diff --git a/public/assets/css/general.css b/public/assets/css/general.css
index 6a1a2167..0f608634 100644
--- a/public/assets/css/general.css
+++ b/public/assets/css/general.css
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ p {
 }
 
 .url-text--secondary {
-	color: grey;
+	color: #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 .instructions-text--large {
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ p {
 .tooltip > .tooltip-text {
 	visibility: hidden;
 	width: 15em;
-	background-color: grey;
+	background-color: #9b9b9b;
 	color: #fff;
 	text-align: center;
 	padding: 0.5em;
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ p {
 	margin-left: -5px;
 	border-width: 5px;
 	border-style: solid;
-	border-color: grey transparent transparent transparent;
+	border-color: #9b9b9b transparent transparent transparent;
 }
 
 /* LINKS */
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ h2 {
 }
 
 .h2--secondary {
-	color: lightgrey;
+	color: #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 .h2--top {
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ option {
 
 
 .input-checkbox {
-	border: 1px solid lightgrey;
+	border: 1px solid black;
 	background: white;
 }
 
@@ -324,27 +324,19 @@ option {
 	padding-right: 1em;
 }
 .input-text--primary, .select--primary {
-	border-bottom: 1px solid lightgrey;
+	border-bottom: 1px solid #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 .input-text--primary:focus, .select--primary:focus {
-	border-bottom: 1px solid grey;
+	border-bottom: 1px solid #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 .textarea--primary {
-	border-bottom: 1px solid lightgrey;
+	border-bottom: 1px solid #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 .textarea--primary:focus {
-	border-bottom: 1px solid grey;
-}
-
-.input-text--large, .select--large, .textarea--large {
-	border-left: 1px solid lightgrey;
-}
-
-.input-text--large:focus, .select--large:focus, .textarea--large:focus {
-	border-left: 1px solid grey;
+	border-bottom: 1px solid #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 .input-text--full-width, .textarea--full-width {
@@ -391,7 +383,7 @@ button {
 .button--cancel{
 	border: 0px;
 	background-color: white;
-	color: grey;
+	color: #9b9b9b;
 }
 
 /* TABLES */
@@ -445,7 +437,7 @@ table {
 
 .nav-bar-link {
 	font-weight: normal;
-	color: grey;
+	color: #9b9b9b;
 	border-bottom: 2px solid white;
 }
 .nav-bar-link:hover {
@@ -464,16 +456,11 @@ table {
 	text-align: center;
 }
 
-.dropzone:hover {
-	border: 2px dashed lightgrey;
+.dropzone:hover, .dropzone--drag-over {
+	border: 2px dashed #9b9b9b;
 	cursor: pointer;
 }
 
-.dropzone--drag-over {
-	background-color: gainsboro;
-	border: 2px dashed dodgerblue;
-}
-
 #primary-dropzone-wrapper, #publish-form-wrapper {
 	height: 100%;
 }
diff --git a/public/assets/js/createChannelFunctions.js b/public/assets/js/createChannelFunctions.js
index 9da7f94b..6f4840a1 100644
--- a/public/assets/js/createChannelFunctions.js
+++ b/public/assets/js/createChannelFunctions.js
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ function publishNewChannel (event) {
                 showError(channelNameErrorDisplayElement, error.message);
             } else {
                 console.log('signup failure:', error);
-                showChannelCreationError('Unfortunately, Spee.ch encountered an error while creating your channel :(');
+                showChannelCreationError('Unfortunately, Spee.ch encountered an error while creating your channel.  Please let us know in slack!');
             }
         })
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/views/index.handlebars b/views/index.handlebars
index fa87c53d..1e4f51cc 100644
--- a/views/index.handlebars
+++ b/views/index.handlebars
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     <div id="publish-form-wrapper" hidden="true">
         <div class="column column--10">
             <!-- title input -->
-            <input type="text" id="publish-title" class="input-text input-text--large input-text--full-width" placeholder="Title (optional)">
+            <input type="text" id="publish-title" class="input-text input-text--large input-text--full-width" placeholder="Give your post a title...">
         </div>
         <div class="column column--5 column--med-10 align-content-top" >
             <!-- preview -->
diff --git a/views/login.handlebars b/views/login.handlebars
index 1b12e8ba..a46f9aab 100644
--- a/views/login.handlebars
+++ b/views/login.handlebars
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <div class="row row--full-height">
     <div class="row row--wide">
-        <p>Channels allow you to publish and group content under an identity. You can create a channel for yourself, or share one with like-minded friends.  You can create 1 channel, or 100, so whether you're documenting <a target="_blank" href="/@hikingchris45:5">a hike around town</a>, or making a public repository for <a target="_blank" href="/@catGifs:0">cat gifs</a> (password: '1234'), try creating a channel for it!</p>
+        <p>Channels allow you to publish and group content under an identity. You can create a channel for yourself, or share one with like-minded friends.  You can create 1 channel, or 100, so whether you're documenting <a target="_blank" href="/@hikingchris45">a hike around town</a>, or making a public repository for <a target="_blank" href="/@catGifs">cat gifs</a> (password: '1234'), try creating a channel for it!</p>
     </div>
     <div class="row row--wide">
         <div class="column column--5 column--med-10 align-content-top">