# Design tool for small business: a brand look in an afternoon

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/gradiently-for-small-business)

You don't have a designer, you have an afternoon. Here is how a café, salon or shop can go from nothing to a recognisable look and a month of posts in one sitting.

## The short version

- A good design tool for a small business does three things: it makes the business look like itself, it keeps words readable, and it produces every size the business posts.
- In Gradiently, a business's look starts with a Mark, a living background that only its owner can export with once claimed.
- The brand kit can read a business's website to fill in its name, description, colour and icon, and the Designer writes in the kit's voice.
- With Pro, one design can be resized to every platform size in one step, and a spreadsheet can turn into a batch of posts.
- Anyone can try Gradiently free with any unclaimed Mark; exporting needs a Mark you own.

The right **design tool for small business** owners is the one that makes you look like yourself without a designer, keeps your words readable on every post, and gives you every size you need from one design. Gradiently is built around exactly that. You pick a Mark, a living background nobody else can use once you claim it, add your brand once, and let the Designer and the Studio do the rest. Set aside one afternoon. By the end you can have a look people recognise and a month of posts.

## What a small business needs from a design tool

Most small businesses don't struggle with making *a* post. They struggle with making posts that look like the same business every week, in the time left after running it. That comes down to a few practical problems.

### The usual problem

- Popular templates make you look like the shop next door
- Text gets lost on a busy photo or gradient
- Each platform wants a different size
- Writing the words takes longer than the design
- Every post starts from scratch

### What fixes it

- One look that belongs to you alone
- A background that makes room for words by itself
- One design resized to every format
- An AI that writes in your voice, from your real details
- A brand kit and templates that start every design for you

The first point matters most. When every café uses the same few templates, nobody remembers which post was yours; [why every feed looks the same](https://gradiently.design/guide/why-every-feed-looks-the-same) explains the pattern, and [small business branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/small-business-branding) covers the basics of fixing it.

## Your afternoon, step by step

| When | Job | Where |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First half hour | Choose your Mark | The Market |
| Next 45 minutes | Set up the brand kit | The Brand page |
| Next hour | Make your first posts | The Designer and the Studio |
| Next half hour | Make every size | Resize in the Studio |
| Last half hour | Plan the month and export | Bulk create, then Export |

Roughly three and a half hours, with a coffee break. The brand kit, one-step resizing and bulk create are part of Pro; everything else works on Free.

### 1. Choose your Mark

Browse the [Market](/market) and search by feel: "warm cream", "deep teal", "soft blush". Filter by look. Open a few and design with them; anyone can design with any unclaimed Mark for free. Pick the one that feels like walking into your shop. [How to choose a background for your brand](https://gradiently.design/guide/pick-the-right-mark) helps if you're torn. When you're sure, claim it: your name goes on its public record with a numbered certificate, and from then on only you can export with it.

### 2. Set up the brand kit

Type your website into the Brand page and choose **Read site**: Gradiently fetches your name, description, colour and icon for you to accept or ignore; [import your brand from your website](https://gradiently.design/guide/import-brand-from-website) explains what it reads. Then add your logo files, a heading and body font, and a few lines about how you sound and who you serve. Those lines are what make the Designer's words sound like you instead of like everyone.

### 3. Make your first posts

Tell the Designer what you need in plain words: *"An Instagram post saying we're open late on Fridays from next week, until 10pm."* It asks for anything it's missing, writes the words in your voice and lays the post out in your Mark. Or start from a template for posts, stories, menus or posters and swap in your own words and photos.

A café Instagram post announcing late opening on Fridays until 10pm

A café's announcement as a portrait Instagram post at 1080×1350.

A vertical hair salon story promoting autumn colour appointments

A hair salon's booking story at 1080×1920, words kept in the middle band.

Whatever you write, it stays readable. A Mark knows where the words are: it moves its calmest area behind them and picks light or dark ink per line from its own palette, without boxes or shadows.

### 4. Make every size

The same news usually needs a feed post, a story, a Facebook post and a Google Business post. With Pro you resize one design to every size in one step, and the layout reflows rather than stretching. On the free plan, choosing one new size is free. [Resize a design for all platforms](https://gradiently.design/guide/copy-to-sizes) has the detail.

- Instagram post 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350
- Story 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920
- Facebook post 1200×1200: 1200 × 1200
- Google Business post 1200×900: 1200 × 900
- A5 flyer 1748×2480: 1748 × 2480

Five sizes a local business uses every week, drawn to scale. One design, five exports, the same look on each.

### 5. Plan the month and export

If you post the same kind of thing often, such as weekly specials, new stock or class times, write them in a spreadsheet. With Pro, **bulk create** takes one page and a CSV, connects each column to the page's words or images, shows you every version and creates the pages; one Undo removes the batch. [Bulk create from a spreadsheet](https://gradiently.design/guide/bulk-create-from-spreadsheet) walks through it.

```text
day,special,served
Monday,Leek and potato soup,with sourdough
Tuesday,Chicken pie,with buttered greens
Wednesday,Mushroom risotto,with parmesan
Thursday,Fish finger sandwich,with tartare sauce
Friday,Lamb tagine,with herbed couscous
```

A week of specials as a CSV. First row headings, one row per post; the spreadsheet stays in your browser.

## Free or Pro for a small business

| You want to | Free | Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Try any unclaimed Mark | Yes | Yes |
| Keep designs | Up to 3 | Unlimited |
| Export | PNG or JPG at 720p, small watermark | Up to 4K, no watermark, PDF, SVG, video |
| Brand kit and website import | No | Yes |
| Resize to every size in one step | One new size | Yes |
| Bulk create from a spreadsheet | No | Yes |
| AI credits | A one-time allowance | Every month |

In both cases, exporting needs a Mark you own. Pro also keeps every Mark you own free of the yearly keeping fee.

Claiming a Mark is a one-time payment that includes its first year of keeping; after that, keeping is free with Pro or a yearly fee per Mark without it. [Gradiently free vs Pro](https://gradiently.design/guide/gradiently-pricing-explained) sets it out in full.

## After the afternoon

- **Post on a rhythm.** Two or three posts a week in the same look beat a burst followed by silence.
- **Reuse what works.** Duplicate last month's best post and change the words.
- **Let your assistant help.** If you live in ChatGPT or Claude, connect Gradiently and ask for posts from there; they open in the Studio for a final check.
- **Ask for help.** A person reads every request sent to the Help centre.

## FAQ

### What is the best design tool for a small business?

One that makes you look distinct, keeps text readable and produces every size you post from one design. Gradiently is built around those three needs.

### Can I use Gradiently for free?

Yes. You can design with any unclaimed Mark and keep up to three designs. Exporting needs a Mark you own, and free exports are 720p with a small watermark.

### Do I need design skills to use Gradiently?

No. Describe what you need and the Designer writes and lays it out, or start from a template and change the words.

### Can several people in my business use one account?

With Pro, team workspaces let people design together with owner, admin, editor and viewer roles.

### Will my posts look like other businesses using Gradiently?

Not if you claim a Mark. Each Mark has one owner at a time, and only the owner can export with it.