In a tough economy, news stories are dominated by companies downsizing. That’s why it’s exciting when you hear about a business—like Sunset Transportation—doing exactly the opposite. It’s even more fun when you get to be a part of that company’s expansion and growth.

For several years, NeuConcept has provided marketing and web services for Sunset Transportation, an emerging leader in third-party logistics (3PL), transportation and freight audit/payment. Since we’ve been working with Sunset, it’s experienced double-digit growth, with increased services, new customized technology solutions, more clients, higher revenues and even new headquarters.

In response to that growth, we partnered with Sunset to keep pace marketing-wise. NeuConcept has recently helped the Sunset staff:

• Refresh the website with an updated look, more action prompts and automated processes that together provide clients with the best online experience possible.

• Create infographics to illustrate and explain logistics and freight payment services and implemented an intranet for staff and agents.

• Expand public relations efforts to give the company more exposure online, in the media and regional area.

We’re also in the process of creating new branding and marketing pieces to assist Sunset’s sales team as they continue to expand the business across the country.

It’s awesome to see the power of marketing reap results for Sunset: increased web traffic and rankings, media coverage and client growth.

DRDC funds promising research endeavors in the areas of blood disorders, human development, birth defects and disabilities. We worked with the DRDC to develop branding that communicated its mission of helping people with research. A warm color palette paired with an abstract, custom-drawn logo icon resulted in subtle, positive people-focused imagery that is also clean and professional.

We also worked with DRDC to develop a functional and easy to update website. In Phase 1, the site serves as an information center on research grants and submissions, so it is important that it is search-engine friendly and ADA-compliant. The staff wanted a design that is inviting to the hearing and seeing impaired, and we’re excited to help the DRDC achieve that goal.

The partnership between NeuConcept and DRDC is ongoing. Future phases will include password-protected sections with administration features for managing the various groups involved in the research projects as they progress. In the meantime, DRDC has received its first round of research applicants and is working on developing projects. We’ll continue working with the staff to expand research initiatives and disseminate information to DRDC’s key publics.

We look forward to helping DRDC develop and share important disability research on topics like autism, hearing loss and mental health.

The tool was recently acquired by Dropbox, called Mailbox.

If setting up gmail for the first time, this is the perfect tool for you. Being a power user with many labels and emails, the issues holding me back are:

1. I can’t figure out how to change the from address to another email address, even though it’s excepted and verified with gmail. Deal breaker here.
2. Does not appear to work with current labels unless you want to reconfigure all your IMAP filed emails, labels and locations.
3. ALL Mail IMAP folder turned on looks like a requirement, duplicating storage of over 10 years of my messages and labels in Apple Mail. Not cool!

I think with some tweaks to settings by Dropbox, all 3 of these issues can be overcome. I’m looking forward to this, because the interface is fantastic! And if I’ve missed the obvious, please enlighten me…

It’s crucial to get the right information to the right audience at the right time. So often your audience might not know about the great work your company is doing.

The Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA) is making tremendous strides in eBusiness for the electrical industry. Last year, IDEA launched its Bands of Excellence rating and sourcing program, which measures the quantity and quality of marketing data electrical suppliers provide their channel partners. As a result, the much-needed marketing content in the Industry Data Warehouse has grown tenfold.

We recently helped IDEA illustrate the effectiveness of this initiative by speaking directly with manufacturers, distributors and contractors. Our case study outlined how the industry’s sychronized marketing content—which includes product specifications, descriptions and images—has increased drastically and led to improved buying experiences for contractors online.

Industry-wide, increasing marketing content in the IDW has streamlined the ordering process, led to higher customer satisfaction and enhanced overall productivity and profitability. It’s rewarding to be a part of the exciting progress that the electrical industry is making in eBusiness.

Check it out: IDEA Bands of Excellence Case Study

You can also view it on IDEA’s website:  “The Value of Sharing Marketing Content through the IDW”

As designers continue to look forward to the future of the web, we have to ask ourselves, “What elements of web design are pushing the internet forward, and what are just passing stylistic trends?” No website is future-proofed, but having the foresight to understand where web has the potential to go can only help guide how we choose to design now.

I started this blog post months ago thinking I could summarize all of the web in one post, but, honestly, that’s a pretty big task when styles and technology continue to change. Instead, here are just a handful of trends and forward-thinking designs that catch my attention.

Trends or Progress

Will they stay, or will they go?

Lately, it seems websites want to remind us of our humanity, or rather bring a sentimental and nostalgic connection to our shopping spree. Studies show that we spend more time on websites if they pull at our heart strings with images and a clean layout. Pages look scrapbooked together or carefully constructed with a letterpress. Tactile textures and ribbons make browsing the web a similar experience to unwrapping a present, or so I’d like to think.

Ribbons -

Not just for fabric stores anymore.

Icon Navigation -

We’re drawn to images. If icons are well suited, they’ll give us insight and make links more appealing; if they’re perplexing, we’ll either be intrigued or annoyed.

Hand Drawn Type

No longer a lost art form.

Letterpress Revival

Beautiful print design is making it’s way to the web as designers broaden their horizons and the world shifts towards digital.

Modular Interfaces

Full Background Photographs

Click-through Websites

Death of the fold

In a world were people are trained how to interact with the web based on how they interact with mobile devices, scrolling, or at least animated scrolling, isn’t going anywhere fast. Content is no longer limited to screen space; we’ve learned how to navigate.

Web Fonts

Text images are no longer necessary. Large numbers of typefaces continue to be optimized for the web. Words become more beautiful and more functional. Even scalable icon fonts open up new doors for using css instead of uploading images.

… just to name a few.

There is still responsive design, larger typefaces, taller line-heights, and so many html5 advances.

Have theories on what is sticking around for a while? More ideas? Let us know what you think!

Connect with us on Linkedin or our other social media (Facebook, Twitter).

When I came across this slider graphic for Bank of America, I had to post it and make a comment. If this graphic were true, then when we age, our faces get more dirty? I realize that aging someone effectively is difficult for even Hollywood, but these Photoshop efforts are almost giggle-worthy. I think we all could have accepted a few subtle wrinkles a bit better than this overdone image. I don’t know about you, but this picture makes me want to run from the future, rather than face it.

“Having worked with several different studios over the years, we came to realize that our favorite people in the world are ourselves,” said Parker and Stone in a news release. “We hope to work with ourselves for a long time and are excited to now work with ourselves in a much greater capacity.”

It’s just a small reminder to break from the jargon and let personalities shine in quotes.

Read more at the NY Times. 

This Christmas, with family knowing that I’m a logo addict (and what books I asked for), I was gifted  logo lounge 7: a compilation of 2,000 international identities by leading designers. Here are just a few of my favorite designs.

See the chairs? Brilliant design for Summit Series Conference.

Playful and inviting logo for a library. Read Aloud.

Process of reinventing a logo for Chartered Society of Designers.

BevReview

College Hill

Watercolor mark to represent “clearer, brighter, and more colorful” vision guaranteed
with CooperVision contacts.

CooperVision branding showcased in a poster.

Logo series for twilight concerts at the Perth Zoo. Nocturnal Concerts at the Zoo

Texas Long-Term Care Partnership

The Hope Effect

Diversity Kansas

Wild Smart

Shark Talk for Secure Risk Solutions

Farmhouse Delivery

Haiti Children’s Rescue Mission

Walk 4 Diabetes

We were discussing the branding we’re developing for this new research center, and I was asking about her specific preferences.

She gave me some basic guidance and then said, “I’ve worked with a lot talented people over the years. I don’t micromanage. I’ve discovered that it’s best to let the experts do what they are best at doing. I’ve selected you as the expert, and I trust you to make the right decisions.”

Wow. What a great gift trust is. It makes a lot of sense; it empowers others; and it makes the process much more efficient. I’m going to think about this every time I have the urge to micromanage or take control. Let the experts use their expertise.