Business, Blogging
Lauren Hooker
40 Ways to Use Adobe Illustrator to Improve ...

Adobe Illustrator is my go-to software for anything and everything design-related. It's the one program I truly couldn't work without.

And while it's easy to assume that the program's primary focus is illustration based on the name, there is so much more to this design software. 

With tools for type, color, photo cropping, image tracing, drawing, and much more, it has innumerable benefits for bloggers and business owners, alike.

To get your creative gears turning, here's a look at 40 ways Adobe Illustrator can take your blog and/or business to the next level.

40 Ways to Use Adobe Illustrator to Improve Your Blog and Business
Blogging, Business, Branding, Design
Lauren Hooker
How to Create Eye-Catching Blog Post Graphics

First impressions are crucial, especially in business.

Potential customers and clients make judgments about your business within the first few seconds of coming into contact with it, whether it’s through your website, your social media accounts, or a simple blog post graphic.

And those initial thoughts - whether they’re spot on or far off from what you want them to be - are within your control. You have the opportunity to make a killer first impression through high-quality, branded visuals.

If your blog is a large part of your business or you’re hoping to drive more traffic back to your site through your blog, you have to have eye-catching blog graphics to not only generate a positive first impression, but to encourage readers to share your posts on sites like Pinterest and be seen by an even wider audience.

So how do you create eye-catching blog post graphics? And better yet, how can you set them apart so they’ll stand out from the rest and be recognized time and time again?

How to Create Eye-Catching Blog Post Graphics
Business, Visual Marketing
Lauren Hooker
40 Easy, Engaging Video Content Ideas for Your ...

“When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for 5 days.” - Michael Scott

Video platforms like YouTube (and more recently, Periscope) are easily the world’s greatest time-wasters. We’ve all been guilty of losing track of time on YouTube at least once, because videos are easily consumable, very addicting, and highly entertaining.

As a matter of fact, studies show that a whopping 78% of us watch videos online every week and 55% watch videos online every day.

Which is why Youtube is also the world’s greatest overnight-success-maker. If you’re on the production-side of a video and you’ve come up with a clever idea, you might just have a viral hit on your hands.

Video holds a lot of potential for interaction, engagement, and shares for creative businesses. And for that reason, it’s one of the best visual marketing tools you can use.

But it producing videos can be a little overwhelming, can’t it? Even with helpful video tools out there like Animoto, many of us struggle to come up with simple ideas for video content that would appeal to our audience. 

And that’s where this post comes in. I’ve rounded up 40 easy, engaging video content ideas to help get your creative gears turning. My hope is that you’ll find a few ideas to implement and as a result, bring your business more exposure.

40 Easy, Engaging Video Content Ideas for Your Creative Business
Business, Visual Marketing
Lauren Hooker
Why You Should Be Using Infographics for Your ...

If you’re looking for a good way to kill at least an hour of your time, type in the word “infographic” in the Pinterest search bar.

Thousands of clever graphics will pop up on everything from “how to make a salad taste awesome” to a baby’s first year in a review. There’s even an infographic that answers the pressing question, “Is your dog sleeping a little too much?”

Then, after you’ve admired the genius creativity behind them, take a gander at how many repins and likes each of those infographics receives. Thousands upon thousands.

In fact, infographic volumes have increased by over 800% in 2 years. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t. 

What is it about infographics that makes them so appealing? And better yet, how can you come up with some clever infographics for your business so it gains more exposure through likes and shares?

I have all the answers for you in this post.

Why You Should Be Using Infographics for Your Business (And How to Create Them)
Blogging
Lauren Hooker
How to Create Catchy Headlines

Is your headline the first thing you consider when you sit down to write a post?

Probably not, but creating a catchy blog post title is one of the most important aspects of each blog post. It's the gateway to your content; it convinces people to click or scroll right past your latest post'. 

In fact, studies show that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 will read your entire post. 

Here are a few pointers for drawing in potential readers and a couple "templates" to help you create a catchy headline for your upcoming posts. 

How to Create Catchy Headlines

5 Things I Learned from Speaking at My First Conference

5 Things I Learned from Speaking at My First Conference

Among all of the classes that I was required to take for a Visual Communication degree, there was one crucial communication class missing from our list of courses: public speaking. And boy, would it have come in handy this fall as I was preparing for my first speaking engagement about branding in front of 80+ business owners at the Creative at Heart Conference.

After hours of outlining and pinpointing what I wanted to say, rehearsing in front of Jake, and trying to calm the ever-increasing nerves as the conference approached, the presentation went better than I had hoped and it was a great learning experience.

Today I'm sharing some firsthand insights with the hope that it might benefit all of you who have or wish to have a speaking engagement in your future.

Brand + Website Design: Southern Charm Events & Planning

Brand + Website Design: Southern Charm Events & Planning

Last fall, after juggling multiple design projects and struggling to spend adequate time on each one, I decided to switch up my branding process and focus on one client at a time. I began booking all of my 2015 design clients in two-week timeframes, and Amanda was the first on my list. We began working on her brand and website two weeks ago, and the following 10 days were a fun whirlwind of concepts, drafts, and revisions. I'll share more about my thoughts on this new process in a later post, but today I'm excited to show off this gorgeous new brand for Southern Charm Events & Planning!

So You Jumped on the Squarespace Bandwagon...Now What?

So You Jumped on the Squarespace Bandwagon...Now What?

So you're interested in starting a Squarespace site. You're either considering switching over your current blog and website from a platform like Wordpress or Blogger, or you're new to the scene altogether and you're starting from scratch. You probably have a lot of questions like: Where do I begin? Which package is best suited for me? Can I transfer all of my old blog content over? Can I keep my current domain? Today I'm sharing some pointers on getting started with Squarespace as well as insight on which plan would be the best fit for you.

The Basics of Visual Hierarchy (And Why It's Important For Your Website!)

The Basics of Visual Hierarchy (And Why It's Important For Your Website!)

Design is all about communication. While every graphic designer strives to make their work visually pleasing, creating pretty things shouldn't be the only goal. Even more important is effectively communicating the right message to a viewer, and as designers we have several tricks up our sleeve to do just that.

One of those 'tricks' is hierarchy. This tool helps us call attention to the things we want you to look at first and bring less attention to the things we want you to look at last. You may not realize it, but each time you look at a website or a menu, your brain ranks the elements of the page in order of importance based on visual cues. Those rankings guide your eye around a page.

There are a 5 basic design principles that we use to help us achieve proper hierarchy: scale, color, contrast, alignment, and proximity.

My Process for Creating & Publishing Blog Posts

My Process for Creating & Publishing Blog Posts

Blogging is one of those things that seems simple in theory and winds up being difficult in practice; what starts out as a simple concept can easily turn into hours of outlining, writing, revising, linking, editing, and sharing. This past year I've learned that it's helpful to have a system in place to cover all my bases, and I've almost gotten my process down to a T. Today I'm giving you a peek at my process so that you might take away a couple helpful insights that make creating and publishing blog posts less frustrating and more efficient for you.