Tips, tricks, and inspiration to support your marketing mission
Wonder why you haven’t seen a new post in a few months? We’re taking a break from the blog to better serve our existing clients — but we’re still here to answer your questions. Don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s something you want help troubleshooting!
Inspired by the chill in the air, these winter color schemes are light, celestial and a little ethereal. Check out the hex coordinates below to use these colors in your own graphics, branding, or website.
Which of these color schemes is your personal favorite?
Color Breakdowns:
Image One: #6D6CA7 | #A5789C | #D2BAC0 | #E5E2EB | #F6DAC6
Image Two: #828189 | #B2B5C4 | #FBF1E8 | #D8CDD1 | #A28E8D
Image Three: #535D69 | #87A4B1 | #C4D1DA | #E5E2EB | #D2BAC0
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:
Working for yourself is not the same as working by yourself -- it takes a ton of meaningful connections with smart, creative people to make it happen. I'm all about in-person connections, but blogging provides a powerful way to learn from people all over who are walking a road similar to yours.
With that in mind, today I wanted to share a few of my favorite design blogs! check these out if you're looking for new bloggers to follow. And, while you're at it, let's be blog friends. Follow Hue & Tone on Bloglovin'.
The ladies of Braid Creative -- who obviously nailed the search for a fabulous name -- share smart, easily applicable tips on branding, entrepreneurship, and all things creative.
Favorite Post: When Everyone is Doing the Same Thing
2. Paper & Oats
Kelsey of Paper & Oats puts a bold, personal spin on posts about productivity and entrepreneurship, and is unapologetic about finding and sticking to her own creative niche.
Favorite Post: Why I'm Scrapping All My Design Services
3. Elembee
When it comes to blogs about nitty-gritty topics like branding and design, there's fun and then there's comprehensive. Elembee is both. It's jam-packed with ideas but never a chore to read -- and the weekly emails are great, too!
Favorite Post: It Will Never Be Good Enough. Do it Anyway.
In addition to a clean, colorful blog design that makes my day every time I see it, Love Plus Color is a great stop for unique, easy-to-consume posts on all things visual.
Favorite Post: The Mood Board Monday series
What are your favorite blogs? Bonus points if they focus on design, branding, or entrepreneurship.
Since it's a holiday week, we'll be around a little less here on the blog...but I did want to share these Thanksgiving-themed color palettes with you. You really can do Thanksgiving without relying on a ton of oranges and browns. These palettes build in hints of turquoise, cranberry, and peach so they still look like the holiday, without blending in with every other Thanksgiving graphic out there.
Color Breakdowns:
Image One: #b95825 | #0a5946 | #2b8472 | #d1c863 | #745b47
Image Two: #5d1e4d | #960844 | #d8be8d | #be8335 | #b95825
Image Three: #d1a29c | #324e59 | #ded8c8 | #cc8664 | #644737
At first glance, design seems expensive. You have to buy $300 fonts and high-end photography equipment and expensive suites of software if you're going to create anything attractive, right?
Actually, not really. I try to communicate to clients that there are plenty of free and cheap resources available to help them maintain a consistent brand, without pulling in a designer for every edit.
Here are a few of my favorites:
DaFont & Google Fonts | In almost every case, it's unnecessary to drop top dollar on type. These are two great sources for free fonts - DaFont is hugely varied and frequently updated, while Google Fonts is your best source for a clean, high-quality web font.
Canva | This web app bills itself as "the easiest design program in the world" -- and it's completely free. When I'm working with clients who don't have access to professional design software, I'll whip up a few Canva templates so they can update graphics easily.
Graphic Burger | Need a simple line icon (or a background texture, or even a logo template)? It's here, and it's free for personal and commercial use.
Creative Market | This site offers free or very cheap (in the $2 range) graphic assets -- think textures, brushes, presets, etc. Sign up for an account to receive regular emails with deals and free downloads.
Adobe Single-App Subscriptions | You can now purchase a single-app Adobe Creative Cloud membership for as little as $30 a month, giving you access to a professional-grade design application like Illustrator, InDesign, or Photoshop. If I had to pick one, I'd go with Illustrator, but it all depends on the type of work you're doing.
Again, design can seem like an expensive pursuit, but with a little creativity, you can find the tools you need without breaking the bank.
What are your favorite design tools? Let me know in the comments below.
