4 reasons you need to build a photography bank (and the key to starting)
4 reasons you need to build a photography bank (and the key to starting)
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The benefits of posting original content are kind of a no brainer. But in case you haven’t heard, website visitors are 45% more likely to convert when confronted with original photography on a ...
The importance of maintaining a consistent narrative
The importance of maintaining a consistent narrative
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Think about a brand that you truly enjoy. They likely have an idea or story that carries across all channels. One that I truly admire is World Wildlife Fund. Their content and style creates a theme ...
The LCBO Re-branding: Will it affect sales?
The LCBO Re-branding: Will it affect sales?
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The Liquor Control Board of Ontario has updated their branding. Re-branding is a process that every successful company goes through from time to time. The $500,000 dollar re-branding project has some ...
Valuable design assets you didn't know you needed
Valuable design assets you didn't know you needed
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At H&C Inc. we do so much more design work than websites and social media graphics. We know our client family needs a variety of designed assets, even if they don’t know it yet. Our design ...
CTAs - Placing Them Above The Fold
CTAs - Placing Them Above The Fold
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Last week on the Hughes & Co. blog, I took a look at how to create and craft an effective Call-To-Action (CTA). That blog very briefly touched on where you should place your CTA. This week, I am ...
Tips for taking great product photography
Tips for taking great product photography
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Great photography does wonders for the visual integrity of any brand ( just check out our blog about it), but high-quality, professional product photography and be the difference between landing the ...
5 tips to help your website establish consumer trust
5 tips to help your website establish consumer trust
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Your website is crucial to your brand’s online presence. It communicates your company’s mission and showcases your products and services. None of these website purposes will be effective in ...
How to design a head-turning product label
How to design a head-turning product label
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When it takes 90 seconds or less for a customer to decide what product to buy, your product depends on a high-quality label to grab a shopper’s attention. Just like your brand, your label should be ...
Don't Just
Don't Just "Wing It" - Graphic Design and Events
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If you were walking anywhere in Port Dalhousie last weekend, it is very likely that you took in the smell of delicious chicken wings frying, smoking or even grilling! The first annual St. Catharines ...
Print and Web Design in 2014: A Return to Simplicity
Print and Web Design in 2014: A Return to Simplicity
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To quote the prolific German poster designer Lucian Bernhard: "Simplify." A one-word tenet for any devout designer, couldn't simplify it if I tried. Trends in music, fashion, and design come and go, ...
Rebranding is a strategic decision
Rebranding is a strategic decision
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Rebranding refers to the process of changing your company's image, identity and/or name. It can be done for many reasons:
Creating a Growth-Focused Brand Identity
Creating a Growth-Focused Brand Identity
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Now, more than ever, customers are judging a company by its overall branding. Signage, recognition and awareness are key to communicating with your customers - especially in a post-pandemic world. So ...
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Design
Small Business Marketing Starter Pack: Design
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What does it look like to have professional-level design on your side when starting your new business? When the public-facing side of your business presents as one cohesive brand, not only will you ...
Custom vs. Template Websites: Getting the most value out of your website
Custom vs. Template Websites: Getting the most value out of your website
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If you have a business, you probably have a website. The two things go hand-in-hand. On Google alone, people across the world do 5.6 billion searches per day. Yes, you read that right: 5.6 billion ...
The value of original content
The value of original content
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Content marketing is the bread and butter of most brands’ marketing strategy. Any inbound marketing strategy puts original content at the forefront of their business. Content marketing is proven ...
When should I consider rebranding my business?
When should I consider rebranding my business?
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One of our favourite kinds of projects is bringing a company back to life with growth-driven branding across all assets of a company’s marketing. Your branding is how the world sees you. It tells ...
How to make affordable video content
How to make affordable video content
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So many people are closed off to the idea of integrating video content into their marketing campaigns when they hear about the cost of professional videography services. We get it. It’s hard to ...
The Value of Photography
The Value of Photography
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You can’t open your phone without seeing a photograph. There has never been a time in which we are exposed to more photos than right now. Photography fills our newsfeed, it is all over our walls, it ...
Three website design trends we are watching for 2018
Three website design trends we are watching for 2018
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At Hughes & Co we adhere to the principles of "Growth-Driven Design" in our website design and development projects. Whereas traditional approaches to website design would involve a new ...
Top things you should ask your prospective development firm
Top things you should ask your prospective development firm
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In 2017, it’s basically impossible to have a business and be crazy successful without having a crazy successful website that works for you. It’s easy to pass off your website as not that important ...
Creating and Using Effective CTAs
Creating and Using Effective CTAs
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Last week, we released our newest free download - Easy To Use Custom Website CTAs. What we didn't cover there is how to use them, we figured we should cover that here.
5 ways to improve your website
5 ways to improve your website
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There is room for improvement on every website. A tweak here and there can improve conversion rates, load times and overall usability. It could be time to review your site and make some fixes. To get ...
How your ugly website affects your marketing efforts
How your ugly website affects your marketing efforts
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Are you the type of business that allots a large chunk of your annual budget into marketing efforts each year?
Knowing How and When to Redesign your Website
Knowing How and When to Redesign your Website
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You might consider a website redesign for a variety of reasons. To incorporate rebranding, improve usability, add functionality such as a blog or e-commerce. Perhaps you just feel it's time for a ...
Why Your Inbound Agency Should Design Your Website
Why Your Inbound Agency Should Design Your Website
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As an inbound marketing agency we are often brought into the marketing conversation after another firm has been contracted to build a website. There are some fundamental issues with this and amongst ...
Choosing a colour palette
Choosing a colour palette
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Picking colours in a design can be very alchemistic. There is a significant amount of play involved with choosing a colour pallet, we must see and feel while at the same time utilizing the science ...
The World of Typography Part 3: Fine-tuning and the End-User Experience
The World of Typography Part 3: Fine-tuning and the End-User Experience
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If you've read part 1 and part 2 of our exploration of type, you've got the perfect bold serif font, and found a great complimentary thin sans-serif to pair. We can't neglect the fine-tuning stage.
Political Campaigning in the Digital Realm
Political Campaigning in the Digital Realm
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Election season is upon us, in fact, the Hughes & Co. locale is electing municipal and regional governments in just a few short months. The campaign landscape ...
Tips for designing a great logo
Tips for designing a great logo
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In today's world of cheap and fast design work, you can get your company a logo for almost next to nothing. It is true that you might get lucky with an inexpensive crowd-sourced design, but there are ...
Why User Experience Comes First in Web Design
Why User Experience Comes First in Web Design
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You’ve all experienced it. You visit a website you’re interested in, but once you get there you are lost. You can’t find the navigation, the page is slow loading, and is generally a mess. What ...
The World of Typography Part 2: Font Pairing and Hierarchy
The World of Typography Part 2: Font Pairing and Hierarchy
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In our last post we explored briefly the history of typography and how typefaces have evolved over time. We touched on pairing fonts, and here we will delve a bit deeper into this subject. Pairing ...
The World of Typography - Choosing the Right Font
The World of Typography - Choosing the Right Font
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ESTIMATED READING TIME: 4 MINUTES
Using Instagram for Business
Using Instagram for Business
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Every business is different but share the equal need for impactful marketing. Some businesses use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn because this is where their customers spend their time. Across the ...
Infographics: When to Use Them
Infographics: When to Use Them
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Infographics are simply a visual (like a chart or diagram) used to represent information or data. They can be used in many different ways to help and present findings in a more simplified way than ...
When is it time to rebrand your business?
When is it time to rebrand your business?
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Recently the City of St. Catharines and the design/branding/graphic community have been a bit at odds. The center of the debate: a new logo. Numbered are the days of the blue and green chevron - in ...
Designing an Effective Business Card
Designing an Effective Business Card
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The business card. It is one of the classic marketing tools which is used to market not only your business but yourself. It is an easy way to transfer basic information about yourself or business ...
Pro Sports Aesthetic as Brand Identity Inspiration
Pro Sports Aesthetic as Brand Identity Inspiration
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When the great idea strikes, you never know where you'll be or what you'll be doing. The combination of sights and sounds can be impactful and suddenly you are the designer scrambling for a piece of ...
Generating Leads Through Calls to Action: How to be effective
Generating Leads Through Calls to Action: How to be effective
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This post is the first in a series that I will write about the visual components of a website that works. At Hughes & Co. we believe that your company deserves a website that works as hard as you ...
Sochi Style and Design
Sochi Style and Design
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Every four years, Canadian pride reaches its peak for 2 weeks in February when the world gets together for the Winter Olympics. We are usually a reserved, yet proud bunch when it comes to our ...
Why You Shouldn't Build the Website of Your Dreams
Why You Shouldn't Build the Website of Your Dreams
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The web design world is entirely too focused on the vision of the business. You hate to hear me say it, but it is the dead honest truth. We tell our clients all of the time: your prospects don't care ...
First Steps to Creating a Brand Identity that Works
First Steps to Creating a Brand Identity that Works
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When it comes to creating a brand, one of the most crucial objectives is consistency. This doesn't extend exclusively to the actual graphics and colours having an element of cohesion, but how ...
Custom Graphics for Dummies: Canva
Custom Graphics for Dummies: Canva
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First of all, party foul. Who do we think we are calling you dummies?! Not cool Hughes & Co., am I right? Our blatant stepping out of line aside, we have found this awesome new tool that we ...
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