While being an extension for promotional campaigns from the Ford Blue blog like the Ford Escape campaign we wanted to take a step back and embrace the unique characters of each artist to make this destination as vibrant and exciting as the Ford Fiesta. Every artist page has their own signature custom color and background pulled from their own art. This is carried through to the color of every light box where the user can download hi res versions of each piece.

The campaign serves as a guerrilla style promotion for the Artists and Ford Fiesta and is geared to people in and around the Montreal Metro. They will be able to enjoy viewing the Artists installations while at the subway station and learn more by going to the promotional website on their desktop, phone or tablet since the website is fully responsive.

http://blogue.ford.ca/9artistes/

Unique page features include the ability to pull content from both the blog and outside sources (like YouTube), to set custom images and page backgrounds, and set unique advertising promotions to create an experience that both worked with the campaign and directed visitors to explore additional content. Like all of the Ford Blue blog, it is responsive and powered by WordPress.

http://blog.ford.ca/escape/

You know how the song goes, “We get by – with a little help – from our friends”

Every year the school our son attends, puts on an auction fundraiser. It’s a big deal for the kids because the money we raise provides needed improvement for the school.

This year, Melissa worked with the children of the fifth grade class along with Kathy Van Blargen who is also the room parent. The  goal was to create an artistic piece that would consist of small works from each student in the class. The piece needed to bring a voice  from every child that could fit together as one whole piece. Each child sees “The Blue Dog”  in their own way and that moment was captured within the lines of this fluffy sweet blue dog and his field of green. There’s a piece of every student in this project and it turned out fantastic. The theme selected last year was similar and consisted of an art project in which each student painted a circle from the well known “Kadinsky Color Study”. The final piece was stunning and it fetched a very nice price at the auction. We hope this year`s project will be just as successful!

Of course, assembling each piece of the mosaic into a presentation for display is much more difficult than it appears. And, the children deserve to have their hard work shine in the best way possible. With little time to spare, we needed a solution — a way to mount, matte, and frame the piece in a way that showcases the nature of the medium and the artwork of the children. Leigh Ann Williams with 24FPS was up for the task and we are so grateful. After 20 years 24FPS is the best kept secret around. They do amazing work and really know how to problem-solve when it comes to helping fine art stand out in beautiful ways.

The project this year honors the work of  George Rodrigue, and his famous Cajun “Blue Dog Series.” George Rodrigue’s interpretation of the “Loup-Garou” is presented in a way that resembles the form of his studio dog, Tiffany (who had passed away several years prior to the painting).

This particular Piece is called “Blue Dog Cafe” and hangs prominently on the walls of his cafe appropriately named ” The Blue Dog Cafe” in Lafayette, Louisiana

Here are the specifics on the piece that will be up for auction this Saturday night at the Orion Ballroom.

• ‘Blue Dog’, Collaged Prismacolor on Paper
• White lacquered wood frame   -  25″ x 23 1/4″
• Wooden support strainer
• Float artwork on 100% cotton ragcore
• 5/8″ deep spacers to distance artwork from glazing
• UV-filtering glass

Many thanks to Lee Ann Williams at 24FPS. She is a friend indeed.

With Brian in the middle of it, the strategy just worked out. And the rest made history.

Never before did I think we’d be writing about a guy like Brian this way. For me, the title of Andy Lark’s blog post put it in perspective. Brian Lusk is a Hall of Famer. In a world of so many millions of blogs, he was recognized as the best.

I’ll never forget the meetings, presentations, and work sessions we’d have at Southwest HQ. No matter how many times you do it, presenting can put you on edge. But Brian’s presence in the room always set me at ease. He was the kindest and most sincere person I have ever worked with.

As experimental blogs become really big blogs, things happen. Big traffic sometimes shows up on the doorstep. And we all learned so much together. There were times I’d get a call from Brian about a blog hiccup. But even during challenging times, Brian would just calmly ask me to “take a look at the blog.” Things always are easier to fix when heads are cool. Thanks Brian, for that.

A couple of times Brian invited me to attend Blog World in Las Vegas. Brian was very popular there. But it was kinda funny because I’m not sure how many people knew his real name. Can’t tell you how many times people just greeted him as “BlogBoy” and asked for his autograph!

It seems like over the years social media has really changed people. But it never changed Brian. It was Brian who changed social media. None of the awards, industry recognition, and countless case studies on the success of Brian and the Team ever phased him one bit.

The blogging community has lost an important piece of the puzzle. We should take note of how Brian demonstrated the importance of bringing authenticity — our real selves — to the story. Even though that’s what social media is supposed to be about, it’s a haven for the inauthentic.

We need more Brian Lusks. We need armies of him. We could have fixed a lot in the world with those armies. And you only had to meet him once to know that. But we don’t have armies of Brian. We only had one BlogBoy, and he was such a gift!

Safe journeys, Brian. With LUV to your family and those on your Team at Southwest.

Pizza. That magical pie that has all four food groups in it. Pizza. That wonderful, round, savory food – perfect at childhood slumber parties or for pulling all-nighters in College. Pizza. Hot or Cold, it doesn’t matter.

I guess they are out there, but I have yet to find anyone who does not appreciate the beauty that is pizza. Even some of the pickiest eaters I know hold pizza in high regard. Ask my three and a half year old son what his favorite food is and he will tell you, “Ninja Turtle Pizza!” (The TMNT’s are back, by the way).

When Naked Pizza approached RD2 about revisiting their current website to make it more user friendly across all digital platforms, all we had to hear was ‘naked’ and ‘pizza’ and we were all ears. We knew from the start this was going to be fun. Naked Pizza has a single goal with their food; to make pizzas that are natural with whole food ingredients with no added chemicals. Their special Ancestral Blend® Crust alone has 10 grains plus prebiotic agave fiber and probiotics. It is pretty amazing.

Naked Pizza is a relatively new company yet they have already garnered much press and praise and are beginning to grow at an expedited rate. We knew immediately the new website had to reach as many people as possible on whatever device they happen to be on at that time. Responsive was the only way to go. Not only did we make the overall website responsive, but we also crafted the special experience for people who are on their phones and want to order pizza or find the nearest Naked Pizza location quickly. Google maps integration makes this experience quick and easy.

Since Naked Pizza already has an established brand look and feel, we ensured that the visual language and colors were echoed in the design execution while adding an extra layer of photography that was focused on fresh ingredients. We were able to apply our Responsive Framework to the redesign and as a result were able to build it in an incredibly efficient way in a short amount of time.

We look forward to some great things with Naked Pizza and cannot wait until they open their first location here in Texas, preferably in Dallas.

Visit Naked Pizza

When Maxava approached RD2 to help them update their website, we knew their next website had to be accessible to as many people as possible – it had to be responsive. Given the complex nature of their business however, crafting a new responsive website design involved a substantial UX effort to make sure that all content that was accessible on the desktop was also accessible on any device. Additionally, Maxava was already running WordPress Multisite to support the Cloud Microsite as well as a Japanese installation.

Since their last website launch, it was apparent to both RD2 and Maxava that as their product offering and expertise had grown, so had their audiences. Audience Analysis and Personas research revealed that while some of the target audiences had remained, key messaging had changed to reflect expanding business markets. To that end, a focus on the basics was again necessary: Design, Content, and Information hierarchy.

Focusing on delivering better content faster was key with the redesign. Minimizing the layers of the old website, helping users find points of contact, and clarifying the product offering was regarded as the most important objectives. An added request was the inclusion of Salesforce integration, tying the website and the sales funnel together. Of course, unique user information is now captured to help Maxava understand their visitors, what they download, and how they might improve their CRM solution to better serve their clients and partners.

Keeping in line with other newly redesigned marketing materials, RD2 worked to capture the ingenuity of the company and a sense of control over chaos with clean lines and clear information contrasted with abstract, angular patterns throughout the new responsive website design. Imagery has been revised to more appropriately suite a more global audience.

With the launch, Maxava enters the New Year with a fresh face and confidence that every aspect of the company is engineered to quickly and efficiently respond to all the needs of their clients.

Visit Maxava.com

For those of us who are techies, this is a big deal. Engadget is the authority of new technology for so many of us. They stay on top of the latest trends. Some of the most important technologies of our age are featured here. It goes without saying, the team at PowerbyProxi are very special to us. To see them featured in Engadget puts a big smile on our faces. The guys at PowerbyProxi are brilliant. They are bravely developing real and sustainable technology in the wireless power space that will make a difference. Congratulations Greg, Fady, and the entire team at PowerbyProxi on the feature!

Wow. If you are in tech, this is a must watch interview. No matter how busy you are, it’s a fascinating 40 minutes. Kudos to Robert Scoble for landing an interview with Marc Andreessen. We need stuff like this. A level set to remind us that we’re still just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a video of Marc Andreessen before. But he’s a name many of us have etched into our digital history.

Think back to the first time you ever surfed the web. For me, I skipped the AOL thing. The first time I ever opened a web browser to surf the web was pivotal. I was at a company owned by my pal Chris Hipp called DMPL (Digital Media Performance Labs). He had a few demo SGI Indy computers connected to a T1 line in the Dallas Infomart. There was this thing called Netscape 1. It allowed us to navigate the internet through a graphical user interface. While the first page was loading, there was this indigo blue and black logo. In a white serifed font, the capital letter “N.” It was stepping over the planet. And information with images and hyperlinks populated the page. Stunning.

So, when Robert Scoble interviews Marc Andreessen, and Marc says “all markets will liquify” — then I’m all ears for 40 awesome minutes. Great interview, Robert!

Time to pick ourselves up and take another listen to what’s happening out there. Technology is actually getting amazing’er.

With initial setup and funding still in it’s infancy, the Australian arm contacted RD2 to help quickly establish their online presence in a way that was in-line with their published promotional materials, and that would help build buzz about new projects. Designed, built, and tested in just under 5 days, the new website design is both responsive and informative.

In order to more quickly help people identify that this is an Australian-based branch, we opted to use some of the great photography associated with Australia and tie it to each event. Once the event has passed, the Home page of the website will cycle to the next event, highlighting a new place and a new set of charitable projects. Additionally, sign-up forms are on every page to make sure that users never have to flick or scroll far to become part of the movement. Per usual, we recommended this site be a home base for The Funding Network/Australia as they launch their social media information streams and incorporated a blog. Even though the timeline was short, we always insist on making sure our partners are positioned for future growth, which is something we we really hope we see with TFN Australia.

Platform? WordPress, of course.

Be sure to visit the website (on all your devices) and let us know what you think.

The Funding Network, Australia