I was selected for this opportunity as part of the Girls’ Lunch Out network. All views expressed are entirely my own, and were not influenced or directed by either Girls’ Lunch Out or Issuu.
Just yesterday, I was updating the press page for my client 3 Girls Holistic. They’ve got a cute layout going on with their media mentions – a screencap of the website that featured them on the left, and a little info about the article on the right. As I went through and updated the page with all the great press their natural organic beauty products are getting, I saw the coolest thing ever. They got featured in an online magazine hosted on issuu.com, check it out:
You can see 3 Girls Holistic perfume and lip gloss for little girls featured on page 32 of the November/December issue of Natural Mother Magazine. And if you could see my brain, you’d see a swirl of ideas for how a graphic designer could use Issuu to design magazines and build business.
Design Magazines as Your Online Portfolio – I spend so much time designing for others, that sometimes my own projects take a bit of a back burner. The art and graphic design portfolio on my site gets the job done, but I’d love to streamline it and make it just a tad more elegant. I would LOVE to create a new portfolio book to upload to Issuu, giving it a broader reach worldwide, and then embed that portfolio into my website!You could design magazines on Issuu to showcase different specialties you have – like maybe have one for your web design work, one featuring your illustrations, one focusing on your logos and branding…(I’m kind of talking to myself there, folks.)
Design Magazines to Add Credibility – You could highlight your expertise by starting up a monthly or bi-monthly magazine in your chosen niche. Do you write a fashion blog? Everyone loves fashion magazines! Are you up on the latest design trends? Start a design magazine! It may sound daunting to create the whole thing yourself, so start rounding up some friends to write the magazine articles, and some more friends to wrangle the photography. This could be a great way to band together with other creatives to promote everyone’s skills and reach a broader audience.
Design Magazines for a Paycheck – If you love working on a good magazine layout, start promoting your services on social media and through your newsletter. Tell folks about Issuu and what it can do for their business, and then casually mention that you love designing for print like your firstborn baby! You could also do some google searches for clients that might be looking for layout help for their in progress Issuu projects, too. The online magazine world is your design oyster!
Nitty Gritty Issuu Details You’ll Love:
Detailed stats and analytics.
Timed launch/postponed publishing date.
Share to facebook, twitter and all major social sites.
All major document formats supported including PDF.
Embed widget, lets you embed great magazines right on your site.
Publications stored in their original format.
Up to 500 pages per publication.
Audio supported. Strike the right tone.
Robust SEO.
Industry leading Kbyte footprint.
Support and help center. Real-human support.
Javascript API and Search API for advanced site integration.
Join Issuu online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
For me personally, I’m most excited to use Issuu to design magazines as online portfolios. What about you?
Thanks for reading Hearts and Laserbeams, don't forget to check out all our great art and design work at www.heartsandlaserbeams.com!