About marinaduque

Hey! My name is Marina, and I'm a Toronto based Web & Graphic Designer, Artist and Illustrator with over 20 years experience.
18 July 18, 2023

Why a Client Might be Hesitant for a Logo Change

2026-02-27T20:42:36+00:00By |Graphic Design|

Why a Client Might be Hesitant for a Logo Change Sometimes a client will come to you for a complete overhaul of their website. But… then they will send you their logo that was designed in the 60’s. Depending on the size of their company a new logo change may be out of the question because there are too many factors. If you have over 1000 employees, the cost doesn’t just stop at the logo re-design. Signage, ads, business cards etc will drive up the cost. You probably won’t be able to convince them of anything unless they specifically come [...]

7 July 7, 2023

Types of Logos

2026-02-27T20:42:21+00:00By |Graphic Design|

Lettermark, Wordmark, Combination Mark, Pictorial Mark. What's the difference?⁠⁠ Pictoral Mark Just a symbol, icon or pictorial. Nothing else. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were these brands. It can take decades to be instantly recognized by a mere symbol. Wordmark Just the name of the business. Nothing else. Perfect if you don't have a long company name. Lettermark Simple and easy to remember especially if your company name is really long. did you know that 3M stands for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company? Combination Mark Name and Symbol Combination of a Lettermark of a Wordmark with a [...]

7 July 7, 2023

JPG or PNG? Which one is better?

2026-02-28T15:04:30+00:00By |Graphic Design|

JPG or PNG? Which one is better? THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING:⁠⁠ Is it a complex image?⁠⁠ Is it going to print?⁠⁠ Is it being used on the web?⁠⁠ Does it need to be transparent?⁠⁠ JPG⁠⁠ The quality of the image will be compromised. This is called lossy compression. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Saving an image as a JPG reduces the file size by eliminating redundant and unnecessary information. However, you will most likely not even notice the difference, unless of course you save it as a really compressed JPG.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ You can maintain the quality of the original image by playing [...]

6 December 6, 2018

Selling on Etsy vs. Creative Market

2026-02-28T15:04:19+00:00By |Art, Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design, Illustrator, Marketing, Photography, Photoshop, Website Design|

Selling on Etsy vs. Creative Market This post will feature selling on both Etsy vs Creative Market as a Digital Designer. I opened up my first Etsy store back in 2007 and since then have ran a few shops on there. This one is technically still active but I have not had time to dedicate to it at all which is why you will see no listings) Within the last year, my side hustles was opening up 2 Stores: Typemaven (Etsy and Creative Market) and Flat Lay Studio on (Etsy and Creative Market). Primary Differences Etsy primarily sells physical goods and handmade [...]

23 November 23, 2018

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org

2026-02-28T15:04:06+00:00By |Graphic Design, Marketing, Website Design, WordPress|

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Confused between WordPress.com and WordPress.org? Here is a simple explanation: wordpress.com - WordPress will host your website for you for free but it comes with a hefty price tag of a horrible looking domain like thisdesigngirl.wordpress.com. wordpress.org - You host your own website. Your domain would be like thisdesigngirl.com. But of course, there are pros and cons to both. Keep in mind that both options are essentially free. WordPress is a free open source software. But it's OTHER things that you need to pay for to get them to work, like hosting, domain name, plugins, premium themes etc. [...]

1 October 1, 2018

Should I Have My Logo Redesigned?

2026-02-28T15:03:52+00:00By |Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design, Marketing, Website Design|

Should I Have My Logo Redesigned? The question of the century to every business owner who needs to keep up with the ever changing current times. The 5 most common reasons I find where business owners often shy away from a logo redesign / refresh are: Cost - It isn't just the cost of the logo, it's web updates, it's redoing business cards, all print material, and signage (if any). If you are a huge company, this can cost millions. If you are a small business owner, then you are lucky. Fear - that their current audience may not [...]

16 September 16, 2018

6 Design Tools Must Haves

2026-02-28T15:51:48+00:00By |Graphic Design, Photography, Photoshop, Website Design|

6 Designer Tools to Have in Your Arsenal As a designer, there are resources and tools that you gather throughout your career to make your life easier. Here are my top 6 Designer Tools that I use (some for years and in no particular order). 1. Dummy Text Generator Dummy text or what is more commonly known among designers as 'Lorem Ipsum'. It is text that is used in the publishing industry or by web designers as "filler content" until they get actual final copy from the client. This helps aid in visuals when laying out a design. I [...]

4 October 4, 2017

All About Print Bleeds

2026-02-28T15:50:28+00:00By |Graphic Design, Illustrator, Photoshop|

Everything You Wanted to Know About Print Bleeds Don't forget to also reference my other post on How to Design Business Cards which also includes a downloadable business card template. What is a Bleed? A bleed is when the artwork extends PAST the edges of your paper. This is to ensure that when the printer cuts your artwork to size, that the colour goes to the edge. My Business Card Here is an example of my business cards. The front only has my logo and nothing else. No colors go to the edge. So in this case, there is no [...]

27 June 27, 2017

How Much Does a Logo Cost?

2026-02-28T15:25:50+00:00By |Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design, Illustrator, Marketing, Photoshop, Website Design|

How Much Does a Logo Cost? Logos can go anywhere from being free to $1,000,000 to apparently $1.28 billion. But let's stay a little more realistic shall we? Depending on how much experience the designer you hire has, logo costs can usually be summed up like this: Your Nephew or Yourself: Free Fiverr: $5 + Offshore: $100 ~ $250 Logo Design Contests: $299 ~ $499 Freelancers: $399 ~ $1000 Agency: $1000 ~ $5000 Super Duper Famous: $1,280,000,000 Examples of famous Logos and what they cost But just to give you an idea of some famous brands and what they cost, [...]

18 May 18, 2017

Negative Space

2026-02-28T15:50:15+00:00By |Art, Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design, Illustrator, Marketing, Website Design|

Design 101 ~ Negative Space In my previous articles, I speak many times that a good design will consist of several things. Good typography, use of images, relevant content, color theory etc. But we must not forget the glue that holds it all together. Negative space. What is Negative Space? You may have heard it before. White Space. Negative Space. Both are the same thing. It is essentially the space that is NOT used in a design. Basically it's "The Nothing". It does not have to be white. It could be any color. So for the sake of simplicity, let's call it negative space [...]

Go to Top