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TIPS 2026.10.14 ・ Using design ・ Australia

Can I really ask a designer
to help with that?

People often think of design as decoration. But at its heart, design is problem solving. How can design fix the everyday headaches that shops and businesses run into? I’ve put together some examples of the kinds of requests I can help with, written as a Q&A.

Can I really ask a designer to help with that? 9 problems design can solve
Notion Canva Signage Display Print Vector SEO LINE Brand Guide
01 ・ TEAM
Q

Our staff schedules and task updates are scattered across too many places, and things keep slipping.

10/10

I set up a task board in Notion that the whole team can share.

Just being able to see who is doing what, and by when, in one place cuts down the back-and-forth check-in messages a lot. Organising information into a form that is easy to use is part of a designer’s job too.

CASE
A shared staff task board built in Notion
The real task board (names and task details are blurred)

The business had only just started and the team was small, so the request was, “Is there something we can use for free, at least for now?” Notion has a free plan, and with a small team you can invite people as guests and keep using it for free. Once your team grows and you start using it properly as a team, that’s the time to think about switching to a paid plan.

02 ・ MENU
Q

Our menu changes often, so we want our staff to be able to update it themselves.

10/10

I create a template in Canva and hand it over so that only the text can be edited.

The layout, fonts and colours stay exactly as the designer set them. Staff just swap in dish names and prices, so the look and feel of your shop stays intact no matter who updates it.

CASE
An example of a menu template made in Canva
An example of a Canva menu template

I also make templates as an official Canva template creator, so I’m happy to create Canva templates that match your shop’s design and that any of your staff can edit online.

*This menu template is for Canva Pro users.

03 ・ SIGN
Q

Our queue gets long, and customers don’t realise that takeaway and dine-in have separate entrances, so satisfaction is dropping.

10/10

Put a map showing where to queue, along with the menu, where customers can see it. Then add signs with words and symbols, such as “Takeaway this way”, at a few points along the middle of the barrier, and the queue stops getting tangled.

If people can read the menu while they wait, ordering goes more smoothly too. The key is to combine symbols and pictograms so that customers who don’t speak the language can still understand.

CASE
Queue signage that was actually installed
An example of the signage we installed
04 ・ EVENT
Q

We want our display at events to look great, but we don’t know where to start.

10/10

I can put together the whole package, from the display design to the promotional and printed materials you need.

Flags, banners, menu boards, shop cards, packaging. Rather than preparing each piece separately, designing them as one consistent world from the start gives you a stall that catches the eye even from a distance.

CASE
Mock-up of an event stall display
Display mock-up
Designs for a banner stand, table panel, tablecloth and A2 sign
Banner stand, table-top panel, tablecloth and A2 sign

For this event I looked after everything from the display concept for the pop-up, panels, banners, tablecloth and flags, through to the design and arranging the printing for each piece.

Every printer has its strengths: one is cheap for this but expensive for that. Dealing with printers and comparing quotes is part of a designer’s work that people don’t often see. The printers I actually use, and what I use each one for, are in this article.

05 ・ PRINT
Q

I made a design myself, but I don’t know how to supply the files and I don’t understand what the printer is asking for.

10/10

I can prepare the print-ready files for you.

Bleed, colour mode (CMYK), resolution, outlining fonts: every printer has its own requirements. I keep your design as it is and turn it into files that will print properly.

06 ・ VECTOR
Q

I have an illustration I want to put up large on a wall, but it’s an image file, so it can’t be enlarged.

10/10

I can convert it into vector artwork that you can edit in Illustrator!

Vector artwork never goes blurry, however large you make it. You need it whenever you want to use artwork at a large size, such as on walls, signage or vehicle wraps.

CASE
Izakaya Gaku food menu
A menu using the vectorised illustration (Izakaya Gaku)
Vector artwork zoomed in close
Zoomed right in, the lines stay perfectly smooth

In this case, Izakaya Gaku (Five Dock, Sydney) wanted to put an illustration up large on their wall, so they asked me to turn the illustration, which had been delivered as an image file, into vector artwork.

Once artwork is vectorised, you can enlarge it without it ever going pixelated, so it’s essential whenever you want to use it across lots of different applications. I mostly work in Adobe Illustrator. You can draw vector shapes with paths in Photoshop too, but for converting an image-based illustration into vectors, Illustrator is the better tool.

The illustration is by the artist Taddy (Instagram @666taddy), who works as an art creator under the name Hi-drop staR (@hidropstar) and has created all kinds of work, including designs for Arai helmets.

You can see how this grew into menus, signage and even a noren (a traditional Japanese doorway curtain) in Keeping the polish, making it easy to walk in | Izakaya Gaku.

07 ・ WEB
Q

We built a website, but it doesn’t show up in search results.

10/10

A website isn’t finished once it is designed and built. It also needs to be set up so that search engines like Google, and AI crawlers, can recognise it, and I can help with that part too!

Submitting a sitemap, writing a title and description for each page, and adding data that tells search engines what your content is about: this behind-the-scenes groundwork decides whether people can find you.

08 ・ BLOG
Q

I want to run a blog, but I can never keep it up.

10/10

I can set up a system that lets you update your blog from LINE, so posting is as easy as sending a message from your phone.

Just removing the hassle of opening a computer and logging into an admin panel makes a huge difference to how easy it is to keep going. News from the shop and new menu announcements can go out the moment you think of them. More about updating your blog via LINE here.

09 ・ AI
Q

I tried making a flyer with AI, but it ends up looking AI-generated.

10/10

When I create a logo, I also give you a brand guide that sets out your branding direction. It includes prompts that tend to get good results from AI, which is handy whenever you want to make flyers or other printed materials yourself later on.

Colours, fonts, photo style, tone of voice: the clearer your brand rules are, the less your brand drifts, whoever makes the design and whether or not they use AI. What makes design look AI-generated is covered in this article.

Not sure if it’s the kind of thing you can ask a designer? Ask anyway.

People often think of design as decoration. But at its heart, design is problem solving. Making things look good is just one of the ways to get there.

Even if it seems like something you couldn’t possibly ask a designer to help with, please feel free to get in touch. We’ll start by sorting out what’s bothering you, together.

FREE CONSULTATION Got a problem in your business that design might solve? Let’s talk it through.

Tell us about your business, in English or Japanese. A link or a few photos is a fine place to start. No pressure.

Get in touch →
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