Yes, we know you've heard it before. 

The last web designer you spoke to probably mentioned it 5 times in the last 5 minutes. 

They probably used words like “mobile responsiveness,” “optimizing for mobile,” “responsive design”… maybe they even threw in “MobileGeddon” for good measure. 

But, what is "mobile-friendly," why is there a need for it on your website, and why are web designers so obsessed with it? 

In this post, we'll cover just that. We’ll also give you 7 undeniable reasons why you need to invest in your website being mobile responsive.

But first, the basics.

What is a mobile-friendly website?

Let's illustrate the concept using a couple of images:

And, this illustration from Google:

See the difference?

One looks like a typical phone app and the other one will require a magnifying glass just to read the site title.

You'll notice the "mobile-friendly" one on the right has:

• Large, easy to read text

• Full screen, viewable images

• An intuitive page layout

• Easy to use navigation

When you’re on your phone, this is exactly what you would expect a good website to look like. A website optimized for mobile adjusts and displays properly on all smaller screens – not just phones, but tablets too.

Why is mobile-friendly website important?

In addition to elevating your user experience, we’ve got some hard numbers on why mobile compatibility is important. A few highlights:
 

1. In 2017, 52.64% of all traffic came from mobile devices.

2. By the end of 2018, it’s expected that traffic on mobile devices will make up 79% of global internet use.

3. Last year 50% of total eCommerce revenue came from mobile devices

4. 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.

5. Nearly 8 in 10 customers would stop engaging with content that doesn’t display well on their device.

6. 88% of consumers who search for a type of business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours.
   

It comes down to the fact that almost everyone uses their mobile device to browse, shop, and interact with businesses. Not having a mobile optimized site directly converts to losing potential customers.

If you are a business owner looking to make your mark in the digital ecosystem, we highly recommend that your website be mobile optimized. You don't want site visitors squinting to see what your website is all about.

Still not convinced? 

6 (more) reasons why you need a mobile responsive website

• Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in mobile search results. Back in 2015, Google made a change to the algorithm that allows websites optimized for mobile to rank better than those that aren’t optimized.

• Having a mobile friendly site is considered best practices today and it increases your credibility to comply with industry standards.

• 91% of mobile internet activity is spent on social media. You don’t want to waste your social media marketing dollars by sending people to a subpar or slow loading site.

• Good site design makes customers happy and saves them time. You always want to give your customers a good experience – and this means having an easy to navigate site. You can be guaranteed people won’t come back to your site if they can’t navigate it easily.

• A site that operates smoothly leads to people spending more time on your site.

• Mobile optimized sites are programmed to load more quickly – you no longer run the risk of people clicking away because your site loads slowly!
  

In 2018, making your site mobile friendly is no longer optional. It’s worth investing in revising or redesigning your website to make sure your site conforms to the industry standard of being mobile ready. If you don't, you risk losing potential customers, lowering the impact of your social and PPC ad campaigns, and alienating people who aren’t willing to put up with an inferior user experience.  

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Hue & Tone: Greensboro-BASED Marketing FIRM

Ready to get your site up to speed? We can hook you up. At Hue & Tone Creative, we believe good marketing can help you create a lasting impression on your customers. From site design to business card design -- we can help you with every piece of your marketing strategy.

A business’s ultimate success has grown increasingly reliant on its web presence; particularly its website. According to an April 2017 survey taken by Statista, 40 percent of internet users in the US stated that they purchased items online, several times per month. Retail e-commerce sales worldwide are expected to nearly double between 2016 and 2020. More people than ever are performing research online before journeying to a brick and mortar store to complete a purchase. With so many transactions occurring online, how can you be certain your website is performing up to par?

Most small business owners can at least determine how much traffic their website solicits. But this can be as beneficial as knowing how many people attended a party without actually talking to anyone. There’s so much more information available. So, if you haven’t already, it’s time to get analytical in 2018.

Conversion

This statistic tells you how successfully your website is completing your intended goal. For example, if you’re Pizza Hut and your website’s primary purpose is for a visitor to complete a purchase, then your conversion statistic will indicate the percentage of visitor’s doing just that. Maybe you’re a real estate company, and your conversion goal is to have web users complete a contact form; this statistic will give you those percentages.

Source Report

Again, most people are familiar with Traffic Acquisition Reports, which measure the amount of traffic your website is getting during any given period of time. But remember, we’re after much more; like, how did they find you in the first place? There’s an analytic for that. A Source Report can tell you if someone arrived at your site by way of a search engine like Yahoo, or a referring site like Pinterest which includes links that route users to a pin’s original site or page. It can even determine how many people typed your url directly into the address bar.

Medium Report

There is also a Medium Report which indicates whether the result was the product of organic search or unpaid search, a paid search result, or via a referring website. All of this information could help influence marketing decisions going forward and guide a strategy for capitalizing on the sources and mediums already generating much of your traffic.

Bounce Rates

This statistic can inform several website elements, because it tracks what happens once a visitor enters your online presence. Do users journey to another page within your site or do they leave it all together? If your bounce percentage is high, you can determine where visitors are landing, which may prompt insight into why they’re leaving. Essentially, this analytic provides valuable insight into what visitors like about your site and what they don’t. Moreover, it empowers you to customize and alter your website accordingly.

Pageviews

This statistic is self-explanatory. It measures how many views a specific page receives. If visitors are returning to the same page again and again, hypothetically, you can formulate content that may garner similar interest. It could also point to other contributing factors like design schemes that users prefer. Using this information to formulate a strategic response can ultimately assist in improving your overall conversion rate.

The world wide web will continue to change and grow to meet human demand and businesses must evolve to keep pace. With the new year, usher in a new marketing strategy with the help of web analytics. It will be the best resolution you’ve ever made.

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web marketing consultants  |  Greensboro, NC

Need help getting your website set up? Want a second set of eyes looking over your analytics? Hue & Tone Creative will take the stress out of marketing your business online. Check out our design portfolio to see clients we've helped in the past, and then give us a call to get your web presence ready for the new year.

The song, It’s so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday was originally recorded for the 1975 film, Cooley High. It’s a real tear jerker and may make for fitting music as we bid farewell to design trends that can’t join us in the new year. Honestly, the list itself isn’t sad at all. It’s actually solid advice regarding 4 web design trends to leave in 2017.

Before we get to the list, let’s quickly discuss why this purge is so necessary. Two letters: UX. UX or User experience refers to a person’s feelings and impressions about using a particular product, system or service. In this case, your website. To keep this experience simple, logical and enjoyable, these 4 web designs must be left behind.

#1. Skeuomorphism

The design concept that merges our real-life perception or characteristics of an object with its digital equivalent. A good example of this is the original Instagram logo; a life-like image of a camera that has since changed to a simpler, semi-flat design. Flat and semi-flat designs have a minimalistic feel and seem to be preferred more widely by web audiences. For this we say adieu to skeuomorphism. 

#2. Hero Images as the whole Story

Hero images are large images that take the place of traditional banners and are generally overlaid with text. Don’t get me wrong, they look amazing. They are captivating, they are alluring and signal substance. The problem is, some websites are little more than these images with no accompanying meaningful content. Perfectly fine for a webpage used for contact information or a place to describe a single product. However, hero images are not enough to tell the whole story about a business and its products or services. Coca-Cola is a great example of how to use hero Images while still boasting a site full of relevant and substantive content. Easy to say arrivederci to hero images as the entire story.

#3. Tight Spacing

Sometimes, full breakups aren’t necessary. A little space goes a long way at rekindling a quenched flame. White space in particular, could vastly improve the look and feel of your website. This can be accomplished pretty easily. Sites that are text heavy can add space between lines and letters, enhancing readability. Similarly, those with lots of products to display should take a hint from Amazon.com which uses grid layout design. The online superstore has successfully employed this design to organize their many products. In either case, the user experience is upgraded. We can happily say adios to tight spacing. 

#4. Sliders and Carousels

These are not the same, but are similar design techniques. They each involve the movement of images in either a sliding or rotating fashion. Neither, according to a Nielsen Norman Group study, were found to be effective conversion tools. A point made many times over the years, but appears on this list due to an even greater downside. The designs could negatively impact your SEO or search engine optimization. While the use of sliders and carousels aren’t automatic SEO killers, the risk to your website’s ranking is real and may not be worth taking that chance. Either, enlist the help of a professional website builder or try something else. Videos are a great alternative to both these elements and may be a better way to tell your story. Let us say Gooday to sliders and carousels. 

Companies in the know wisely improve their websites to increase user satisfaction. This includes, but is not limited to the way the site appears on mobile or desktop devices, how easily and intuitively one can navigate the site, and the overall functionality and feel when engaging with the website. The 4 web design trends to leave behind, tend to interfere with these aims in one way or another. It may not be so hard to say goodbye after all.

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WEB DESIGN IN GREENSBORO AND BEYOND

Guilty of using all these things on your website? We can help pull you out of the past!
Hue & Tone Creative will help get your web presence up to speed. Be sure to check out our design portfolio to see clients we’ve helped in the past -- and then give us a call if you’d like us to build you a modern website that truly tells your story.

As another year comes to a close, it’s common to reflect upon our existence and the world at large. What’s the meaning of life, are we alone in the universe and what’s the difference between EPS, AI and PDF files? The first two questions are worth pondering, but in this marketing dimension, the latter inquiry is of much greater importance. Let’s take a closer look at these formats and hopefully solve at least one mystery of the world.
 

Encapsulated PostScript or EPS predates AI and PDF files. It and the other file formats can contain any combination of graphics, text and images. The different components comprising an EPS file are communicated in a programming language called PostScript that describes the objects in and the layout of a page. An EPS file internally contains this programming language which accounts for its main benefit: compatibility.

EPS has cross-platform compatibility which means it can be shared between Mac and PCs. While a EPS can be accessed on a Mac automatically, if in Windows, it requires graphic software like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape and Corel Draw to open and edit this type of file. Also, if the file is print ready, meaning no changes need to be made, an EPS file can be sent directly to a PostScript printer without compatibility issues and to most imagesetters. It’s the original file format for complex designs and is still used by graphic designers and publishing professionals currently. However, it’s been gradually supplanted by AI and to a greater extent, PDF files. Here’s why:

AI or Adobe Illustrator Artwork files are vector based graphics contained in a single page. While AI files have many of the same attributes as EPS, AI is an application-native format. This means that it is designed to be understood by the software that created it. In this case, Adobe Illustrator. AI files can still be imported by other programs like Freehand or CorelDraw, but when doing so, it omits any Adobe Illustrator-specific content it doesn’t understand. Simply put, AI file formats function most optimally in Adobe Illustrator, because they were literally made for each other. Contrarily, EPS wasn’t created for any particular application. This file type is an exchange format where the intent is for it to be openable by multiple applications. Think tailored suit vs one-size-fits-all pant. While EPS is compatible with more applications than AI, the entirety of the information contained, doesn’t always translate into the chosen application. This problem led to the creation of the PDF.

PDF or Portable Document Format is described as the successor of EPS. The PDF was the first file format that enabled a document to be shared electronically while retaining its original formatting. No matter what application is used, you’re able to transfer electronic versions of these documents anywhere, and view and print them on any machine. It allows the exact presentation and exchange of documents, independent of software, hardware, or operating system. Unlike EPS, it translates exactly no matter what. And contrary to AI, it’s not limited by its application of origin.

The file type you use should depend on the project at hand, the tools in your box and you and your team’s preferences. EPS, AI and PDF files all have their unique advantages given the context and you may find yourself using each of these throughout your work.  While there are still larger life questions we all want answered, at least this one can be crossed off the list.

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CREATIVE EXPERTS IN THE TRIAD

Can't figure out your mess of files? Not sure what the printer is asking you for? No worries, we'll get your businesses branding back on the right track -- we specialize in branding and collateral design. Whether you need to refresh your existing brand or start from scratch, we've got your back. Contact us if you're ready to stop stressing about your visual identity.

If you loved iSpy as a kid, these eclectic flat lays are going to catch your eye...eye for detail that is! 

Flat lays not only make great Instagram posts, but they can also be great design inspiration. A stylized color scheme is part of what makes a good flat lay eye-catching social media gold... as opposed to just a pile of junk on a white background. 

We grabbed a few of our favorite flat lays from Twenty20 and let them inspire 6 unique color schemes! 

Sixties Citrus

This color story is looking to make a statement -- 60’s inspired citrus hues pair with a pop of electric strawberry for a modern look that will practically knock your go-go boots off!

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Fall Bazaar

An unexpected spin on fall, a muted rosewood hue pairs with a pink that packs a peppy punch. A pale olive and citron pull together this surprising style.

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Punchy Post-its

Earthy sage pairs with a bright salmon and a goldenrod yellow... these post-it notes inspired a color scheme almost good enough to eat! 

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Neon Stamp Collection

We pulled these punchy colors out of a dynamic stamp collection. If you’ve seen our logo you know we’re obsessed with citron – add a luscious grape color, a toned down teal, and a calming grey and you’ve got a girly, but fresh, color scheme.

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Colorful Cars

Whether you’re a racecar driver or an everyday commuter, we bet this color scheme really revs your engine!

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Beige Business

The most muted of the group, this flat lay takes business style to a new place. Soft lavender, navy, and pistachio green give these guys a serene look during a hectic day at their make-believe office.

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CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS IN GREENSBORO AND WINSTON-SALEM

Logo looking a little flat? Website lacking pop? We'll get your businesses branding on the right track -- we specialize in logo design, branding, and collateral development. Reach out if you're ready to make your brand stand out: hannah@hueandtonecreative.com or 336-365-8559.

When it comes to finding the right potential customers, utilizing the correct keywords in your paid search and web content will help you increase your leads.

While it can be tempting to just make educated guesses about the right keywords, it's crucial to take the time and research what will be most effective. But, before we highlight a few handy tools for keyword discovery, it's important to understand what that there's a few different type of keywords. 

 

Long-tail Keywords

One of the most effective types of keywords is a long-tail keyword. A long-tail keyword is a highly detailed phrase made up of three to four words. Although long-tail keywords are usually searched for less often than their shorter counterparts, they tend to bring in a high conversion rate because they are so specific.

For example, someone looking for "organic gluten-free birthday cakes" are more likely to find your bakery and place an order then someone who just typed in "buy cake" and just wants any old birthday cake that's available.

 

Local Keywords

Think about times when you’ve searched for services or businesses like hair salons, dentists, or a place for decent pizza. You’re automatically going to weed out a business that isn’t anywhere near you.

If you own a small business, it’s important to get the word out to your local clients through geo-targeting. Instead of only using keywords like “animal hospital,” get more specific with words like “animal hospital in Greensboro, NC.”

While local keywords often have lower search volume, they often have higher conversion rates. Long-tail local keywords will deliver even less traffic, but chances are these visitors are really serious about finding a business. For example, "animal hospital greensboro open 24-7" has a good chance of capturing someone looking for a midnight pet emergency. 

One word of warning? Don't shoot yourself in the foot by casting too wide of a net. Stick to the location of your brick and mortar store and a few surrounding counties -- don't try to capture the whole state or you'll just end up reducing your potential to rank for your actual location. 

Keyword Planner

One of the best ways to discover keywords is through the free Keyword Planner in Google AdWords. Using this tool, you can search through relevant phrases and terms related to your business and see how often they are searched through Google. The Keyword Planner also allows you to research historical statistics and predict the click rate of potential words before you add them into your AdWords plan.

Google Trends

Not utilizing Google AdWords? You can still give Google Trends a try. This is when it's time to make an educated guess about what you think your keywords would be. Start with things like your products or services and check the popularity of one or multiple keywords at a time by searching them on the site. You can narrow down the trends even further by searching in a specific region, state, or span of time.

For instance, the amount of people looking for “pumpkin patches” in Greensboro and Winston-Salem increased dramatically around September 24th of this year. Google Trends also provided some suggestions for related topics and search terms like “farm,” “maze,” and “pumpkin patch near me.” 

If you're looking to do something like holiday advertising or capture the back to school crowd, being able to track these types of trends can help you predict when your ads will be most effective. 

 

Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz Keyword Planner has a great analysis and keyword suggestion feature for marketers. If you’re on a budget, the site offers 20 free search queries every month, with the option to upgrade by purchasing the premium plan.

Another helpful feature of this tool is how it breaks down each search term by monthly volume, priority, difficulty, and organic CTR. This will help give you an idea of how competitive it will be to gain clicks -- and how much it will cost. 

keywords --> COntent

After you've done your keyword research, you're probably ready to get out there and buy some ads or bid on some keywords and start driving traffic to your site. But don't forget one of the most important ways that you can build authority -- through your blogging and site content! 

Make sure to write about topics you want to rank for and let your newly discovered keywords influence your blogging. As you might remember from this blog, Google knows what you're blogging about and they rank you accordingly, so don't fall into the trap of only paying for traffic. Strong, organic content can bring you some of the best traffic around! 

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Marketing and Social Media Experts in the Triad

Looking for to develop your brand? Hue & Tone is a creative graphic design agency specializing in logo design, web design, social media management, and more. Be sure to check out our portfolio to see clients we’ve helped in the past, or give us a call if you're ready to get started building your brand.

If you’re not familiar with HTML, making even small tweaks to your website or custom MailChimp template can be a struggle. HTML is a complicated language and you won’t become an expert overnight – however, you can master a few basics that will make it easier to tweak templates, build web pages, and control your online presence.

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive guide to HTML, but rather an introduction with some of the most basic tags you’ll need to customize your in-house marketing campaigns. 

What is HTML?

Let’s start with the most basic question – “what is HTML?”

Hypertext markup language (HTML) is a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects. You use specific tags to customize each element of a web page.

Check it out for yourself: Open up a well-designed site in Chrome, right click, and select "Inspect Element." You’ll be able to get a look behind-the-scenes at how the site was coded. 

HTML Elements

HTML elements are individual components of your webpage that are made up of a start tag <example> and an end tag </example >.

Here’s an example of what a simple HTML page might look like:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Page Title</title>
</head>
<body>

<h1>Sample heading</h1>
<p>A sample paragraph would go here.</p>

</body>
</html>

Note the <html> tag at the very top.

This element specifies the language the webpage or document is written in. Without this tag your computer won’t know how to process all the code that follows it. It’s important to realize that browsers do not display the HTML tags, but they use them to render the content of the page.

The Basics

<body>
The visible part of the HTML document is between <body> and </body>.

Your body tag is the first element content tag that you can open after you’ve opened your initial html tag.

<head>
This tag is one of the content elements that can be opened within your body tag. You can vary the size of your headings and subheadings by specifying whether you want <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, or <h6>.

<h1> defines the most important heading. <h6> defines the least important heading.

<p>
Used for formatting paragraphs of text. Just to be clear, the paragraph tag defaults to which ever style you already have assigned to your style sheet.

<a>
HTML links are defined with the <a> tag.

For example:
<a href="hueandtonecreative.com">You would put the text you want to be hyperlinked here. </a>

<img>
To incorporate an image into your page you’ll want to use an <img> tag -- the source file (src), alternative text (alt), width, and height can all be defined.

Example here:
<img src="hueandtonelogo.jpg" alt="hueandtonecreative.com" width="210" height="210">

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Always remember to close your tags. Anytime you open a tag <example> you should close it after you’ve defined all your content </example>. 

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Style Elements

<style>
Your style tags help you specify which colors and fonts are used for your headings, paragraphs, etc.

Here’s a few examples:

You could format size like this:

<h1 style="font-size:300%;">This is a heading</h1>
 

Color like this:

<h1 style="color:blue">This is where the text you want stylized goes. </h1>
 

Or both like this:

<h1 style="color:blue;"font-size:300%">This is where the text you want stylized goes.</h1>

Formatting Elements

Formatting assist with the aesthetics of your webpage, kind of like the style elements we mentioned earlier. The main difference between the two is that your formatting elements deal with text effects.

<b>
Used to make specific text bold.

<i>
Used for italicizing text.

<marked>
Highlights text.

<small>
Makes specific text smaller. 

Helpful Resources

Learning HTML isn’t the easiest task, so here are a few tools to help you become a pro in no time!

• Treehouse is an online coding school specializing in front end web development, JavaScript, IOS, and Python. Learn from over 1,000 video tutorials, quizzes, and coding challenges. There’s a free trial for first time users.

• Lynda is a digital learning library where you can learn skills for business, design, marketing, and web development.

• HTML Dog offers free online tutorials in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. There are specific tutorials for every level of learning: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

One last note…

Becoming proficient in HTML takes time and consistent practice, so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t come easy to you! Be patient and try to set obtainable goals for yourself.

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Web and Graphic Design in Greensboro and beyond.

Clueless on how to build a website or create a logo? We’ve got you covered! Eye catching landing pages that help reel in leads to business cards that leave a lasting impression, Hue & Tone Creative is here for all of your marketing needs.

Successful marketing takes more than coming up with eye catching advertising schemes and posting frequently on social. It’s about making a genuine connection with your customers – and to do that, you have to know who your customers are!

Customer personas (also called buyer personas) are detailed representations of your customers’ demographics, likes, dislikes, traits, and buying behaviors. Keep in mind that these traits are not made up, you need to discover them through comprehensive research.

Digging into the data and discovering who frequents your business will help you develop more effective marketing materials, allow you to boost sales, and make you an all around more effective business owner. 

Whether you’re a brand new business or a company that’s been around for a while, understanding who your clients are and how they shop will go a long way in building a stronger business. 

Focus on the Good & Bad

While life would be easier if we only focused on the positives, being a business owner means taking in the whole picture. In order to have a strong and thorough understanding of your brand, you need to be familiar with both your strengths and weaknesses.

If you’ve had negative customer experiences in the past, reach out to those clients and learn how you can avoid it in the futures. Unfortunately, not everyone will be in love with your company, but you can still use their constructive feedback to pinpoint who you should be focusing your marketing efforts on and what you need to improve in the future.

Alternatively, if you have your top customers who are always liking your social posts, and praising your products, find out what they love about your company, how they prefer to shop, and what they expect from your brand.

Understanding your ideal customers and customers that aren’t interested in your company can help you pinpoint who you should target and who to avoid. 

Creating Your Personas

When it comes to building your personas, the more details you include, the better they become. Here are a few areas to focus on:

­­­

• Age

• Income

• Education level

• Location

• Occupation

• Goals

• Challenges

• Values

• Likes & Dislikes

• Favorite brands

• Hobbies

• How they discovered your brand

• Favorite social media accounts

• How often they shop

Your personas should provide a glimpse into who your customers are and how they think.

Now, let’s pretend that we own an organic juice bar. Here's what two of our personas might look like: 

From looking at the profiles of our two fictional customers, we’re able to better understand what they’re looking for in a brand. We also have a better idea of how they’d prefer to receive information.

When it comes to making personas of your own, don’t be afraid to reach out to people. Past customers and followers on social are the best ways to find information. Get creative by sending out email surveys, creating Facebook polls, or simply conducting phone interviews. Just be sure to offer an incentive for their feedback and time. Gift certificates, freebies, or discount codes all work well.

Now, get building those buyer profiles! Or, leave us a question below if you need more information.

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Graphic Design & Creative Marketing in Greensboro, NC

Need a second opinion on your current marketing strategy? We can help! Whether you need to spruce up your landing page or create a more engaging email campaign, Hue & Tone Creative can help your brand that extra touch it needs to stand out.

It’s no secret, strong branding is one of the keys to successful marketing. In fact, 69% of marketers insist that branded content is more compelling than advertising through mail or PR.

When it comes to newer businesses, understanding your own brand will help set you apart from your more seasoned competitors. If you’re totally new to branding or you're just trying to figure out who "you" are, grab a note pad and answer these five essential questions.

1.    What’s your brand story?

From years of hard work to happy accident, every company and product gets its start somewhere. How did your brand get its start? Is there a story that’s uniquely yours? Think of ways to share your humble beginnings and make your company memorable.

2.    Describe your ideal customer?

The most important aspect of opening a business is finding and keeping leads. Taking the time to thoroughly research your target customer will help keep your brand’s aesthetic, feel, and marketing strategies aligned with the wants and needs of your audience.

Because no two customers are alike, we recommend creating personas for three different shoppers. Make detailed lists describing their: age, profession, income, hobbies, where they live, likes, dislikes, etc.

3.    What 5 words describe your brand?

In the early stages of branding, you can never make too make lists! We suggest brainstorming as many words or adjectives that you can think of that define you.

When you can’t think of any more, look over the words you came up with and whittle down your list until only the 5 most meaningful words remain.

4.    What product or services do you want to be known for?

77% of people choose a product because of its brand name. Think about that statistic the next time you reach for a Post-It or a Band-aid!

Like Nike sneakers and Tazo tea, every successful business has a well-known product. When people hear the name of your brand, what will be the first thing they think of? 

It's important to define your signature product or services... before your customer defines it for you. 

5.    What brands do your customers love? 

This can include your direct competitors or brands that are completely unrelated to you. For example, if you’re opening an organic soy candle store, you may have customers that enjoy buying products from Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Etsy, or Earth Fare.

Check out what colors, words, and imagery they use to figure out where you'll fit in with your competition. 

Do you have more branding questions that we didn’t go over? Ask us in the comments!

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Marketing & Graphic Design in Greensboro, NC & Beyond

Gearing up for the launch of a new product or business? Don’t dive in without a little help from the creative experts. From business card design and logos, to social media marketing, Hue & Tone Creative can help you connect with your customers and creating a lasting impression.

Whether you’re designing a resumé for the job of your dreams, sending out invitations to a gala, or creating a sleek new business card, using the right fonts will help you grab someone's attention and accurately communicate your brand.
 

Google Fonts has 847 fonts to sort through, so we’ve rounded up some favorites for you to browse. And remember, all of these fonts are free and open source, so there’s no need to worry about potential licensing hiccups. You’re free to use the fonts for any project, whether it’s a personal blog or a commercial campaign.

Sans Serif

You can never have too many sans serif font options. These versatile fonts are great for logos, headlines, and graphics. 

Serif

Give Times New Roman a break and swap it for something more modern.

Slab Serif

Looking for a typeface that packs a punch? Try a slab serif.

 Want even more fonts? Keep the downloading going by syncing some of our favorites from Adobe Typekit.

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Professional Creative Services in Greensboro, NC

Don’t have an eye for design? We can give your brand the creative touch it needs. From email campaigns and logos to everything else in between, Hue & Tone Creative can help your brand stand out.

Everyone knows that hashtags and pictures go together like PB&J. But not everyone knows how to correctly utilize hashtags.  When it comes to helping people find your company and products on Instagram, hashtags can play a big role -- but only if you're using the right ones. 

Today, we're going to run through the two main types of hashtags, and then cover how to find and use them properly.

Types

Before you start collecting hashtags, it’s important to understand which ones you should be using. There are two main types to choose from: community and branded hashtags.

Community hashtags are popular on Instagram, but they don’t really have anything to do with brands. For instance, #tbt or #cat could be used by anybody, it’s not exclusive to a company. These are great for helping people discover your profile -- but you'll want to be specific and primarily use hashtags that directly relate to the mission of your brand.

Unlike community hashtags, branded hashtags are for… you guessed it, brands! Usually companies use a consistent tag featuring their name, but you could also make one for a promotion, competition, or product launch.

Branded hashtags are awesome for supporting user-generated content campaigns (UGC) because they help people connect with you and show their love for your brand. 

Where to Find Hashtags

Although it would be easy to throw on a couple of hashtags and call it a day, you really need to your homework if you want to be discovered. 

Save your hashtags tags in Google Docs or a spread sheet so that you have on hand when you need them. 

We recommend thinking like your audience. Dig around and find out which influencers and hashtags are popular with your followers. It also helps to zero in on the more specific community hashtags because they have a smaller following. For example, #artistsoninstagram has over 3 million posts, but if you narrow it down to #inkdrawing, you have about 820,000 posts to compete with. Less competition = more exposure for you.

Speaking of competition, it may also help to scope out what tags they’re using. If they’re posts are getting a crazy amount of attention, hunt around for the right hashtags to spark some likes on your own page. 

Instagram Pro tip

Keep your post clutter free by hiding your hashtags. 

1. Open Notes in your phone.

2. Type a dot and hit return (Repeat this process 5 times).

3. Add all the hashtags you want to use after the 5th dot.

4. Copy all the dots and hashtags.

5. After you post your picture in Instagram, hit the comment button and paste all your dots and hashtags.

6. When you look back at your post, all the tags should be hidden!

Need a few hashtag ideas to help you get started? Here are some popular ones for some of the top industries and the Triad:

Fitness:
#fitlife
#getoutside
#eatclean
#fitspo
#fitnessgoals 

Greensboro & the Triad:
#gso
#gbo
#sogso
#wsnc
#gatecity

 Marketing:
#digitalmarketing
#advertising
#entrepreneurship
#influencermarketing
#marketingstrategy

Restaurants:
#delicious
#locallygrown
#eatlocal
#treatyoself
#hungry

Nonprofits:
#volunteer
#change
#dogood
#socialgood
#socialimpact

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Social Media Marketing in the Triad: Hue & Tone Creative

Does managing all your social media accounts feel like a chore? We can give you a hand! Whether you’re looking to expand your list of followers or boost your amount of likes, the digital marketing pros at Hue & Tone Creative can give your accounts the attention they need.

It’s no secret, video marketing isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, by 2019, video will make up over 80% of online consumer traffic.

While anyone can pull out their iPhones and start filming, quality videos take effort.

Not sure where to begin? Our 6 pro tips can help you make a video worth watching.

1.    Find A Location

While spontaneous videos can work well for social, it’s better to go for a more professional approach for advertising videos and promotional content.  Find a private area where you can focus and feel comfortable. You don’t want your filming to be interrupted by noisy traffic or someone yelling on their phone.

Choose a quiet space alone without any distractions. Want to film outside? Choose your day wisely. Wind is audio’s worst enemy.

2.    Check Your Lighting

Whether you’re filming inside or outside, terrible lighting can ruin an otherwise great video.

Never film directly in front of a window! You’ll wind up looking like a creepy silhouette. 

If you’re shooting outside, indirect lighting is your friend! The best times for filming are typically in the early morning or late afternoon while the lighting is still soft.

Filming inside requires a little more setup than outdoor videos. To make up for a dim space, it’s important to add additional lighting.

You don’t need to blow your budget for great lighting. At just under 60 bucks, this lighting kit is perfect.

Filming near a well-lit window works well in a pinch. Try to avoid shooting under fluorescent lights. They’re way too harsh and super unflattering on camera. 

3. Clean Your Lens

Have you ever watched a video and gotten super distracted by a weird smudge on the screen? We have. Don’t be that person. You want your audience to focus on you, not your dirty screen.

4. Lock Your Exposure & Focus

On an iPhone, your focus and exposure adjusts automatically. While this is great for pictures, it can make a video super choppy and blurry.  

To fix this, focus your camera by tapping and holding the screen. After a few seconds, the AE/AF button will pop up.

5. Film Horizontally

Although most Snaps and Instagram Stories are shot vertically, this is a major don’t for phone videos. Shooting horizontally will ensure that you don’t have any awkward rotation problems when people are watching your video.

And, make sure not to mix vertical and horizontal shots – it’s an editing nightmare!

6. Invest in a Tripod & Mic

Even if you try to hold your phone as steady as possible, you’re still going to end up bumpy shots. We highly suggest buying a tripod. Trust us, it makes all the difference! 

Here are a few options that won’t break the bank:

• Acuvar 50" Inch Aluminum Tripod: $14

• UBeesize Portable and Adjustable Tripod: $12

• Eocean 50-Inch Tripod: $23

Along with having a smooth and steady shot, clear audio is essential. Buying a external microphone will ensure that you’re sound isn’t compromised. We personally love our Lavalier mic because it’s travel-friendly and works for phones, laptops, and tablets.

• Lavalier Lapel Microphone: $16

• Comica CVM-VS08: $59

• Rode VideoMic Me Directional Microphone: $59

For under $20 you can also by a fuzzy microphone cover to help block out wind and background noise. This 5 pack from eBoot is practically a steal.

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We'll be taking next week off from blogging... but be sure to keep an eye out the following two Wednesday's -- we'll be posting two more installments on how to get great mobile video! You’ll be going viral in no time!

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Hue & Tone Creative: Social Media Management in Greensboro, NC

Need second opinion on your current social strategy? Ask the experts. From compelling email campaigns to social media account management, Hue & Tone Creative is here to cover all your marketing needs.

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.

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.

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.

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.