Design Domination

Design Domination is by award-winning designer Colleen Gratzer, creator of Creative Boost and principal of Gratzer Graphics LLC. I provide my insights based on 20+ years of graphic design expertise and 15 years of having a successful design business.

Most designers don’t think about accessibility, but it affects branding, design, documents and websites. It’s a great way to differentiate…

Colleen Gratzer

Dec 18, 2019

14 Reasons Graphic Designers Are Seen as Order Takers

There are a lot of differences in mindset and behavior between graphic designers who are perceived as order takers and those who are…

Colleen Gratzer

Aug 21, 2019

Power, Positioning & Pricing for Creatives With Blair Enns

Blair Enns joins me to discuss how to take back your power in the client-designer relationship, how not to sell, how to deal with mindset…

Colleen Gratzer

Aug 12, 2019

3 Reasons Designers Should Charge for Native Design Files

Are you giving away your secret recipe?

Colleen Gratzer

Jun 12, 2019

Tax Write-Offs Freelance Designers Might Miss

Paul Koullick from Keeper joins me to talk about tax write-offs that freelance graphic designers might miss. Find out if you’re forgetting…

Colleen Gratzer

May 29, 2019

6 Types of Problem Clients and How to Fire Them

Your freelance business does not need to feel like a circus. But you do need to be the ringleader. Here are 6 types of problem clients and…

Colleen Gratzer

Apr 24, 2019

Avoid These 12 Mistakes When Pricing Your Design Work

Do you know what to consider when pricing your work? Are you charging enough for your work? Do you worry if your price was right after…

Colleen Gratzer

Apr 17, 2019

Making Your Design Mailable

Something not a lot of print designers know about but they should is the mailpiece design analyst. Sounds like a scientist, right?

Colleen Gratzer

Apr 17, 2019

Policing Plagiarism: What to Do When Someone Steals Your Creative Work

Have you ever had your work plagiarized? Unfortunately, I have — several times — and other designers have too. So I invited attorney…

Colleen Gratzer

Mar 29, 2019

11 Things to Check in a Print Proof

Some of these are on a more macro level, while others are all about the details.

Colleen Gratzer

Mar 20, 2019

What to Consider Before Doing Free Design Work

Some types of free work are good, while some hurt you and the design industry. You don’t have to pimp yourself out doing free work to…

Colleen Gratzer

Mar 13, 2019

How to Figure Out That Font

Figuring out fonts used in images

Colleen Gratzer

Mar 6, 2019

7 Mistakes When Presenting Design Work and Asking for Critique

What is the one question you should stop asking clients? Find out and learn how to present your design work to get more respect and less…

Colleen Gratzer

Feb 27, 2019

Color Convo With Pantone’s Leatrice Eiseman

Do you pick colors arbitrarily? Do you have trouble defending your color choices to clients? Find out from world-renowned color…

Colleen Gratzer

Feb 14, 2019

How Graphic Designers Can Leverage LinkedIn

Are you on LinkedIn hoping potential clients will just find you? Learn how to leverage LinkedIn as part of your marketing efforts so you…

Colleen Gratzer

Jan 30, 2019

Punch Up Your PowerPoint Proficiency

Want to become a better PowerPoint presentation designer? Ever considered a career in it? No? Because you can’t stand PowerPoint, right? (I…

Colleen Gratzer

Jan 19, 2019

Client Relationships Are Like Dating

Client relationships and getting clients are not that different from dating. Learn how to identify your ideal client, attract them…

Colleen Gratzer

Jan 16, 2019

Stop Trying to Compete With Fiverr

Learn How to Set Yourself Apart From Other Designers

Colleen Gratzer

Jan 12, 2019

Are You Protecting Your Design Rights and Covering Your Assets?

Legal Protection for Designers

Colleen Gratzer

Jan 5, 2019

Typeface Design and Inspiration

Geek out on typography with me and typeface designer Fábio Duarte Martins. Learn a bit about typeface design and discover how it can be a…

Colleen Gratzer

Jan 2, 2019

Are You Getting the Clients You Want?

Marketing Tips for Designers From Ilise Benun

Colleen Gratzer

Dec 29, 2018

Perfect Your Print Process

Learn how to perfect your print process, so you can avoid costly errors and save face. Find out about proper file setup, folds, binding…

Colleen Gratzer

Dec 15, 2018

A Hoppe Good Time Talking InDesign

Do you need to work smarter in InDesign? Maybe you’re unknowingly wasting time when creating new documents or you’re guilty of “guide…

Colleen Gratzer

Nov 24, 2018

Avoid These 10 Logo Design Mistakes

Get an in-depth look at 10 mistakes that graphic designers make when creating logos and how to avoid or remedy them. Find out what to…

Colleen Gratzer

Oct 28, 2018

About Design DominationLatest StoriesArchiveAbout MediumTermsPrivacy

Design With Accessibility in Mind

14 Reasons Graphic Designers Are Seen as Order Takers

Power, Positioning & Pricing for Creatives With Blair Enns

3 Reasons Designers Should Charge for Native Design Files

Tax Write-Offs Freelance Designers Might Miss

6 Types of Problem Clients and How to Fire Them

Avoid These 12 Mistakes When Pricing Your Design Work

Making Your Design Mailable

Policing Plagiarism: What to Do When Someone Steals Your Creative Work

11 Things to Check in a Print Proof

What to Consider Before Doing Free Design Work

How to Figure Out That Font

7 Mistakes When Presenting Design Work and Asking for Critique

Color Convo With Pantone’s Leatrice Eiseman

How Graphic Designers Can Leverage LinkedIn

Punch Up Your PowerPoint Proficiency

Client Relationships Are Like Dating

Stop Trying to Compete With Fiverr

Are You Protecting Your Design Rights and Covering Your Assets?

Typeface Design and Inspiration

Are You Getting the Clients You Want?

Perfect Your Print Process

A Hoppe Good Time Talking InDesign

Avoid These 10 Logo Design Mistakes