A project that’s been long in the making, the Faces of Revolution exhibit is a series of 25 portraits painted by Suellen McCrary. Featuring subjects with both current and historic ties to Revolution Mill, this exhibit is now part of the permanent historical collection at the mill. 

Started almost 3 years ago, this project was initiated to both document the history of the mill and to democratize portraiture. The subjects include employees and family from the mill’s heyday as the world’s largest maker of flannel to current day tenants of the new multi-use development. The portrait subjects also received free prints of their likenesses, making it possible to obtain an otherwise costly keepsake. The price of an original oil portrait can range from $3,000 to six figures. 

Historic subjects included descendants of the mill co-founders, mill villagers, and dye house employees. In addition to the subjects with historical ties to the mill, the exhibit also features a number of people who keep the Mill running today. Tenants, janitorial staff, and the lead architect of the renovation are among the subjects who were chosen to be included. 

As the portraits neared completion, we became involved with helping design the plaques, signage, print material, and website. After taking measurements and having an initial exploratory meeting, we completed a first mockup of how the exhibit might look:

After some back and forth on the color of the wall and the size of then plaques, a final look for the exhibit was determined. Minimal colors were chosen for all elements of the physical installation and the website, allowing the portraits to take center stage. 

To provide context for each person’s role in the Mill a quote from the participant is featured below each portrait. We designed these plaques at 16x3” for readability. 

These subjects sat for their portraits in Suellen’s Revolution Mill studio, sharing their stories as they were painted. In addition to the experts from their stories that are featured on the plaques, you can read longer comments from everyone on the website at www.facesofrevolution.com.  

Gate City Signs fabricated the exhibit signage from black PVC. The dimensional lettering was chosen over a simple vinyl to provide a more permanent and elevated look. 

You can view the installation in the Hall of Fame at Revolution Mill – located at 1050 Revolution Mill Drive. Learn more about the subjects + exhibit here. 

On April 1, 2015, Hue & Tone Creative opened its doors. In a literal sense, we opened one door – to our office on the Revolution Mill campus in Greensboro, NC. Figuratively, it’s been a year of many more doors opening and closing for this business. New clients and partners have made their mark. Processes have been refined. In a personal and professional sense, it’s been a year of learning what works and what doesn’t. 

You only get one first year in business – and I want to celebrate all the successes and challenges that entails. So, with that in mind, here’s an overview of the last 365 days! 

Where We’ve Been

Getting the keys to our office!

Hue & Tone got its start in early 2015 as the new, relocated home of Hannah Pomphrey Graphic Design. I’ve been a freelance graphic designer since I was about 19, and was coming off a 9-5 stint in marketing. I realized, though, that it was time to start up a bona fide business in my then-new home of Greensboro. Here’s how I described my freelance journey a year ago:

It wasn’t until my first client gave me a $100 “tip” that I realized I had just found my new side hustle. I set out with my VistaPrint business cards in hand to find myself some new clients. I cold-called and did pro-bono work for local nonprofits until I found enough momentum to begin working almost solely on referrals.

Recently, I took a break from freelancing full-time to try out a 9-5. I packed up my mismatched furniture and my massive shoe collection and relocated to Greensboro, NC with the intention of settling into my much more ‘normal’ 9-5 job.

Turns out this 9-5 thing isn’t for everyone. Even the parts of freelancing that I thought weren’t for me – the irregular income, quirky clients, and doing my own taxes – were some of the things I missed the most. While some might call irregular paychecks and lulls in work terrifying, it now seems like some much-needed work/life spice.   

A year in, I’d still describe it the same way. Owning your own business isn’t easy – it’s not even in the same universe as easy. But the ability to work for myself – to shape the business objectives of my organization, while still getting my hands messy with design – is rewarding and worthwhile in a way I have a tough time explaining. Given the decision to make again, I’d make the same one.

Growth as a Company

As I said above, Hue & Tone’s first year in business has been a year of refinement and learning what works. I’ve had the opportunity to work with fabulous clients, new and old, and have worked to improve processes both on the client side and internally.

On average, Hue & Tone typically works with 10 to 20 clients at a time, and the scope of work taken on varies by client. I’ve done print design, web design, videos, social media, and consulting for large corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals. Some clients seek assistance on a per-project basis, while others hire Hue & Tone on a monthly basis for ongoing projects.

Internally, I’ve worked toward greater cohesion and focus for Hue & Tone as a business. That’s meant asking tough questions about the type of work I do and the clients I seek out. (For example: do I primarily work with local clients, or web-based businesses?) It’s also meant diversifying our portfolio so multiple skills and competencies are being exercised through our current body of work. It’s never my goal to do only social media projects or only video projects or only (fill in the blank here). When possible, I love working with clients across a wide variety of their creative needs – simultaneously working on design, video, and social, for instance. There’s a lot of interplay between different types of creative and having a hand in multiple pieces of the puzzle can add some coherence and visual consistency.

Finally, the growth of the past year has meant I needed to continue defining and re-defining the way Hue & Tone itself is marketed. You may have noticed some changes on our website, and here on the blog as well. I’d love to hear your feedback as I continue to learn what works.

 

A Few Stand Out Projects

With year one in the books, I’d love to share a few favorites and highlights of the year. Every project was an opportunity to learn and grow, and I’m grateful for each one. Here are a few that stood out…

Comprehensive Branding for CSDHH | Website and branding for CSDHH, a nonprofit that provides communication services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Notable for the opportunity to start from scratch and a desire, on the part of the client, to avoid the obvious. 

Revolution Mill Social Media | Design and daily management of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for Revolution Mill. From social graphics to #RevMillGSO, a chance to engage with a broad range of stakeholders (from future leaseholders to the community at large) about the live-work-create environment of Revolution Mill.

Pitch Video for Brown Investment Properties | An opportunity to create something rich, visually appealing, and (no pun intended) creative, while serving a strategic (and serious) purpose.

Favorite Blog Posts

Throughout the year, this blog has been a reliable place to share the ups and downs of Hue & Tone’s first year in business. Increasingly, it’s also become a place to share design inspiration and a few hints of the colors, textures, and patterns that fuel my imagination each day. Here are a few favorite posts from the year…

5 Questions to Help You Name Your Business

Greensboro Favorites

Freebie Coloring Pages Here & Here!

10 Pinterest Boards to Spark Design Inspiration

Mood Board: Who Dares

Mobile & Desktop Wallpaper: “Hustle”

Hue & Tone’s Brighter, Cleaner New Look

Favorite Events

One of my favorite aspects of being a local business owner is the opportunity to interact with the community. Here are a few of my favorite Greensboro events!

Coffee & Conversation | A Greensboro Chamber event with for networking and learning about a new, focused topic each time.

IdeaNetwork | Organized by Cochran Creative Group, IdeaNetwork is an opportunity to come together, hear a speaker, then participate in a group discussion on the ideas raised.

Craft Freedom | An initiative to change the North Carolina law that restricts the growth of breweries by placing a cap on the amount of beer they can self-distribute, and a chance to support small businesses’ rights.

Thank You!

When all is said and done, the past year has been a big one – a wild one – a just-plain-irreplaceable one. It’s involved a lot of hard work, both of the creative variety and the messy, hauling-furniture-into-offices variety. None of it would have been possible without the support and partnership of many, so a few thank-yous are in order!

To Hue & Tone’s clients, thank you for your partnership, and for allowing Hue & Tone to help tell your story. It’s an honor every time!

To the community of Greensboro-based designers I’ve met, your advice has been invaluable.

To Sirtuah, and to my family, thank you for your patience and support through the crazy journey of the last year.

To the Greensboro community as a whole, thank you for welcoming me, welcoming Hue & Tone as a business and being a wonderful place to call home.

With all that said…that’s a wrap on Hue & Tone’s first year. It hasn’t been perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Here’s to year two!

You may have noticed that we haven't been around much on the blog lately. Our days have been filled to the brim -- packed with social media scheduling, logo design, video shoots, client meetings, and a few cups of coffee to keep it moving along. 

 It has been harried and busy and interesting and fun. On a serious note, I'm grateful for the opportunity to support organizations and individuals as they sort through the puzzle of explaining who they are to their audiences. It's my favorite kind of work and I'm glad I get to do it every day. 

Moving on, though, I wanted to share a little of what I've been working on since I last spent time in this space.

Downtown Greensboro banners

Front

Back

I've loved making a home in Greensboro, NC. It's one of those cities that's the perfect size -- big enough that there's plenty to do, small enough to know your neighbors -- and there are great things happening downtown. I partnered with the City of Greensboro to design these banners, which augment the city's placemaking efforts and establish the feel of downtown Greensboro for visitors and locals alike.

Action Greensboro print ad

This ad captures the spirit of Action Greensboro, which harnesses the energy of local business, education and government to strengthen the economy and ensure a great quality of life in Greensboro. This design needed to be clean and simple, while still capturing the verve and vibrancy of the work.

Social Media - Revolution Mill

I'm lucky to call Revolution Mill my home away from home (it's the location we chose for Hue & Tone's offices). Revolution Mill is a new live/work/play development in downtown Greensboro; the site has a rich history and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Social media for this client has to strike a balance; we need to highlight the great opportunities at Revolution Mill now (from studio, office, and event space to restaurant concepts and residential coming soon) while remaining grounded in the history of the space and sharing the story of preservation that's happening. 

I'd love to know -- what projects have you been working on lately?