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The Books, Courses & Tools Behind My Brand Design Business
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items The branding, design, strategy, and creative resources that have helped shape the way I think about visual identity, storytelling, and building emotionally effective brands. From books and courses to creative platforms, tools, and educational content...
Sections
5
Courses & Education
Books That Influenced Me
Hardware & Studio Gear
Creative Software & Platforms
Workflow / Productivity
Courses & Education
Branding, graphic design and creative business courses that have genuinely influenced my growth as a designer and artist. These are the classes, educational resources, and online learning tools I recommend for creatives looking to sharpen their skill...
I originally studied illustration and traditional art rather than graphic design, so when I decided to transition into brand design, this course helped me better understand the strategy, structure, and thinking behind effective branding.
The Branding Masterclass The Entire Brand Design Process - Udemy
This course is an excellent introduction to the strategy and psychology behind effective branding, covering everything from brand positioning and core values to messaging, audience perception, and building a cohesive brand identity.
Business Branding: The Complete Course Part 1 - Strategy - Udemy
Part Two of the Business Branding course--concepts that I've applied to my own branding business.
Business Branding: The Complete Course Part 2 - Expression - Udemy
I took Pia Silva’s No BS Launchpad to learn how to create detailed, highly customized brand strategy guides for clients while building a more efficient and profitable design business. The program helped me better understand how to charge based on val...
No BS Mastery | Charge More, Deliver Faster, Cut the BS
I first started listening to Pia Silva’s podcast before deciding to invest in her course. I began applying many of the ideas and strategies she shared directly into my own business, and eventually joined her program to gain a deeper understanding of ...
No BS Mastery Podcast
Books That Influenced Me
These are the branding, marketing, psychology, and creative business books that have helped deepen my understanding of what makes a brand truly memorable and emotionally effective. From brand strategy and positioning to visual identity, storytelling,...
This is the essential brand book to read to become a better brand designer/strategist.
The Brand Gap: Bridge Business & Design
Another essential book to learn how to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Zag: Top Strategy of High-Performance Brands
Can you tell I'm a Pia Silva fan? Yes, I listened to her podcast, then bought her book, and then invested in her course where I learned how to be a more effective brand agency owner.
Badass Your Brand: Impatient Entrepreneur's Guide
I love this book and turned to it for influence and inspiration. It visually explains all the fundamentals of branding with lots of examples of case studies.
Designing Brand Identity: Essential Guide
Hardware & Studio Gear
The hardware, studio gear, and creative tools I rely on to run my design business and support my workflow as a brand designer and artist. From laptops, iPads, and external hard drives to the everyday tech and studio essentials that help me stay produ...
I was anti Apple until I had trouble transferring digital files from device to my laptop. I'm a fan now
Buy MacBook Pro - Apple
I bought my ipad because I really wanted to use Procreate. I love Procreate and had built my freelance illustration business from using it. I've also used Fresco which is vector based and great to create illustrative vector art.
iPad Pro - Apple
Having an external hard drive is essential for me since I work with a lot of large design files and I didn't want to clog my laptop with files--I also use keep files in icloud as well.
Buy External Hard Drives (Data Storage) | Seagate US
I am paranoid about losing my files on my laptop and external drive--so I use Backblaze as extra added insurance. It backs up everything on my latop and external drive.
Backblaze: The Leading Open Cloud Storage Platform
This wifi booster is a lifesaver for me. I had set up my art and design studio in the spare room of our house. Before I bought the booster, my networking calls were getting dropped and the wifi connection was super unstable. This wifi extender saved ...
2026 WiFi 6 Extender, Dual-Band, 18,888 sq.ft
Creative Software & Platforms
The creative platforms, software, and design tools I personally use throughout my branding, illustration, and creative workflow. As someone with a background in traditional art and illustration, my work is built through hands-on creative thinking, dr...
I had used Photoshop since the very beginning--in the 90's and loved it. I had used it to texture map 3d models in my video game development days. Now I mostly use Illustrator for vector based graphics and illustration. I learned the software myself ...
Adobe Creative Cloud | Professional Creative Software
I love this app. It's the reason why I bought an ipad. I've created illustrations for my illustration work, children's book collaborations, and design work.
Procreate — Creative apps designed for iPad
Yes, yes, I admit I use the paid Canva subscription for design purposes. I use it to put together presentations, guides and certain design files. BUT, I create bespoke designs through Illustrator, Photoshop and Procreate. Canva is great to create qui...
Canva: Visual Suite for Everyone
In the past, I struggled with Shopify and Wordpress. I heard about Squarespace through Pia Silva's book and course. I found it pretty easy to put together my website, integrate Google calendar, Google Meet, and Stripe payments.
Website Builder – Easily Create Your Own Website — Squarespace
Behance is a great way to get inspired and do some design research. There's so much talent out there.
Behance: Showcase, Discover, and Hire Creatives
Workflow / Productivity
The platforms, software, and everyday tools that help support my creative workflow as a brand designer and artist. From design programs and presentation tools to organization, inspiration, and productivity resources, these are the systems I use to st...
Since I use Google professionally, I use Google Meet instead of Zoom. There's no time limit and I can use note taker to transcribe all my meetings.
Google Meet - App Store - Apple
Yes I use ChatGPT a lot for refining emails and writing more effective descriptions. I sometimes also admit I use it as my therapist. But seriously, it's helped me create and prioritize my business to do lists and help me research a few things. It's ...
ChatGPT
I've used Claude to help my brainstorm my ideas and it seems to have a personality moreso than ChatGPT. It can be a little mean, haha.
Claude: Sign in
I integrated Google Calendar with my website to schedule free discovery calls and paid design packages.
Google Calendar: Get Organized - App Store - Apple