Happy Friday, and welcome to our first Friday Links of May! This week we’re focusing on a little bit of everything -- from Mother’s Day to design tips.

One  |  What does your brand’s color say about your business? Color can affect mood, perception, and buy-in. Review this break down of color psychology before settling on a final signature color for your logo!

Two  |  Did you know this week is National Small Business Week? If you’ve ever wondered what is takes to be a small business owner here’s an infographic that breaks it all down.

Three  |  “Thou shall always stick to thy deadlines” = our favorite of these 10 commandments of graphic design.

Four  |  Looking to take your designs to the next level? Here are 50 visual tips + examples that will help you fine tune your designs to convey exactly the message you want (perfect for social media managers).

Five  |  Crafting a message or graphic for Mother’s Day?  Here are 6 creative Mother’s Day Ads for inspiration!

Stay tuned for next week’s blog all about social media platforms. Have a great weekend!

Staying up to date with your social media can be a full time job! Posting content every day can seem a little overwhelming, but there are plenty of resources available to help streamline the process.

One  |  Getting started is one of the hardest parts about social media. Using these tips starting your pages will be easy.

Two | Social Media is how you connect with your audience. Your posts should be strategically planned out in order to see the kind of interaction that you want. Here are 5 habits successful social media experts use to get the most from their efforts.

Three  |  Making the time for social media can be exhausting, but with the right strategy you can fit it into an hour a day! Use this step-by-step plan to get in the habit of devoting each day to a different task.

Four  |  When planning out your posts for the week, you want to make sure you’re posting at the right times. This isn’t the same for everyone or every account -- but there are a few times when users are most active online. Don’t hesitate to play around and see what works best for you!

Five  |  Using tools is a great way to help you stay organized with your posts. These 10 tools will make your managing all your accounts (and your life) a little easier!

Need full time help? We can do that! Social media is a crucial part of any digital marketing plan -- let us reduce your stress and ensure that a good job is being done.

This Friday we’ve rounded up some useful tips and advice from our favorite #girlbosses.

One  |  Starting off with the queen #girlboss herself! Sophia Amoruso shares her secrets to success.

Two  |  Are you looking to find your passion, find your main motivation, and perfect your personal brand? Here are 10 books must haves on your bookshelves from creative girl bosses.

Three  |  For all your being a boss inspiration, check out Ashley Howard’s Girl Boss Motivation Pinterest board.

Four  |  If you want to be a boss, you have to work like one! We are loving Courtney Whitmore’s home office.

Five  |  Just in case you forgot :)

Tag your favorite #girlboss in the comments!

If you’re like me you haven’t changed your desktop background or iPhone wallpaper in a few months. I realized this week it’s time for change -- so shake it up and try one of these 5 wallpaper designs RIGHT NOW!

One | Summer is right around the corner, brighten up your wallpaper with summer colors!

Two | Patterns are a girls best friend, right?  We are loving these fun patterns for your laptop, cell phone, or even coffee cups! (You can find the coffee cups at Target).

Three | If you’re like me, you need all the motivation you can get. Here’s a reminder whenever you’re in need of a pep talk!

Four | Pretty pink, watercolor, and flowers? We’ll take it! Download this free gorgeous wallpaper.

Five | Geometric shapes anyone? For fun prints, check these out!
 

Which wallpaper did you pick to try out? Let us know in the comments!

This Friday we’re in a creative state of mind! From creating graphics, hand lettering, and choosing fonts we’ve created a list of links to get you trying something new.

One | Using graphics is a great way to add interest to your blog or website. Spicing up your photos (or stock photos) can be simple. Follow these steps and you’ll be creating graphics like a pro in no time!

Two | Have you ever wondered what the difference between Handlettering and Calligraphy is? Maghon Taylor from All She Wrote Notes, explains it all. She even offers calligraphy classes right here in Greensboro.

Three | Practice makes perfect. Here are 10 free hand lettering practice worksheets to help you learn a new skill.

Four | So you’ve mastered hand lettering... now what? Digitize them through Illustrator! Check out this step-by-step guide to taking your paper to digital.

Five | Picking the right fonts can be critical to making your blog or website give off the right vibe. Lucky for you we found this handy guide to choosing the right fonts. 

See you next week for another Friday Link! Have a great weekend and let your creative minds run!

Oh Friday, we’ve missed you...  We’ll admit, we’re attached at the hip to our phone, so this week we’ve got links on social media, how to unplug, and a surprise throwback we’ve all wanted! Here’s a few articles to kickstart your weekend!

One  |  Did you know that Twitter celebrated its 10 year anniversary this week? To think, where would we be without these tweets that broke the Internet in the past 10 years?

Two  |  If you need some organizational help, check out these apps that will organize your life in no time. We love Trello!

Three  |  Promoting your website or blog is vital at any stage! For those new (and experienced), here are 10 tips to market your blog. (Hint: social media is a major key!)

Four  |  If you need a break from apps and social media, let’s get back to the books! If you’re in a reading slump, check out how to get out of your reading slump!

Five |  Nostalgia Alert! For all the 90’s babies, let’s rejoice! There’s an All That reunion!

Happy Weekend :)

Friday links to keep you inspired for the weekend and the week to come!

One  |  Do you ever feel in a creativity slump? Check out these tips to destress, and get back to bursting with ideas for your work!

Two  |  Want to know more about different resources to create a better blog? Here are 15 resources to help your improve your website or the design of your blog.

Three  |  Make a statement on your blog with a statement graphics! Look at these tips to make an eye catching design!

Four  |  Think you're ready to try your hand at creating your own logo? With the help of these guidelines you can push your new logo to the next level. (Not so design savvy? This is also a great resource to help you develop some sketches for a designer.)

Five  |  Easter is right around the corner! If you’re needing a little inspiration for social media posts, check out these social media campaigns to stay festive during the holiday.  

As always, have a great weekend, and see you next Friday for another link roundup!

The weather in Greensboro is heating up which only means one thing - springtime is coming! And, your house isn’t the only thing that could benefit from spring cleaning. It’s the perfect time to take a second look at your brand, website, and social media accounts,  so that you can leap into this new season with a fresh style. Here are five resources to help you get started:

One | Consider refreshing (or creating!) your inspiration board of images, colors, and quotes to keep you motivated for the year. Check out tips for designing an inspiration board for your brand!

Two | Spring brings livelier colors to explore! Consider adding some light pastels to your social media content for a fresh contrast that matches the  new season. Check out the top colors of Spring 2016.

Three | For reviving your website, consider using different fonts or even using different colors. This free and easy gold font will add a fresh color to liven up any website!

Four | Are you maximizing your online presence? Here are 10 tips on what you can do every week to increase your presence and engagement online.

Five | Warmer weather means more outdoor activities! When you step  outside take advantage of your surroundings and grab some nature pics for Instagram! Here are 13 tips on taking better Instagram pictures.

Enjoy the weather! Have a lovely weekend, and keep calm...spring is coming!

To round out this week, we’re rounding up the best of the links we’ve shared over the last few months. These are just all around, generally good resources that we couldn’t help but share a second time!

One  |  Good, free fonts can be hard to find. This list of 60 free minimalist fonts highlights a handful of unique + clean + modern finds -- ones that you won’t see on more basic free font lists. 

Two  |   Typewolf is one of the best sources for everything typography + fonts. With carefully curated lists and resources, you’ll find everything from unique ‘top 10’ lists to font profiles (complete with mixing & match suggestions).

Three  |  No matter what your goals, these eight inspirational TED Talks are a must watch.

Four  |  This is a great roundup on apps to boost your productivity as a freelancer. We'll definitely be trying a few of these.

Five  |  Death to the Stock Photo is one of the first sources people mention for cheap + not-tacky + actually useful stock photos. We see it mentioned constantly, and have even highlighted it a couples of times ourself -- but Death to Stock has come in handy so many times this week that we want to give them another shout out.

Six  |  The Hue & Tone website runs on Squarespace, and I'm a huge fan. Here's a good summary of the reasons why.

Seven  |   It’s easy to fall into a rut and start using the same colors -- so when you need a little inspiration check out these 50 creative color schemes.

Which of the links we’ve shared over the past few months have you found the most helpful?

*See all of our link roundups here, or check out our personal favorite -- our Greensboro link roundup -- here.*

Hi friends, and happy Friday! It's been a fun week full of some new opportunities here at Hue & Tone, and now I'm wrapping things up before heading out to enjoy this weekend's (hopefully) beautiful weather! If, like me, you haven't quite reached the finish line of the work week, here are a few links to push you through.

One | Type design is one of the most demanding (and fascinating) disciplines in the creative world. Here's a roundup of type designers to watch out for in 2016. 

Two | For something light, here's a hilarious infographic from the Creative Market blog: how to live like a creative.

Three | Looking for more regular reading material? Check out a few of the 80 best Tumblr blogs for designers. 

Four | This is great from the first line: "I’d love to have a toolkit that promised me great, creative ideas every time I sat down to work. Obviously that’s not going to happen—creativity doesn’t come from tools."

Five | Don't forget to check out our free adult coloring page! It's perfect for some weekend relaxation. 

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend! We'll be back next week on the blog.

Another Friday, another link roundup! Here's a few things that came in handy at Hue & Tone this week: 

One  |  Looking for a last minute Valentine's Day card? Use these four free printables to design your own! The ombre XOXO print is our personal favorite.

Two  |  Typewolf is one of the best sources for everything typography + fonts. With carefully curated lists and resources, you’ll find everything from unique ‘top 10’ lists to font profiles (complete with mixing & match suggestions).

Three  |  Last week, we went in depth on our love of textures. If you’re looking for some textures to play around with in your designs check out this free sample pack.

Four  |  No matter what your goals, these eight inspirational TED Talks are a must watch.

Five  |  This week's mood board was one of our favorites! We've been reminding ourselves all week that there's no single answer to a design problem. 

We'll be back Tuesday with a fun, interactive freebie! 

For a twist on our usual Friday Links we’ve compiled a list of our favorite Greensboro things! We’ve been in Greensboro a little over a year, and while we still have a mile long list of things to try out, we definitely have some favorites -- here’s a quick list of everything we’ve been loving!
 

Favorite Spot: Our office at Revolution Mill!
Haven’t seen our space yet? Drop in and see us! You’ll get why we love hanging out in our office.

Favorite Restaurant: Boba House
We recommend the springs rolls and Hawaiian stir fry,  but everything we’ve sampled at this healthy and compassionate eatery has been vegan heaven.

Favorite Brewery: Red Oak 
We might be a little bias because they’re a client, but you can’t beat the clean, unfiltered taste of a Red Oak beer!

Favorite Coffee: Green Bean
A GSO staple, the Green Bean regularly makes lists “best coffee shops” and “must go to” lists. We love them for their amazing baked goods, vegan cream cheese, and close proximity to the office!  

Favorite Local Non-profit: CSDHH
There’s so many great local non-profits to pick from, but after working with CSDHH, we were blown away by their commitment to empower and inspire change for the deaf community.
 

What did we miss? Where do we need to try? Leave us a comment and let us know!

( Love Greensboro? Drop us a line and we’ll send you some I <3 GSO stickers! )

No reason to delay, here's our Friday links!

One  |  It’s easy to fall into a rut and start using the same colors -- so when you need a little inspiration check out these 50 creative color schemes.

Two  | Glitter has been trending for months -- if you want to get in on the trend without going through the trouble of photoshopping your own glitter, these free textures are perfect for you.

Three  |  We’re big fans of Evernote and use it to organize all of our meeting notes, screenshots of inspiration pieces, and even emails. If you’re looking to become a paperless operation, or just want to keep your desk tidy, check out how another Evernote power user maximizes the app to stay organized.

Four  |  Automated emails are a great and easy way to communicate consistently with your customers and clients. Get started with MailChimp or see if the email marketing service you already use has an automation option!

Five  |  This one isn't actually a link, but we couldn't wait to show off our new business cards + postcards + stickers! We used Moo for the printing and are obsessed with their Printfinity option!  

Want us to send you some of our new stickers? Shoot us your mailing address and we'd be happy to send you a handful! 

We’re tempted to say it’s been a busy week around the office… but aren’t they all busy? Without further adieu, here's our round-up of Friday links. 
 

One  |  We love our office and wouldn’t want to have our business anywhere else… but full disclosure, we’re drooling over these shots of Code and Theory’s new office. Maybe it has something to do with our Andy Warhol obsession?

Two  |  This list of 10 ways to brainstorm new ideas comes in handy -- when you do creative work all day you’re bound to run out of steam every now and then. Our go-to method when we need to brainstorm is to take nothing but a blank legal pad (no phone) to our favorite coffee shop, set a timer for 30 minutes and see what we can come up with! 

Three  |  Death to the Stock Photo is one of the first sources people mention for cheap + not-tacky + actually useful stock photos. We see it mentioned constantly, and have even highlighted it a couples of times ourself -- but Death to Stock has come in handy so many times this week that we want to give them another shout out.  

Four  |  While doing research for the latest e-Book cover project, we ran across this custom Book Illustration Competition -- and now we’re stoked to see the submissions/winners.

We hope everyone’s had a productive week back at work after the holidays. Here’s a few links that caught our eye this week:

One | Good, free fonts can be hard to find. This list of 60 free minimalist fonts highlights a handful of unique + clean + modern finds -- ones that you won’t see on more basic free font lists. 

Two | A lot of my clients are new to the design world -- and while I always take the time to walk them through some of the basics, a handful have asked for reading they can do on their own. This guide will help familiarize you with some basic typography terms. It’s the perfect primer for people having trouble communicating with their designer!

Three | For the past few weeks my social media feeds have been overrun with predictions for what 2016 will bring. Out of everything I’ve read, this collection of design trend predictions is one of my favorites.  

Four | We’re working on a few new freebie wallpapers -- in the meantime spruce up your tech with this list of best desktop wallpaper sites.

Five | I’ve recently developed an obsession with adult coloring books -- they’re perfect when you need a quick break from work. Michael’s has a wide selection, and carries a few coloring books that feature less intricate patterns (perfect for beginners)!

It's Friday once again! Here's our weekly roundup of links on a few of my favorite things: design, creativity, and entrepreneurship...plus anything else that strikes my fancy! 

One | Love this rundown from Fast Company on six myths about creativity. I love number five (click on over to see what it is).

Two | Good design is really about solving problems. Here's how to solve them like a designer. 

Three | Maybe it's a little meta to mention this on the blog, but I love this guide to blog post ideas. It's not a list of pre-formed ideas (those are helpful, but everywhere) -- it's a framework for developing your own. 

Four | Another on the service-y/helpful side of things: how to change your domain name without losing SEO.

Five | Can we talk about this gorgeous lettering?! Love.

Roundup of this week's blog posts: 

• Favorite design blogs
• Fall/Winter mood board

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Here's our weekly roundup of links we're loving.

One | A good thing to work on if you've got holiday downtime: tips on making a media kit that'll impress your clients.

Two | Why everyone needs a passion project, even if you've got a 9 to 5.

Three | Something encouraging and sparking with a little creative magic: Amanda Palmer on working in the arts. "When you're an artist, nobody ever tells you or hits you with the magic wand of legitimacy. You have to hit your own head with your own handmade wand." 

Four | What makes a good designer -- the illustrated version.

Five | This could be a fun project (also useful if holiday downtime exists in your world) -- how to digitize hand lettering.

Have a great weekend. I'll see you all soon on the blog. 

It's Friday and you know what that means...time for some links on design, creativity, & other things we love here at Hue & Tone!  Without further adieu...

One | If I only had thirty seconds to offer you a piece of essential career advice, it'd be this: don't use a Microsoft Word template for your resume. Here are some good tips as you move beyond that.

Two | Travel is not a huge part of my life these days, but I'd like to incorporate more of it eventually. I'm reading through these tips on how to prepare your business for extended travel.

Three | Why you should cultivate creativity in your business: "No matter how good somebody is or how brilliant they are, they're going to be wrong sometimes." 

Four | I love these thoughts on the difference between graphic design & other kinds of design: "Graphic design is about communication, and there's something about communication that is fundamentally social or even civic in its nature." 

Five | We'll close with something a little more practical: these subtle brushes.

Recap of this week's blog posts: 

• Community Spotlight: Renaissance Community Co-Op
• Client Spotlight: Reclaimed Lumber and Beams

Current read:

Design is a Job by Mike Monteiro 

That's all for this week! Have a great weekend -- see you Tuesday!

Hello Friday, once again! I'm looking forward to wrapping up work for the week and welcoming some friends to town for a visit. 

Hope you are looking forward to something fun over the weekend as well -- but until that happens, here are some links to get you through the rest of the work week.  

One | We'll start this week's roundup with a resource: this set of minimal social icons. Not too much, just enough. 

Two | Looking to create a logo? Here's a good set of tips -- accessible without being too basic. 

Three | These adorable black and gold patterns (my alma mater's colors!) are 100% free.

Four | Something a little different: a crash course in presentation design. 

Five | Veering away from design into business...and a topic I've thought about a lot: how to blend your personal story into your brand/business story.  

That's it for this week! Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see you again on Tuesday.  

And just like that, it's Friday again. To help you transition from the weekday hustle to weekend relaxation (you really should relax) -- here are a few links I've been loving this week!  

 One | I'm all about these (free!) hand-drawn vector stripes & patterns. 

Two | Here's a good cheat sheat on the file types you'll likely encounter in design work. 

Three | Another super-usable post: how to establish a brand identity for your small business. This is solid advice. 

Four | A little less resource-oriented & more on the "interesting to know" side: the state of graphic design in 2015. 

Five | We'll close this week with another freebie -- these gorgeous brushstroke vectors.  

This week's posts: 

• Easy DIY stock photography 
• What I'm working on  

This week's music: Spotify Morning Productivity playlist  

Have a great weekend! I'll see you here on the blog on Tuesday.