Did you know nonprofit design could suck a lot less?! If you’re not an expert on design don’t worry. In this episode of Whole Whale TV Ann and Turtle share great design “cheats” for non-designers.
But…before you get into the designing, the most important thing is what your goals for the designs are. Got it? Have you goals set? Then let’s jump into it then…
Design Cheat #1: Hunt For Inspiration
If you’re a nonprofit you need amazing visuals for the great work that you do. Start with searching for great designers that have showcased their work on the web. Check out sites like:
Go there and look for design trends, and figure out what works for you.
Design Cheat #2: Choose Colors
Now that you’re inspired, time to pick out some kick ass colors. A fantastic tool you’ll want to use is Coolors.co. You can use it to quickly pick out some cool color schemes (and save time doing it as well).
Design Cheat #3: Find Photos
You’re inspired, you’ve got your colors, now it’s time to find a stock photo that doesn’t suck! What we recommend doing is using Search.CreativeCommons.org. You can search photos by keywords related to the topic you’re designing for. Very useful.
Design Cheat #4: Pick Icons
You know those really popular flat icons? Well you can get them in just a few clicks. We recommend sites such as:
These all offer high resolution icons for free.
Design Cheat #5: Put It All Together
That’s right. We have all the ingredients, so now it’s time to cook something deliciousss. It doesn’t matter what programs you’ll use to put these things together (Illustrator, GoogleDrop, etc.). What maters more is if you can check off these 3 questions on this checklist:
- Is there whitespace?
- Is the text readable?
- Do things align?
If you can’t afford a high price Adobe solution, try Canva.com/nonprofits.
That was easy wasn’t it? Remember, if all else fails download the “Turtle template”, and slap your logo on it to have the most shared picture in internet history. 
Have any questions, comments? Send them our way on Twitter @WholeWhale. We’d love to hear from you.
Bonus: Nonprofit Annual Report Template in Canva
Your organization does great work. Show donors, boards, and the public what is happening behind the scenes using a dynamic and customizable annual report template that we crafted to help you show your org’s impact.
