A Peek Behind The Branding Curtain: Apps I Use To Support My Business
Here’s an undeniable truth: technology is advancing rapidly in all facets of our lives. Fear of our AI overlords taking over aside, these advancements are a boon for small business owners like me. Using certain apps has facilitated the branding process; they help with my efficiency and organization while working with clients.
Since we’re on the subject of apps, I’d like to give you a peek behind the branding curtain. Here are the apps I use to support my business and keep things running smoothly.
I start every project with a collaborative Pinterest board. Clients post what they love or find compelling on said board, from art, clothing, and colors to nature and animals. This tells me about their aesthetic and gets the creative juices flowing; I can infuse their interests when designing their brands.
Dropbox
I use Dropbox to collect and share assets. All my projects have overarching folders on Dropbox, and within those are folders for logos, fonts, photography, etc. Sometimes, a client will have existing assets like photos, so it helps to have one place to store said assets and remain organized.
Figma
Figma is great for mockups and prototypes. I use it to build my wireframes, although sometimes I'll whip up a site mockup if I’m not building the website myself. After that, I’ll share the wireframes with my clients to help them understand their site layout from a user interface perspective. It’s only black and white blocks – no styling – to give them an idea of where everything will be, how the site is organized, and how it all works together.
Adobe Acrobat
I mostly use Adobe Acrobat for electronic contracts, but it’s also excellent for shrinking files, editing PDFs, and adding fields to existing worksheets. After creating a contract in Word, I’ll transfer it to Acrobat to ensure it can be digitally signed.
Adobe Suite
Adobe Suite is a smorgasbord of what Adobe offers (not an ad, I promise). Illustrator and Photoshop are the apps I use the most. The former is perfect for drawing, creating vector graphics, and layout design, while the latter helps edit photos. You can create more space around them, and the generative fill with AI is super beneficial, too.
Microsoft Excel
Excel is a great tool for high-level business spreadsheets. I use it to track my time for my work log and create invoice summaries. It’s also helpful for keeping tabs on expenses for tax purposes.
Squarespace
While I primarily use Squarespace for website building, I’ve also used other site builders, such as WordPress and Kajabi. Kajabi is a wonderful asset for small business owners, where you can send emails, create sales and opt-in pages, build your website, and more.
Now, if an entrepreneur is selling products, I’ll turn to Shopify to build an e-commerce site for them.
And there you have it: the must-have apps in my branding arsenal. If you’re a small business owner, I highly recommend finding the tools that work for you!
