Making it Mobile : Building Sites That Work on all Devices

Last year we became one of only a few firms building sites with responsive web design. At the time, the term “Responsive Web Design” wasn’t widely known. Today, it’s gaining traction and being discussed more, but it’s still the exception, not the norm. As the name implies, with responsive web design your site responds to the size of the screen and adjusts accordingly. So one site will work automatically on all devices. This eliminates the need for a mobile site.

Truth be told, we love Responsive Web Design. Since implementing it with the sites we’ve built, it has worked flawlessly. While it does require more work than a standard website build, it’s benefits are worth it. On our end, we design for five common device sizes. This includes a standard laptop/desktop, a large tablet, a small tablet, a horizontal smartphone and a vertical smartphone. So when the site is viewed, it displays the appropriate design.

From a client’s perspective, they absolutely love it. They are able to refer visitors to their site and have confidence it will look great regardless of the device. Since mobile devices use touch technology, as opposed to the click of a mouse, we also incorporate touch controls with our web sites. For example, a site we just launched for O’Connor Numismatics allows you to flip though their gallery of coins via the swipe of a finger.

Responsive Web Design provides much more than mobility, it provides a great user experience. When the user views the site on their mobile device, there’s no need to pinch and zoom. It just works. The site looks great and content is highly readable. They can use the site just like they would on a desktop. Ultimately, this leads to greater user satisfaction, a reduced bounce rate and longer site viewing times.

Want to make your site responsive? We’d love to talk. Just give us a shout or drop us a note.

Before & After : New Project: Logo for A. Lava & Son

We are very fortunate to work with A. Lava & Son, a great company that specializes in the bedding industry. Like many manufacturing companies, their roots run deep. In their case, 90 years deep. From a marketing perspective it can be challenging to brand a company such as this. Do you embrace the history and run the risk of looking dated or do you start from scratch and run the risk of looking like the new kids on the block? That was our quandary as we approached their rebranding project.

We started with the logo. It clearly was a mark that served them well, but was now very dated. It featured a red shape that represented a spool of thread, an appropriate icon given they specialize in bedding textiles and fabrics. We developed a more modern interpretation of the spool. To us the spool was the gateway to embrace the past, yet welcome the future. The spool illustration became the foundation and focal point for the logo. To complement it, we chose a clean, modern typography and a rich, color palette. In the end, it was the perfect fit for their branding needs.

Check it out for yourself.

Two Cents : Y-ME Gets it Right With Name Change!

Like most, breast cancer has deeply touched the lives of those close to me. Fortunately there are great organizations like Y-Me that provide much needed support to fight this horrible disease. That’s why I’ve proudly participated in the annual Mother’s Day Walk for more than 15 years.

A few years ago, Y-Me did something very unusual when they changed their name to Breast Cancer Network of Strength. To be honest, I was shocked by the change and quite honestly very opposed to it. Why would an organization with so much brand recognition change their name from a memorable two syllable name to a mouthful of generic words? As a marketer, I could see the reasoning behind it. I could imagine people saying that their name doesn’t clearly convey what they do. I could see the argument, but I couldn’t understand the decision. In fact, I wrote their President to make my case.

Somehow I think they forgot one of the most important elements in branding: simplicity. A name is only a name and shorter usually is better. All we have to do is look at Nike as a perfect example. Their name is short and memorable. Facebook, Apple and Ford could also support this argument.

What Y-Me discovered was that their new name wasn’t memorable. They also discovered that it doesn’t convey what they do, but that’s OK. Their branding and marketing can help with that endeavor. Most importantly, they discovered that it’s all right to admit you made a mistake and do something about it. Changing their name back to Y-Me took guts, but it was the right decision and I was happy to see it occur.

About Y-Me
Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization (briefly known as Breast Cancer Network of Strength), or Y-ME, is a Chicago-based national nonprofit organization with the mission to ensure through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone. Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization does not fund research but does advocate for research.

Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization’s headquarters is in Chicago, but it has support groups throughout the United States, which provide peer support, educational programs, and coordinate advocacy efforts. Y-ME’s main program is the Y-ME Hotline, the only multilingual 24-hour breast cancer hotline in the country, staffed entirely by trained peer counselors who are breast cancer survivors.

Y-ME website.

App of the Month : Pinterest

Pinterest is all the rage. It’s the new social media site that has everyone talking. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. What makes it so popular is it’s very visual interface and it’s ease of use.

With Pinterest, people use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, find a new wardrobe or organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. It’s a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

They created their iPhone app to bring the best of Pinterest to the palm of your hand. It easily connects to your account and give you all the features you would find on the web.

Check it out for yourself.

A great new site for O'Connor Numismatics

We’re thrilled to launch a new site for O’Connor Numismatics which specializes in rare coins. At the heart of this site is a gallery which shows their coins in large, beautiful detail. It’s a great tool to showcase their inventory.

Like all of our new sites, this site features Responsive Web Design which makes it mobile friendly for all devices. The site automatically adjusts to the screen size of the device. On a smartphone, one can view the site without adjusting a thing. On a tablet such as the iPad, the site looks amazing. View it on your mobile devices to see what we mean.

The site also features our Skybox content management system. We built custom modules for this site, as well as a page management system. In a nutshell, O’Connor has complete control over all of the content of the site. With Skybox, adding new coins is a breeze, while posting the latest news is equally easy.

Complementing the site is a stellar design that’s a perfect fit for O’Connor’s brand. A home page with a photo montage, a great coin gallery and a colorful news section are highlights of the design and user interface. Check it out for yourself. Please hit the link below. 

O’Connor Numismatic’s Website

DNA chooses echo for new website

Downtown Naperville Alliance (DNA) has chosen echo to develop a new content management website.  This site will feature responsive web design, which allows the site to work on any device, no matter the screen size. This is critical to their group given their high volume of visitors who access their current site from mobile devices.  “Our responsive web solution is a perfect fit for Downtown Naperville Alliance” says James Finley, Echo’s Web Developer.  “With our solution, the site will adjust to the user, rather than the user adjusting to the site.  It results in a great user experience.”

In addition, the new site will have our Skybox content management system.  With Skybox, DNA can easily add news and events.  They can also add DNA members such as restaurants, retailers or businesses.  In fact, as part of Skybox, Downtown Naperville Alliance businesses will have their own page for promoting their business.  They will have a custom login and will be able to publish fresh content to the site such as specials offers, menus, latest news and recent accolades.  They will also be able to link their page with their social networks and check in sites such as Facebook Places and Four Square.

Downtown Naperville is unlike anywhere else.  With it’s mix of restaurants, retailers and businesses, it’s a destination of choice.  Our goal with their website is to deliver a product that also is a destination of choice.  With responsive web design, social networking integration and Skybox, we will deliver an exciting new website that makes it simple for visitors to get the information they need to take advantage of all that Downtown Naperville offers.