Brett Profile picture
May 14, 2023 12 tweets 6 min read Read on X
My one-person design business has done $611,996 this year already.

It costs me $275 per month to run it (plus Stripe fees).

Here's a breakdown of the tools I use:
Design: @figma ($15/m)

Probably obvious, but I spend most of my day here.

I use it to design nearly everything from branding to full-scale product design. Image
Development: @webflow ($33/m)

The greatest no-code website builder on the planet.

I not only use it for the Designjoy.co site, but it plays a huge part in my service offering as well. Image
Stock assets: Shutterstock ($99/m)

Fantastic resource for vector assets and stock photos.

I use this literally daily to speed up my workflow. Image
Design: @Adobe CC ($29/m)

Used primarily for vector & photo editing, this suite picks up in the rare cases Figma falls short. Image
Client design queue: @trello (Free)

This is where clients send design requests and manage their queue (1,000+ requests and counting).

This is also where all client communication happens.

Simple, but effective. Image
Internal request management: @airtable (Free)

I use this to centralize all current requests from clients.

It's helpful to have them all in one place vs. spread across a billion different Trello boards.

Again, simple, but very effective. Image
Design handoff: @loom (Free)

Sometimes it's just easier to hit record and start talking vs. typing out an entire book.

This is where Loom comes in clutch.

Couldn't live without it. Saves so much time. Image
Payments: @stripe (2.9% transaction fee)

Not much to say here. 🙂 Image
Course platform: @circleapp ($99/m)

This is where I host my ProductizeYourself.co course with nearly 2,000 students. Image
Community: @discord (Free)

Members of my course also get access to a Discord server meant to connect them, share ideas, gain insight, and grow together. Image
That's all!

Goes to show you don't need to spend big bucks to make big bucks.

Hope you enjoyed the thread. 🙂

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More from @BrettFromDJ

May 2
Probably one of the most valuable posts I've ever made on design and AI.

You need to learn this workflow.

Buckle here. Here's the full tutorial: Image
First, let's combine style and image references in Midjourney.

I've provided 2 style references, and one 1 image reference below if you want to follow along with this tutorial.

The dark-style images define the mood, whereas the building image defines the subject(s). Download now.Image
Image
Image
Let's take these images and throw them in Midjourney exactly as I do below:

"landscape": tells MJ the subject I want generated (feel free to be as specific or broad as you want here).

"--ex 100": a new parameter MJ just introduced that can create some unexpected creative results. Changing the number anywhere from 0-100 affects the results drastically, so have fun with it.

"--ar 12:16": simply tells MJ what aspect ratio you want to generate. In this case, it's 12:16.

Then hit Enter to start generating.
Read 14 tweets
Apr 15
Create a frosted glass logo in ChatGPT 4o.

Prompts and reference photos included below.

Let's jump into it (or bookmark this for later):
First step: Create a glass logo in ChatGPT.

To do this, you'll need a reference material, which I've attached for you below. Image
After uploading the reference material and a simple black & white version of your logo to ChatGPT (in that order), use the following prompt:

"Apply the simple glass material in the left image to the logo in the right image. Put it on a plain black background."

Like this: Image
Read 10 tweets
Apr 13
Here's my process for generating killer AI images.

Prompts and references images included.

You'll wanna bookmark this.
For most of my designs, I use a mixture of Midjourney and ChatGPT.

Midjourney: styling & aesthetics

ChatGPT: precision (inserting elements, etc.).

For this tutorial, we'll create some dope unmanned aircraft images flying in a beautiful landscape.
You could one-shot this entire thing in Midjourney or ChatGPT, but what if it nails the aircraft design, but doesn't nail the environment?

Or vice versa.

It's best to use AI to generate individual parts versus doing it all at once.

This way we get precisely what we want.
Read 11 tweets
Apr 12
Give your logo a "neuroglass" look with this short ChatGPT tutorial. 👀

Reference photos & prompt included below.
This will require two prompts to execute perfectly.

First, we'll simply focus on giving our logo a glass look.

Once we nail that, we'll quickly create the elements you see inside the glass material.
Below is the reference material you'll need for the glass look.

Head to ChatGPT and upload the reference material and your logo (in that order), and then using the following prompt:

"Apply the texture in the left image to the logo on the right image and make it look 3d. Rendered in cinema 4d, 8k. Pure black background behind the logo."

Bare in mind, your logo file should be black/white for the best results.Image
Read 9 tweets
Apr 6
Level up your Twitter avatar with a studio-style shot.

Takes just 60 seconds in ChatGPT 4o.

Here's everything you'll need (including the prompt):
Let's start with a reference photo to go along with the prompt I'll share in my next tweet.

Prompts are great, but nothing beats a reference photo to go along side it to ensure we match the results we want.

Download the following photo. Image
Now, we're going to upload our reference photo and our own photo (in that order) to ChatGPT 4o and use the following prompt:

Take the person on the right and style it like the left image. Subject should be slightly turned away from the camera like the person in the left photo. Wearing a black shirt. Illuminated by soft studio lighting against a dark background, creating depth of field that highlights details like facial texture or fine lines on their face. Their gaze reflects calmness as they gazes into space. Portrait photography. Shot with a Sony Alpha A7 III and an f/2 lens. Photorealistic, 8k. Square aspect ratio (1:1).

Make sure "create image" is selected as shown in the video.
Read 5 tweets
Mar 25
Creating a material version of your logo, in 60 seconds.

Follow the step-by-step tutorial below: Image
To start off, you'll need a plain black version of your logo on a solid white background.

Save it as a PNG, and do not remove the background color. Image
Next, we'll use @Adobe Firefly to add the material.

Head on over there and type in a prompt that best describes the material you want to use and hit "generate".

Choose from one of the generated images and download it.
Read 7 tweets

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