State of the State of the Union: Power(Point) to the People?

On January 24th of 2012, President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address. For the second time, the White House made it available online with a special enhanced broadcast complementing the speech with onscreen presentation graphics.

I know what you're thinking—a Powerpoint from the President? Who does he think he is, Ross Perot? Our founding fathers must be turning in their graves.

6 Great Interactive Data Visualization Tools (Part 2)

Welcome back for the second part of my series on interactive data visualization (dataviz) tools. In part one, we covered three cool tools for visualizing charts and graphs and many other data types on a webpage. In part two, we take a look at three more tools that are a bit more complex but have some incredible data visualization capabilities.

6 Great Interactive Data Visualization Tools (Part 1)

Websites are loaded with eye candy these days — from slick user interfaces to interactive maps to cool photo slideshows — all achieved without Flash, just HTML, CSS and Javascript. And these technologies are free, open and can be utilized in essentially every current web-browsing device. While it’s tempting to just jump in and add the latest cool feature to your site, you have to first make sure it’s a good fit for your users and your brand.

Best of 2011 Roundup

While many industries seemed to be on the ropes last year, design was not one of them. If anything, it seemed to race ahead, fueled by new strategies and technologies that pushed the limits of what design can do. Here are some of the highlights:

Three Ways for Nonprofits to Maximize Design Firm Relationships

As someone who’s focused on managing engagements for technical projects, when I talk to people in the for-profit sector about our work, there’s one phrase that always seems to work its way into the conversation: “Things work a little differently with nonprofits.” While NFPs have plenty in common with other types of businesses, things like the budgeting process, staffing structures, and corporate culture are decidedly different.

Show Your Nonprofit's Brand a Little Love!

The value of a brand is directly proportionate to the success of the organization behind it. So, given its importance, why do so many nonprofits find it hard to focus on developing a strong brand?

Speaking a Client's Language

Like a many agencies, we work with a wide range of clients: nonprofit and commercial organizations focused on things like energy security, healthcare, marketing technology, financial services, and even online coupons. And while clients often come to us with a similar range of needs, we need to remember they are experts in their own fields but not ours. 

Is Your User Experience Degrading Your Brand?

We all know that today, online experiences have become a primary means of connecting for many companies, organizations and individuals. The rapid pace of development in browser technology and in web coding, scripting and programming languages has enabled us to offer incredibly rich, rewarding online experiences that were unthinkable even 5 years ago.

The 5 Benefits of Designing a Consistent Brand

People generally don't like cockroaches. They make us nervous, we don't know what to expect from them, we stand semi-frozen waiting to see what direction they'll dart off in next. In a word, they're inconsistent.

What do cockroaches have to do with design and branding?

The Fundamentals of Developing a Strong Brand

Like many branding and design firms, we're often contacted to help clients solve an acute tactical problem they've rightly identified in their business communications. A website or application may not "look good" or may have serious usability issues. The company's logo may be projecting the image of what the company was like 10 years ago. New marketing collateral materials may be needed.