The John Grisham can wait, it's time to start expanding your marketing knowledge...

Whether you’re laying out on the beach, traveling on a plane, or relaxing in your living room, you can never go wrong with a good book.

Because our ever-expanding book list is full of great design, marketing, and inspirational reads, we decided to share our top picks with you.

Design

1. In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector by Jessica Hische
   From Wes Anderson movies to book covers, award-wining designer Jessica Hische’s work can be seen just about everywhere. In this in-depth book, Hische shares her process to creating her one-of-a-kind hand-lettering.
   

2. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
   What makes a design successful? Cognitive scientist Don Norman explains how design is more than just looking good, it’s about how the overall design affects the user.
   

3. Draplin Design Co.: Pretty Much Everything by Aaron James Draplin
   Portland-based graphic designer Aaron Draplin provides a colorful look into his unique design process. Pretty Much Everything is true to its title. It’s filled with personal stories, a collection of work, and valuable advice for new designers
   

4. Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities by David Airey
   What makes a logo iconic? Logo Design Love is a must read for designers and marketers alike. Find out what sets strong logos apart from the competition and learn how to create a design of your own.

Marketing

1. Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising by Ryan Holiday
   Marketer Ryan Holiday explains how brands like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest became household names without using traditional marketing tactics. Holiday provides a guide for all marketers (no matter what budget) and shows how you can hype up your products and raise brand awareness.
   

2. Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers by Jay Baer
   In an ideal world, every customer would be happy and satisfied. Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality. Find out how you can turn your complaints into an opportunity to improve your business.
   

3. Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
   Why do some products go viral while others fizzle? Jonah Berger shares how word of mouth and social influence determine what becomes popular.
   

4. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley
   Whether you’re writing a blog or captioning a picture, the words you choose are conveying a message. Find out how to hone your writing skills and create better written content.

Creativity

1. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
   Fans of Eat Pray Love can continue to find inspiration with Gilbert’s latest book. Through soul searching and exercises in mindfulness, Big Magic illustrates how to unlock your creativity and discover what drives you.
   

2. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
   Nothing is original. Instead, artists and creatives of every background need to embrace and tap into what makes them different.
   

3. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp
   Award winning choreographer Twyla Tharp shares how you can make creativity part of your daily life through a series of exercises.
   

4. Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelley
   You don’t need an artistic background to think creatively. Kelley shares insight that can help creatives and non-creatives alike become innovators.

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Hue & Tone Creative: YOUR GREENSBORO MARKETING FIRM

Don't have the time become a self-taught marketing expert? Don't worry, we already know everything we need to launch a game-changing marketing campaign for your business! From brand refreshes to event marketing, we can help you get your message across.

Creative inspiration can be found anywhere, from a scene in a movie to a trip to the museum.

This week, we cracked open our forgotten art history textbooks and found inspiration in the works of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and Art Nouveau masters.

No need for an artistic background- simply peruse through our collection of mood boards to find a little inspiration of your own.

Paul Cézanne

This rich mix of cool and warm tones can add a strong pop of color to websites, resumes, or business cards.    

Claude Monet

A bold punch of crimson adds an unexpected contrast to these lily pad greens.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

For this color scheme, we channeled the fast-paced energy of Parisian dance halls filled with quirky partygoers.

Edgar Degas

We loved the soft romantic feel of Degas’ delicate scenes. Adding a mossy green helped keep this pastel palate from feeling too girly.

Gustave Klimt

For this expressive color scheme, we channeled Klimt’s mosaic-like portraits and floral landscapes.

Mary Cassatt

Although Cassatt’s Impressionistic scenes were inspired by Degas, she had a style all her own. Lively bursts of yellow and ochre standout against blue and green hues.

Who are your favorite artists? Let us know in the comments!

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Graphic Design and Creative Marketing in Greensboro, NC & Winston-Salem

At a loss for design inspiration? Let us give you a hand! From brand boards to personal branding, Hue & Tone Creative can help add color and artistic flair to any project.

There are tons of web tools out there, but there’s one you need to be using: Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is powerhouse for data generation. It’s easy to use and can help you figure out what's hindering your site’s user experience. You can figure out where your site traffic comes from, who your users are, and what content they like best.

So, let’s talk a little more about what Google Analytics is and why you should be using it.

What it is:

Google Analytics supplies marketing teams with all the data you and your team need to make better marketing decisions.

Signing up is easy and free -- a major plus for businesses on a budget. Start by filling out some basic info about your company, industry, website, etc. Then, you or your web developer just has to paste a small snippet of JavaScript code into your pages. This custom tracking code allows Google to monitor your pages and how often your site is visited.

Give it a few days and you’ll have access to new data that gives you a better understanding of your customer experience and site performance. 

Why you need to use it:

From big businesses to small blogs, Google Analytics can help provide you with comprehensive insight on who your visitors are and how they use your site.

Google Analytics shows you where your customers are coming from and which channels they use to discover you. Are they finding you through paid ads or organic methods? Do you get more visits through mobile? Which geographic locations bring in the most views? Having access to this data can help you examine trends to get a better feel for who your customers are and how they interact with your brand.

Do you feel like you site is lacking attention? Use Google Analytics to monitor your bounce rate (the percentage of people who leave a website after a single page visit). Figure what your pages are lacking and fill the gaps with engaging content.

Google Analytics can also help you measure your traffic and analyze which blog posts or web pages are the most popular. How many people visit your site each day? Are people responding better to visual content? What writing format attracts more viewers? Google can help you break it down and act as a guide to help you build a more customer-friendly site.

In short, it’s time to get Google Analytics on your site. Get started HERE. 

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Digital Marketing & Graphic Design in Greensboro & Winston-Salem

Feel like your website or social media pages aren’t getting enough attention? We can fix that! From custom web design to creative content ideas, Hue & Tone Creative can help you get noticed.

Getting ready to throw a party, annual conference, or charity fundraiser? It’s never too early to start creating hype for your event. 

Putting time and energy into marketing your event will help spread the word to a wider pool of potential attendees and boost ticket sales. 

Ready to get started? Watch your RSVP list grow with these 5 easy steps. 

1. Create an Event page

We suggest getting started with a Facebook event page. You can link it to your business page and invite friends from your personal page, which will help you gain reach fast!  

Here’s a few things to keep in mind to create a standout event page: 

• Use a bold graphic that draws attention and looks great when it’s resized. Facebook recommends using pictures that are 1920 X 1080 pixels in order maintain clarity. Vector illustrations, event logos, or relevant stock images are all strong options.

• Come up with a clear and compelling headline to entice people to attend.

• Link all your social channels as well as your brand’s page, website, and a link to buy tickets.

• Add as many relevant tags that you can think of to improve your SEO and help possible partygoers find your page.

If you don’t want to use Facebook, Eventbrite is a great alternative (or great to use in addition to Facebook... more on that below). You can even sell tickets through Eventbrite and link it to your Facebook event page!

2. Send Invites and Save the Dates 

Sidebar: This isn’t the first time we’ve extolled the virtues of Eventbrite! Find our breakdown of the best Eventbrite features here. 

Now that your page is published, start sending those invites! If you want to send something more personal than a Facebook invitation, we’d second our recommendation for using Eventbrite. 

Choose from numerous email templates and add custom text for a personalized touch.  Want something a little more stylish? Eventbrite’s partnership with Event Kingdom offers designer digital invitations. Another plus? Every email invitation can be integrated with MailChimp, making it easier to track things like your open and response rates. 

3. Incentivize ticket sales

There’s no point in organizing an event with no guests. Get the ball rolling and start driving ticket sales as soon as possible. Offering special early bird, military, and group promotions can help you build buzz and sell out fast. Friend referral codes are another fantastic way to expand your guest list and spread the news to wider circles. 

Sidebar: Keep an eye on your metrics so that you can see which channels are thriving and which ones aren’t showing a strong return on investment. 

 

4. Drive excitement on social

FOMO is real. No one wants to feel left out. Use this to your advantage with creative posts on all your social channels.

• Use a clever and consistent hashtag on every post or tweet. Be sure to keep it short and make sure no one else is already using it.

• Start a giveaway or contest for a chance to win VIP tickets, gift cards, or event swag.

• Post behind the scenes videos or Boomerangs.

• Hosting a DIY event? Create a mini poll and invite followers to vote on an activity.

• Countdown the event on Twitter as it gets closer.
  

5. Keep Sharing at the Event

Pro tip: Be sure to screenshot and collect images from people – you can use these to help promote your event next year! 

Even when the event begins, the sharing shouldn’t stop. Sharing behind the scenes live videos and sneak peeks can help drum up last minute attendees. Don’t forget to send out another wave of reminder emails for tickets. 

When the party starts, keep the excitement going by encouraging your guests to share pictures on social paired with your event hashtag. Another fun touch is creating your own custom Geo filter for Snapchat. 

Now that you have some new tools and tips at your disposal, start promoting!

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Event Marketing & Graphic Design in Greensboro, NC and Winston Salem

Organizing an event? We’ve got you covered. From event graphics to email campaigns, Hue & Tone can help add style to the tiniest details. Give us a call today to find out more about our creative services.

Summertime is just around the corner and we’ve been bitten by the travel bug.

To quench our recent wanderlust, we used some creative energy to build a few mood boards inspired by beautiful destinations around the world.

Ready? Let’s go!

Greece

Craving a trip to the sea? Relax on the warm shores of Mykonos and explore the winding cliffside villages of Santorini.

Italy

From famous works of art to incredible food, Italy never fails to impress. We channeled the country’s rich culture and ancient landmarks for this warm and earthy mood board.

Iceland

Even though the Northern Lights are most visible in the wintertime, summertime in Iceland is full of natural beauty.

The South of France

Fragrant lavender, picturesque beaches, and charming hillside villages helped inspire this airy color scheme.

England

Whether you’re wandering the busy city of London, or enjoying the simplicity of the countryside, England is full of things to do and places to visit.

Spain

Spain is the perfect destination for creative spirits and nomads alike. The vibrant streets and whimsical architecture sparked this bold and quirky palate.

Want even more inspiration? Revisit our past mood boards here.  

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Creative Services & Graphic Design in Greensboro, NC

In need of a creative refresh? We’ve got you covered. From look books to blog design and everything in between, Hue & Tone can help bring your vision to life.

Live video is quickly becoming one of the top ways to watch, share, and interact with brands. When surveyed, 80% of people said they would rather watch a live video than read a blog... in fact, we should probably be broadcasting this content to you right now...

Before you hit "record" on your smart phone, let’s check in about the state of live video on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook Live

With an audience of over 78 million, Facebook Live is one of the best platforms to use if you want to connect and engage with your followers in real time. The interface is intuitive and easy to use and as soon as you go live Facebook notifies your followers. 

A few of our favorite features:

• When streaming is complete, anyone who missed your video can watch the complete video on your business page.

• Your followers can easily express how much they like (or love) what you're doing with the emoji reaction buttons during streaming.

• If you're looking to connect with your followers on a more personal level, you can also engage with your viewers by responding to their comments/questions live. It’s a great way to connect with your followers on a more personal level!

Our only warning about Facebook Live? It's prone to lagging, so we recommend streaming only when you have a 4G signal or WIFI connection.

 

Twitter

Twitter makes live video streaming simple with help from Periscope -- and videos are 6 times more likely to be retweeted than images. 

Periscope viewers watch over 110 years of live content daily!

Periscope is a live video app that lets mobile users stream anytime, anywhere. Twitter purchased the app in 2015, so every video you create on Twitter also gets posted to Periscope. This is a great way to expand your reach and expose your brand to audiences around the world. 

A few of our favorite features:

• Twitter’s streaming process is user friendly and full of engaging features. Viewers can “heart” your videos, comment, and ask questions while the video is live.

• You can use the Periscope Global Map to broadcast your stream to an international audience.

• 360 Video. Similar to Facebook, the videos are marked with a 360 badge and viewers can easily move the perspective around with their fingertips. While 360s are currently only available for select businesses, Twitter plans to roll out 360 to all users soon -- and you will need a specific camera to film.

 

Instagram

Need more details and ideas on what to post to Instagram? Check out this guide we put together for some inspiration!

Unlike Facebook, Instagram Stories are temporary (they last 24 hours). And, live videos on Instagram disappear as soon as you’re done filming, so this platform is best for people who only want to share videos with their followers. The videos aren’t stored anywhere, so there’s no way to rewatch it.  

While you’re filming live you can check the number of viewers that have tuned into your broadcast and you can start a Q & A session in the comments. Keeping an eye on the number of videos can help gauge how interested viewers are in the video.

That's the update! What other live video updates are you most excited about? 

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Hue & Tone Creative: Social Media Management in the Triad

In a social media rut? It’s time to make a change! From social media strategy to a fully customized management plan, we can help your brand break through the clutter.

Networking or job hunting on LinkedIn? You only get one chance to make a positive first impression. Don’t let a lackluster profile picture prevent you from making the right connections.

Get noticed for the right reasons -- give your profile picture a refresh with these 5 simple tips!

Dress to Impress

Pictures of you in shorts and a t-shirt at your friend’s barbeque don’t belong on your profile.

The rule of thumb? Dress for the position you want. Blazers, dress shirts, and blouses are always strong options. Feel free to show off your personality with understated pops of color (think chunky jewelry or a fun tie).

Choose a Simple Background

According to LinkedIn, your face should take up 60% of the frame.

Don’t overcomplicate your picture with a distracting background. The focus should be on you, not what you’re standing in front of. Choose a simple background like a plain wall, bricks, or an outdoor setting. If you’re in a pinch, you can make a DIY backdrop with fabric or poster board. 

 

Lighting

Great lighting is the key to a killer picture! Always take your pictures during the day so that you can take advantage of natural light. Shooting near a window or doorway with an indirect light source can help create beautiful soft images.

If you’re shooting outside, avoid direct sunlight. It’s way too harsh and you’ll end up squinting in every frame. Find an area with open shade (next to trees or a building) for the perfectly balanced lighting. 

 

Avoid Crazy Filters

Save Nashville and Toaster for Instagram. When it comes to profile pictures, clarity is what counts. Feel free to adjust the brightness and saturation to help punch up the color... just don’t go overboard!

Smile

It may seem silly, but smiling always makes a difference in pictures. Look directly into the camera and smile warmly and genuinely. Your potential connections will get the sense that you’re friendly and approachable!

One last note…

Your picture is all about you! Don’t be too serious. Have fun and show off your personality… just do it in a professional way!

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Professional Creative Services in Greensboro and Winston Salem

Whether you’re a recent grad or a seasoned professional, Hue & Tone Creative can help you stand out from the competition. From personal branding to business and resume design, Hue & Tone Creative is here to create a custom look for YOU.

Social advertising is a powerful component of online advertising. More specifically, Facebook has a user base of 1.94 billion active monthly users worldwide, and with consumers spending over 50% of their digital time on mobile devices, it pays to advertise on a site that dominates mobile. Facebook also allows you to target your ads, learn more about your users, and has flexible pricing options... need we say more about why this is a good idea? 

DO use compelling imagery: When paired with a relevant image, people are 65% more likely to remember information. You’ll grab your viewer’s attention and help them remember your product… even after they’ve scrolled away from your ad!

Not sure what kind of image to use? Stock photos are a great option if you don’t have any original pictures on hand.

DON’T blow your budget: Low costs are one of the great things about advertising on social. Facebook allows you to spend as little as $5 a day, which means even small and new businesses can buy advertising without blowing their budget. We suggest starting off small – especially if you’ve never run a Facebook ad before. Spend a little and find out what works before you increase your daily budget.  

DO some testing: A/B testing (also called split testing) allows you to test the success of different versions of your ad. You play around with the headlines, graphics, and CTA’s to find out what will get the most clicks, likes, and highest ROI.

Tip: When A/B testing, be sure to only tweak one element of your ad at a time. If you create a completely different ad you won’t be able to pinpoint which ad element is having an impact on your ad performance.

DON’T forget about mobile viewers: Over 1 billion people visit Facebook via phones and mobile devices daily. Don’t ignore a huge segment of people by sticking solely to desktop designs. 

DO create a CTA: Develop a call-to-action that illustrates the purpose of your ad. What benefit does your product/service provide to your audience? Why do they need this? What is the value?

DON’T make it too text heavy: Too much text will make your ad look cluttered and confusing. If you’re using a graphic, keep the 20% rule in mind: 80% of the ad should be imagery and the remaining 20% should be your text. 

DO learn about your audience: Facebook allows you to narrow down and target specific audiences through: location, interests, behavior, demographics, and connections. Do some research on who visits your page and is interested in your product before you tailor your ads. 

DON’T confuse your audience: You only have a few seconds to capture your viewer’s attention. Make sure that your purpose, product, and information is clear and easy to find. One ad = one objective.

DO try a video: 43% of consumers would like to see more video ads from marketers in the future. Get ahead of the trend and promote a how-to, customer testimonial, or behind-the-scenes video.

DON’T forget to keep track: It’s crucial to track how your ads are performing. If you don’t measure the success of your ads, you won’t be able to tailor future ads, and you’re sure to waste money on viewers who don’t have any interest in your product or services. After you’ve tested out a few promotions, set detailed goals for each campaign (ex. reach, likes, conversion, shares, etc.) and monitor your results frequently.

Ready to create your ad, but not sure where to start? Read up on our 5 easy tips.

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Social Media Marketing in Greensboro, NC

Looking to launch a new campaign? Get the most out of your investment by working with creative professionals. From email newsletters to Facebook and Instagram ads, Hue & Tone Creative is here to help your business stand out from the competition.

A compelling image can capture attention, tell a story, and help you connect with your viewer.  But inexpensive, non-cheesy stock photos can sometimes be hard to come by. 

To save you the hassle of hunting for decent photos, we’ve narrowed our top 9 (mostly free) stock photo sites. If you're looking for even more photos, a few of these sites offer a reasonably priced upgrade option that will give you access to even more photos. 

Browse through this list and start bookmarking some new favorites! 

Life of Pix

Life of Pix pulls their content from a community of photographers who upload free, high quality images and video. This site is especially great for gorgeous pictures of nature and travel!

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Unsplash

Unsplash is the perfect photo source for lifestyle pictures, food, and culture shots. All the pictures on Unsplash are hosted under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, so you can feel free to alter, copy, or use them commercially.

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Pexels

Pexels has a huge collection of high resolution pictures of people, animals, landscapes, and abstract subjects. You can choose to view the most popular images or search for specific topics. 

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Fancy Crave

Want to tell a story? Fancy Crave offers a collection of “emotionally driven” images that are licensed under CC0. 

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Death to Stock

This is site should be your go to resource for artsy photos and videos with a minimalistic aesthetic. For $15 a month (or $145 annually), premium members have access to unlimited downloads and over 20 new photos a month.  

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Pic Jumbo

Pic Jumbo has an extensive collection of pictures for business, restaurants, technology, nature, people...and pretty much anything you can think of. For $10 a month, you can upgrade to a premium membership of over 3,000 stock photos and unlimited downloads. 

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Travel Coffee Book

Travel Coffee Book is the go to destination for gorgeous travel photography. You may even be inspired to grab your passport after browsing their giant collection!

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Jay Mantri

Jay Mantri posts a variety of free images under the CC0 license. All of the pictures have a soft aesthetic and range from hazy forest landscapes to abstract cityscapes.  

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Kaboom Pics

Kaboom Pics has a huge collection of over 4,000 royalty images. This site is a popular source for lifestyle and interior design pictures. We especially love that each image features a complementary color palette!

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Creative Marketing in Greensboro, NC and beyond

Hue & Tone is here to help you achieve your goals. From logo design to custom social media content, Hue & Tone can help you get noticed and make a lasting impression. Contact us today to learn more about our design and marketing services.

With over 75 billion ideas to choose from, Pinterest is one of the best resources for creative inspiration.

While we all have fun pinning ideas for DIY terrariums or artisan cocktails, we also know it can be a great place to promote your business. Today, we're honing in on how to use Pinterest if you're an interior designer.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just need a little fresh marketing inspiration, we hope you can find some new ideas in this collection. 

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Let's get started with a few must create boards...

Whether you create your own custom content, stick to repining, or bring in content from your website, these boards are the perfect way to display your creative expertise for your clients.

Prints & Patterns
From florals to stripes, prints help add character to any room.

 Home Décor
Pinterest is a haven for home design! We especially love how you can search for just about any style or room you can imagine.

Color Play
Pinterest is full of great color scheme ideas for any aesthetic.

Lighting
A collection of Edison lamps, decorative sconces, and chandeliers offer an upgrade to the basic table lamp.

Textiles
What better way to add a touch of color and texture than a rug, tapestry, or dramatic pair of drapes?

Storage
Pin a collection of creative storage solutions to keep clutter at bay.

Travel
From Grecian sea sides to Italian landscapes, design inspiration can be found worldwide.

Furniture
No room would be complete without the perfect furniture. Pin great finds from online stores or innovative ways to arrange each piece.

Hotels & Hospitality
Whether you’re creating a relaxing escape for visitors or streamlined designs to appeal to a wide audience, Pinterest is full of ideas.

Tablescapes
Create a beautiful scene for photoshoots, gatherings, and events.

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Need some new sources to pin from? These accounts are full of creative ideas and gorgeous images:
 

My Design Agenda
A great source for international design, installations, home décor.
 

Apartment Therapy
This well-known name has a loyal following of over 877,000 pinners. This account is full of shopping guides and design inspiration for every room.
 

Old Brand New 
Old-Brand New is curated by a LA-based blogger, Dabito. This diverse account is filled with art, style, and playful color combinations.
 

Design Milk
Interested in modern, minimalistic aesthetic? Design Milk is a stylish resource for clean design.
 

Remodelista
This account is perfect for designers that are drawn to cozy interiors and soft color palates.

Have a favorite account that we left out? Let us know in the comments!

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Design & Marketing in Greensboro, NC

Ready to start seeing results? From design to delivery, Hue & Tone can help you create a truly unique social campaign. If you’re ready to start seeing a return on your social media dollars then it’s time to invest in a creative agency that can give you more. If you’re interested in social media management, a new campaign, or another creative service, give us a call today so we can set up a social media audit.

With the evolution of iPhone photography, just about anyone can make a shot look artistic. But artistic isn't the same as high quality. While we can appreciate a nice shot on our Insta feed, there’s still a big lane for professional photography in advertising and marketing.

If just bought your first DSLR, or if you're looking to learn to go from a  beginner to a professional, there’s a few terms you should know. 

Aperture

Aperture is the adjustable opening in the lens where light travels. This is one of the three elements that creates exposure. When it comes to shutter speed, fast speeds need large apertures for more light. Slow shutter speeds require smaller apertures with less light passing through.

Aperture sizes are marked by f-stop numbers:

f/1.4 (largest)

f/2

f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

f/8 (smallest)

Autofocus

This allows your camera to focus on the subject automatically. There are two types of autofocus: single or continuous. Continuous focus is best for moving subjects, and single focus works best stationary subjects.  

 

An example of bokeh

Bokeh

Have you ever noticed the tiny balls of light in filtered pictures? When lights are out of focus and the picture is taken with a wide exposure, it creates an effect called “bokeh.”

 

Color Depth

Basically, color depth is the amount of color that can be captured by a camera. Color depth is measured in bits, and varies from camera to camera. Higher bits allow for higher quality images with more variations of color. Most DSLR cameras have a color depth of 24 bits of color variation (about 16.7 million colors). 

 

Exposure

Exposure is the lightness or darkness of a photo.  Three factors determine the outcome of exposure: ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. If you’ve heard that an image is “overexposed”, it means that it is too washed out or too light. “Underexposed” means that it’s too dark.

 

Flash

Most people probably equate flash with blinding bursts of light and embarrassing school pictures. Flash is usually used to help add light to dark scenery, but it can also be used to create artistic effects.

 

Focus

Focus involves the clarity of a picture. Typically the main subject in a picture is sharp, and the background behind them is blurred.  It’s all dependent on angles and perspective, but the important thing is keeping the subject of your photo in focus. 

 

White Balance

Learn more about each white balance setting on Nikon’s site. 

You think you can determine if an object is white by looking at it, but sometimes cameras have difficulty. Color can change because of different lighting conditions: too much sun, a cloudy day, or a dim room.

There’s a white balance setting on cameras that usually solves this problem, but sometimes it’s better to adjust it manually. To do this, you just choose the appropriate setting: PRE, Kelvin color temperature, flash, incandescent, fluorescent, sunny, open shade, or cloudy. 

 

ISO

ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO measures how sensitive your camera is to light. The measurements range from 200 to 1600. Typically, lower numbers require more light for a good exposure. 

 

RAW

RAW is essential to digital photography. This file format records every bit of image data without processing it. RAW files are the key to creating high quality images, because they can capture more information, levels of brightness, and detail than JPEGs.

 

An example of the rule of thirds.

Rule of Thirds

This is a basic rule of thumb for strong compositions. Basically, you want to imagine a three-part grid across your image to create a sense of balance.    

 

Shutter Speed

Every time you take a picture; the shutter of your camera opens and closes. Shutter speed measures how long the camera sensor is exposed to light in seconds or fractions of a second. Higher shutter speeds simply mean that the sensor was exposed for a shorter time.

Shutter speed is important to different areas of photography. For instance, if you’re tyrying to capture an action shot at a football game, a lower shutter speed will make your pictures come out blurry. Low shutter speeds work better for subjects with less movement, because you usually need use a tripod.

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Creative Services in Greensboro & Winston-Salem

Don't exactly have an artistic eye? Or, maybe you just need a second set of eyes? Hue & Tone can help you with all your photography, graphic design, and web needs. 

Every new designer has been there – you upload a photo to your site and it looks a little blurry. Or, maybe you get a proof back from the printer and things are looking a little off.

Not understanding photo and file resolution is a quick give away that you don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t let a great design get categorized as a “fail” because of a resolution issue -- arm yourself with a little knowledge and you’ll never again have to cross your fingers when you send something off to the printer.

 

Key Terms

Let’s start with a quick primer of some important terminology. Whether you’re working by yourself or with a designer these terms are bound to come up.

• Resolution: Refers to the number of pixels in your image. The number of pixels determines the quality and clarity of your image.

• Pixel: Defined as “a minute area of illumination on a display screen, one of many from which an image is composed.” Hundreds or thousands of pixels make up every raster image.

• DPI (Dots per Inch): The amount of dots printed in a square inch.

• PPI (Pixels per Inch): The amount of pixels in a square inch displayed on a screen.

• Raw file: A collection of unprocessed and uncompressed data that can be turned into an image. Similar to photography negatives, the RAW image is not directly usable as an image, but has all the information needed to create an image. Many photographers choose to shoot in RAW.

• Physical Size: The width and height of an image measured in pixels. A large physical size generally causes a longer time to download.

• Down-sampling: To decrease the resolution of an image. It’s always best to shoot high resolution images so that you have the option to down-sample if needed.

• Display Size: The size an image is displayed on a screen (monitor, tablet, phone, etc.)

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Need a refresher on HOW TO SAVE your files? Revisit our file formatting guide.

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Check your image resolution in Photoshop by clicking Image > Image Size.

Resolution Standards

Every time you set up project in Photoshop, InDesign, or an alternative design program, stick to these guidelines to ensure clear high quality images.

• Brochures & Flyers: 300 DPI

• Digital and Web: This varies. 72- 96 PPI is recommended for quick load times.

• Large format print graphics: 100 DPI
  

 

Converting inches to pixels for print

Curious how many pixels you need for a clear print? Here’s a handful of common print sizes and the corresponding file dimensions you would need to get a 300dpi print.

• 4”x6” = 1200 × 1800pixels

• 5”x 7” = 1500 × 2100 pixels

• 8” x 10” = 2400 × 3000 pixels

• 8.5” x 11” = 3300 × 4200 pixels

High resolution images are the key to a quality product. But, after you’ve converted your RAW photo files and selected a photo, it’s important to work with an appropriately sized image.

A high quality picture is great – but when you’re working with web files load speed is important and a smaller file is necessary. The higher the resolution, the bigger the file size.

Get in the habit of saving your files at the resolution you need, and you’ll make every project look like a cake walk!

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Marketing & Creative Services in Greensboro: Hue & Tone Creative

Need high quality presentation graphics, a fresh new logo, or an updated website? Hue & Tone has you covered. Work with a creative professional that will take the time to listen and bring your vision to life. Contact us today to get the conversation started.

When it comes to lead generation, landing pages count. A landing page gives your customers a clear why and how -- it tells them why they should care about your product and it gives them a clear next step to take.

Keep in mind that landing pages shouldn't look like your homepage. Where homepages are general and intended to appeal to everyone, landing pages are tailored to a specific type of customer. Homepage typically have multiple messages, where landing pages have one focused message.

A special type of page means a special design. We've broken down our four must have elements for a lead generating landing page: 

Attention Grabbing Headline

The first thing your visitors see is your headline, so make sure to capture their attention and incentivize them to stay longer. Most people tend to skim over body text quickly, and will leave sites that aren’t relevant or seem too wordy.

To craft the most effective headline, keep these three principles in mind:

• Share Information

• Solve a Problem

• Show Value

What are you selling? Why does your customer need this product/service? What can your customers gain/save? Write a headline that packs a punch and leaves your customer wanting more.

Call to Action

After you’ve effectively gotten your viewer’s attention and promoted your business, it’s crucial to capture their contact information and turn those visitors into leads.

Offer up discounts, free downloads, or exclusive offers -- the catch? All we need is your email address.

To keep your CTA from sounding too self-serving be sure to keep the focus on the customer. Try something like “Get your free coupon” instead of “Sign up for emails here.”

Form

Having a form to capture your customers information is a must. How else will you follow-up so you can turn someone into a potential customer? We suggest asking for as little information as you can get away with -- this ups the chances of someone filling out your form. 

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Multiple target demographics? Create multiple, tailored landing pages so that you can effectively reach all of your customers.

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Graphics

Eye-tracking studies have found that people pay more attention to information when it’s combined with relevant images. Pair your headline and body text with pictures or videos that will help your information stick.

If you choose to go the video route, make sure the videos load quickly aren’t too distracting to the overall composition of your landing page.

OPTIONAL: Testimonials & Endorsements

A great way to show value in your brand is by providing proof from actual human beings.

People tend to trust others they can relate to. Share feedback from influencers or previous customers. If your products have been featured in any noteworthy blogs, publications, or social media pages, show it off!

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Web & Graphic Design in Greensboro, NC

Time to revamp your outdated site? Leave it to the experts! From product websites to landing pages, Hue & Tone can help you market your brand and leave a lasting impression.

Whether you’re revamping your resume or debuting a new logo, the colors you choose make a difference. With an endless library of colors at your disposal, it can be difficult to decide on the right combo.

Lately, we’ve been finding our inspiration in nature. The great outdoors is a bountiful source of *free* inspiration (and, the photos we used were free too)!

If you can't get away from your desk right this minute, turn to our nature inspired color schemes for your next project. Try out just one... or all of them! 

Neon Forest

This bold collection is perfect for trendsetters and influencers. Pair energetic colors with a charcoal brown for a crisp contrast.

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Luscious Lavender

Not afraid to get a little girly? This playful purple match up is for you.

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Salt & Seafoam

Want to appeal to a wide audience? These cool tones feel calm and approachable.

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Citrus Sunrise

Feeling a little playful? This bright collection is perfect for a fun new culinary or children’s brand!

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Desert Flower

This color scheme is perfect for spring! The feminine and playful combo works nicely for logos, business cards, or boutique packaging.

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Vivid Autumn

These bold tones feel warm and confident -- but still modern.

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Bold & Earthy

Looking for a natural palette that can appeal to a down-to-earth demographic? We've got just the thing. 

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Pastel Sea

Think pastels are a little too girly? Tone down the femininity with rich tones. This palette would add a modern touch to packaging or branding materials. 

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Incandescent

These subtle colors serve as a great foundation to help your work stand out. Give this palette a try for your next portfolio site. 

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Soft & Whimsical

This color scheme feels delicate yet subtly strong.

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Creative Professionals in Greensboro and Winston Salem

Need a second opinion on your current creative project? We can help! From personal branding to web-design, Hue & Tone is here to help you make your brand pop.

A few other products worth checking out:

• Project Felix
• Premier Pro
• InCopy
• Prelude
• Muse
• Character Animator

Photoshop is probably the Adobe program you've heard the most about -- but it's only one piece of the larger Adobe Suite.   

Adobe has over twenty different programs to pick from! And, it can be a little overwhelming if you're new to Adobe or trying to figure out what to learn next. 

This isn't an exhaustive list, just an overview of some of the apps creatives are likely to find most useful. If you don't see what you're looking for here, head over to Adobe's website for an overview of some of their more specialty products. 

Photoshop

From basic retouching to creating detailed photo compositions, Photoshop should be your go-to tool for working with raster images. Images are imported into Photoshop in layers for maximum flexibility, and it's widely used by artists of all kinds. 

Perfect For: photo editing and manipulation, web/app layouts, digital art

Lightroom

Lightroom is a photo processor and image editor that can help you organize and fine-tune your images. It's primary function is to catalog and sort your images. You can touch up basics like brightness and contrast, but for the heavy duty editing you'll need to head over to Photoshop.

Perfect for: viewing, organizing and retouching large numbers of digital images

InDesign

Adobe InDesign is the perfect program to create high quality print and digital publications. InDesign possesses intensive typographical features that make it the go to for longer or text-heavy publications like books, white papers, and newspapers.  It's also great for shorter print documents like brochures and company newsletters. 

Perfect For: print materials, résumés, business cards, and cover letters, creating magazines and eBooks
 

Illustrator

Illustrator is a must have for any graphic designer. Illustrator specializes in creating vector images (unlike Photoshop which works only with raster graphics). Vector images can be scaled up or down indefinitely without manipulating the image. 

Perfect for: logo design, vector illustrations, icon creation, infographics

After Effects

Adobe After Effects is the industry standard for creating professional special effects and animations. It has a variety of high-powered effects which allow you to do things like create a rain simulation, create custom titles, or zoom through your clips in 3-D space. Beware, After Effects only lets you work with one clip at a time, so it's not the right choice if you're looking to splice together a series of video clips. 

Perfect for: animation, motion graphics, cinematic effects, green screening
 

Premiere

Adobe is a production and editing tool meant for working with multiple video clips. It's perfect for editing together things like commercials, testimonials, and news video. Whether you're working on a short or long video project, Premiere is for you.

Perfect for: commercials, webcasts, documentaries

Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver is a must have for web designers and developers. This program has a customizable interface and allows you to see your edits in real time. If you’re new to coding, Dreamweaver has built in code hints and Quick Docs to help you along the way.

Perfect for: Web design (supports: ActionScript, ASP, C#, CSS, ColdFusion, EDML, XHTML, XML, XSLT, HTML, Java, JavaScript, PHP, VB, VBScript, and WML) 

 

PRICING

Adobe offers several different plan options for individuals, businesses, students/ teachers, and universities. We’re going to focus on the individual plans today. If you’re interested in some of the other options, you can learn more here.
 

Photography- $9.99 a month

• Includes Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC
• Portfolio website
   

Single App- $19.99 a month

• Includes your choice of one desktop program
• 20 GB of cloud storage
• Premium fonts
• Portfolio website
   

All Apps- $49.99 a month

• Includes all the Creative Cloud programs for desktop and mobile
• Portfolio website
• 20 GB of cloud storage
• Premium fonts
   

All Apps and Adobe Stock- $79.98 a month

• Includes every Creative Cloud application for both mobile and desktop
• 10 free Adobe Stock photos
• One free month of Adobe Stock

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Greensboro Graphic Design

Want to add a professional creative touch to your next project? We’re here to help! Hue & Tone can help you create one-of-a-kind projects that tell your story. Contact us today to learn more about our graphic design services. 

Snapchat has become a regular part of people’s daily routinue – it’s second nature to snapping your morning coffee or sending a filtered selfie after a big accomplishment. It has also become a regular part of many company’s marketing plans.

Ready to spice up your own marketing strategy with Snapchat Geofilters?  

Types of Filters

First things first, let’s breakdown the types of filters you can create. Snapchat offers two options: Community and On-Demand Geofilters. Community filters are geared towards artists and designers who want to make filters for local landmarks or their hometowns.

About 9,000 Snaps are sent each second.

Unlike Community Geofilters, On-Demand filters are purchased and can contain logos. These are an awesome way to promote your brand, especially if you have a big event or new product launching. It’s a fun and easy way to get exposure and engage with your customers

It’s important to note that you need to obtain specific rights before you use your logo or brand name in your On-Demand filter. Check out at this guideline from Snapchat for more details.
 

Creating your On-Demand Filter

Ready to start building your filter? Let’s get to it!

First, get started on the design. Snapchat offers several templates to choose or you can upload your own as PSDs or AI files.  If you don’t have access to Adobe software, you can also use Canva. Just make sure that the dimensions are 1,080px wide by 1,920px tall. Keep the background transparent and download it as a PNG file.

If you create your filter using Snapchat’s various templates, you can customize your layout, color scheme, and fonts. Try not to overcomplicate your design. When in doubt, keep it simple.

Once you’ve settled on a design, just enter your location and checkout. Super easy!

It takes about one business day for Snapchat to approve your filter design. But, we highly suggest that you submit it 3-4 days before you need it ready – just in case you end up having to rework your design and resubmit it.

 

Prices

The price of your filter depends on the size and how long you want it to run. Typically, most filters are $5 dollars per 20,000 square feet. You can keep it active from anywhere from 1 hour to 30 days.

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Social Media Marketing in GSO and Winston-Salem

In need of a new social media strategy? Hue & Tone Creative can help! Our social media management and personalized branding services will keep your content fresh and up to date. 

If you use Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite, then you’re probably no stranger to Typekit. With over 1,000 options at your fingertips, choosing the right font can be a challenge.

At a loss for which fonts to use? We’ve rounded up a collection of our must-sync fonts.

Serif

These serifs give a sophisticated feel to resumes, business cards, and printed media. 

Slab Serif

Need a font that stands out? These bold slab serifs are perfect for headlines.

Sans Serif

We love these sleek sans serif fonts for blogs, websites, and everything in between.

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Web & Graphic Design Services in Greensboro: Hue & Tone Creative

Does your brand need a Spring refresh? Hue & Tone Creative will help you update your look. From email campaigns and web design, to presentation graphics and business cards, we’re here to help you put your best foot forward. Contact us today to learn more about our creative services -- 336-365-8559.

Lately, we’ve been feeling a little nostalgic. Since we don’t have a DeLorian to help us hop back in time, we decided to get a little creative.

Take a trip to the past with our collection of retro mood boards: 

1960’s 

Listening to Pandora’s 60’s French Pop station helped put us in the mood to create our first board. We love the graphic prints and classic style of this iconic decade.

 

1970's

While we like the look of ruffled shirts in the 70’s, we’re happy they haven’t made a comeback.

1980's 

This bright color scheme may have fueled an 80’s movie marathon on Netflix… 

1990's

90’s style has definitely found its way back in recent years. We’re loving these bold geometric patterns and energetic colors. 

What’s your favorite decade? Let us know in the comments!

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Greensboro Graphic Design Company: Hue & Tone Creative

In need of a little inspiration? Hue & Tone can help supercharge your creativity. From graphic design to social media management, we’ve got you covered. 

With over 150 million daily users, Instagram stories have gained a lot of popularity since their launch. If you haven’t hopped on the stories train yet, it’s not too late!

Instagram stories are the perfect way to engage your followers without overloading their feed. Each story only lasts for 24 hours (aka Snapchat style), so it’s important to post regularly. We suggest adding a lot of variety to your stories so that you can gauge what your followers respond best to.

Not quite sure of what to post? Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

• Get Artsy: Play around with the pen tool and draw little doodles around your images/ videos. You also scribble a colorful background behind text. 
• Tie in your other social channels: Did you recently upload a new video on YouTube or create a contest on Facebook? Share a snippet in your stories!
• Before & after’s: This is perfect for designers, stylists, or anyone showing of a DIY success.
• Create an ad: At the beginning of this month, Instagram announced that Instagram Stories Ads would be available for businesses worldwide. 30+ brands including Asos, Airbnb, and Netflix tested out the new feature earlier this year with great success.
• Collaborate: Work with other businesses or try out a guest “takeover” to add a different perspective. 
• Be consistent: IG stories only last for a day, so make sure that you post regularly. If every day is too much, try to post a few times a week.
• Have fun: Try not to make your stories too stuffy! Play around with emoji’s, clever captions, color, and fun filters. Adding a bit of candid fun will give your followers something to look forward to. 
• Mix it up: Instagram stories are kind of like a little patchwork quilt of daily events. Keep it interesting by incorporating pictures, music, videos, and Boomerang clips.

Don’t overthink it! At the end of the day, Instagram stories are a fun and temporary extension to your Instagram feed. Sometimes spontaneity is key.

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Marketing & Social Media Services in Greensboro: Hue & Tone Creative

Need a second opinion on your current social media strategy? We've got your back! Our social media management services will help you boost engagement, increase followers, create brand awareness.... and, most importantly, create content your customers will love. 

It's been a little while since we've spotlighted our work on the blog -- which makes it the perfect time to tell you a little about Motown Memories, a fundraising event to benefit Rise & Shine (if you haven't heard of Rise & Shine, check out this post). 

We've done a number of projects for them in the past -- including a colorful anniversary campaign -- but our latest project has a whole different feel. Rise & Shine was looking for an upbeat design that would fit in with the colors and style of the Motown era. 

We started by putting together a moodboard to make sure we were evoking the right feel.

After the Rise & Shine team signed off on the moodboard, we dove right in and designed a coordinating poster and e-vite. Take a peak at our work below, or give them a call at 828-883-2295, ext. 15 to purchase tickets to the event. 

View fullsize

Click to see the full e-blast!

If you live in the Brevard or Asheville area we encourage you to attend Motown Memories and see what Rise & Shine is all about!

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Hue & Tone Creative: Non-profit Graphic Design

Is your non-profit looking to build a relationship with a marketing firm? We'll be more than your marketing team -- we'll be your community partner. Working together, we can create the social content, graphic design, and marketing plan to help you increase your local reach.