Make it look not sh*t

The work you do when no one is watching is the work that matters most.

Pros don’t wait until they are pros to act like pros. The people who make it - whatever your definition of success might be - are the ones who are willing to show up and do the work without approval, permission, or praise.

Don’t fake it till you make it.

Make it till you make it.

• Chase Jarvis, Creative Calling

Designers are a breed.

They obsess over details you and I gloss over, and think intensely about concepts like colour theory, white space, composition, alignment, kerning, and many other elements I know next-to-nothing about.

Just like writing, you can’t possibly hope to make things look good on first pass.

Unlike writing and even after 100 attempts your designs won’t be comparable to those of a professional designer.

The skill ceiling is high.

So your goal in learning how to design offers, is to make things look “not shit”.

Making something look “not shit” requires work, but it’s achievable work.

This section will be a crash-course on design principles from a non-designer marketer.

It’s also hard (and stupid) to convey visual principles with just text.

So as we work through this section, I’m going to design the cover of this book alongside you, and use it as a prompt for explaining alongside my words.

I started researching this nearly a decade ago, and was surprised by the lack of explainers that fit this purpose.

I asked a few design friends and my ask was met with disdain. There was one book that was useful (see: Recommended Reading) and for most people entering marketing you’re expected to defer to designers, use tools that do it for you with templates, website builders, or tools like Canva.

As we go through this section, I want you to think about the concepts as they apply to your business.

• How would this apply to an Instagram square?
• Do I know enough to build my own webpage now?
• What’s missing?

The tools will keep changing but what I’d love you to take away are concepts you can lift and apply to any situation requiring visuals.