Nicola Black Design Newsletter
Hi! I'm Nicola. A self-employed, small business owner (brand identity strategy & design). Here you'll find samples of what you'll get when you sign up for my emails: design strategy tips, musings on running a small business, and subscriber-exclusive offers on services & products. Subscribe below!
How a seed planted in 2009 bloomed 16 years later! 🌱
It's an absolute delight watching dormant seeds sprout decades after they were planted. The other week, while out running errands, I picked up my phone to check my email. At the top of my inbox was a message from my old friend Molly Crabapple with the subject line, "Very cool news!" Cool news from Molly? This is something good. Molly is a talented illustrator and every time we've collaborated, I've had fun. The "very cool news" is that a piece we worked on together, for MoCCA Art Fest 2009,...
🍞 My love letter to bread-making. A screen-free ritual to feed my creativity (and belly😋). Free downloadable recipe inside!
In this email: Bread-making – Why I haven't bought a loaf since August.🍞 Last chance to save on Light Brand Identity Audits! Price increase 3/31 💸 Back in the day, I experimented with making my own sourdough. I loved it, but tossed my starter in a move. It'd been years since I baked bread, but in August, I saw a post on Bluesky about a jalapeño cheddar loaf. It got my attention. And because it seemed relatively easy, I tried making it. Little did I know that this experiment would lead me on...
✨ The magic of community for artists and how I tapped in to find my people ✨
In this email: A retrospective on starting my design business. A step in the right direction for artists and our fight against AI. Making our online community more accessible for fellow artists & makers. When I started my design business in 2008, I was confident that self-employment was the path for me. After working in-house for 8 years, I picked up on the inner workings of things. There were general operations I knew I could help improve. I suggested those improvements, but back then, it...
💜 Take a break with me. Enjoy this lavender syrup! 💜
In this email: 😅Reflecting on a very busy June ⛰️Getting back to nature - have you heard of The Chimney Bluffs?! 🧙🏻♀️A recipe from my kitchen to yours: Lavender Simple Syrup 💜 Do you ever find yourself at your desk after a whirlwind month of constantly being on “GO!” wondering what the hell happened? That’s me right now, friends. In June, I did A LOT: I designed a new product. I designed the landing page and sales process for that product. I designed and launched the marketing campaign and...
🤯 Celebrating 20 years going solo! How I got here and what I wished I'd known along the way. ✨
In this email: 🥳 Celebrating my 16th anniversary of starting my business! And 20 years of going solo! 😅 Reflecting on what I wished I had along the way to help. 👩🏻💻 Applications are open for Work In Progress Season 5 Pro! Friends, In March, I celebrated the 16th anniversary of opening my doors at Nicola Black Design, LLC. 🥳 In 2008, I officially went full time at my solo-biz. But 4 years before that was when I began my journey. I worked on a little freelance, here and there, while I slowly...
👩🏻🎨 Introducing, "NikkiMaki!" A collab focused on creative exploration & play!
In this email: Video: We dressed up as our dogs for Halloween. 😂 See the results below. Introducing, "NikkiMaki!" A collaborative creative project between Maki Naro and I. Join us and follow along for fun and creative shenanigans! Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I’ve written, and A LOT has happened in the past weeks. Something I’m extra excited about and want to share with you is a new side project I’m working on with my partner, Maki. We’re calling it… As self-employed creatives who...
🌳 Enjoy this FREE Family Tree Helper worksheet as I prep to launch my new product!
In this email: 🌳 Family Tree Product Update 🗒️ FREE Downloadable: Family Tree Helper Worksheet 💡 Reminder: Light Brand Identity Audit + eBook Package Friends, This update has been a long time coming, but I’m happy to announce I’ve finished designing the ordering process for my Family Tree product! I just have to figure out a cute name for them… but that’ll come soon. 😉 First, a few items to bring you up to speed of where I am in the process: Ordering Process Development Update Family Tree...
🤩 This font is awesome! But is it the right choice for my business? 🤔 A design exercise to find out!
In this email: 📝 Design Tip + Exercise: Choosing Complementary Typography 🌈 Something Fun: The Importance of Play (videos)! Hello, Friends! I’ve been seeing a lot of interesting font choices flowing through the graphics popping up in my social media feeds. It’s clear DIY social media creation packs, apps, and software available to help small biz owners create pre-designed templated posts are getting a lot of use. And I’m all for it! If you can do it on your own and save some money, why not,...
🎨 Choosing colors? Learn how to harness the power of color in your next project!
In this email: • Why does what color you choose in your projects matter? • What tricks and tips can you implement to ensure you're making informed choices? • Two free resources (part one + part two of my series on color) to help you confidently choose colors that WORK for your projects. Learn more below. Ever been stuck trying to figure out which colors to use in a project? Maybe you’re working on a presentation or maybe you're exploring your business’s brand identity and have no idea where...
😰 My fear of public speaking and how I armed myself to slay the dragon. 🐉
Friends, In 2019, I did something scary. I decided it was finally time to conquer my fear of public speaking. I began working with Hillary Rea, founder of Tell Me A Story, via her Crafting Your Personal Narrative workshop. The deep-dive workshop was a full-day intensive plus two group story labs so participants ended up with a story they could tell confidently. Understand that this was a MASSIVE step for me to take. The fear I had around public speaking was enormous. So much so that I broke...
Hi! I'm Nicola. A self-employed, small business owner (brand identity strategy & design). Here you'll find samples of what you'll get when you sign up for my emails: design strategy tips, musings on running a small business, and subscriber-exclusive offers on services & products. Subscribe below!