advocate of the Adobe software. I have been using the software for over 20 years and it is the gold standard. While there are a lot of new programs out there, none will help you create your final production pieces. Do the hard work and learn Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and it will serve you well as a professional designer.

Other tools like Procreate can be used in conjunction with the Adobe Software (many of our courses reference Procreate and many of our Design Suite members use it). However, we have to finalize all design work in Photoshop or Illustrator before sending it on to it’s final destination.

I get a lot of resistance to this because many people really emphasize that the other programs are so much cheaper. Have you heard the saying, “you get what you pay for”? This is certainly the case with design software.

A Plan

3. Finally, you need a plan for selling your designs. I talk about this in my Design Bootcamp because it is such a vital piece of making money as a designer. This was one lesson I personally learned. 

I find that many people go into design with the mentality that they are just going to make what they like. Creating a plan for who you are designing for will make your design work stronger and help you build for the final production stages.

Do you know where to start now? Are you ready to learn more?

Check out an upcoming bootcamp, here: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/designbootcamp

Keep designing!

Carina

Want to learn more about this? You can listen to our Podcast Episodes here

You can also watch the full episode here:

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Illustrator Warp Tutorial


Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:
Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY

 

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Illustrator Shear Tutorial


Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:
Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY

 

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Illustrator Drop Shadows Tutorial

Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:
Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY

 

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

Illustrator Scale Tutorial


Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:
Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here:

 

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Illustrator Stroke Tutorial

Check out today’s free design video!

Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!

Need some Free or Low Cost Ways to learn more about design?

Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

Illustrator Arranging Objects Tutorial

Check out today’s free design video!

Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!

Need some Free or Low Cost Ways to learn more about design?
Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

Illustrator Hidden Tools Tutorial

Check out today’s free design video!

Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!

Need some Free or Low Cost Ways to learn more about design?

Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

Illustrator Color Review Tutorial

Check out today’s free design video!

Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!

Need some Free or Low Cost Ways to learn more about design?
Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course: https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

Illustrator Color Picker Tutorial

Check out today’s free design video! Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY.

Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:

Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course:
https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar:
https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY

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Illustrator Flag Tutorial

Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY.

Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:


Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course:
https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar:
https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite
Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores

Illustrator Eraser Tool Tutorial

Check out today’s free design video! Want to learn more? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY.

Here are some free or low cost ways to get started:

Free Introduction to Illustrator Mini Course:
https://www.carinagardnercourses.com/introsavemyspot

Free Make Money Doing Something Creative Webinar:
https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/design-suite

Current Bootcamp: https://carina-gardner-32e8.mykajabi.com/all-courses-f5862aa8-f009-42ff-8b39-513e3d4a3510

Want to be one of my Course VIPs for free? Join here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY

 

Silhouette Design Store JOANN Stores