Practice Ignition
We dread accounting, so we did our part to ease the communication between firm and client. Carry on ‘forward-thinking business’, carry on.
An adaptive process
Practice Ignition came to us to craft their vision. The interface, marketing site, a mobile strategy, branding... the whole shebang. Our data visualization skills were put to the test as Practice Ignition shows users at a glance their latest activity, deadlines, open jobs, tasks due and a handful of other features with beautiful graphs and numerical imagery.
Mobile first
The first step to creating a successful collaborative platform that enables accountants to maximize their engagement with their clients was creating an interface you can access from anywhere. We went with a mobile first approach and scaled it out to the desktop. This gordeous beauty lives on every device.
Branding and Marketing
Typically we’ll start on the branding and identity. This time we took a slight turn from our typical process and started with the interface. While designing the visual elements, one of the charts became the iconography for the Practice Ignition ‘p’ logo.
Primary Logo
Outbrain
Everyone has a story worth telling. Outbrain was just having a little difficulty sharing and clearly communicating theirs.
If she only had a brain name
Outbrain is well known for driving more effective website engagement and helping publishers -- like USA Today, The Slate, AOL, and US Weekly -- to acquire more traffic. But they were struggling with their message, personality, and some good old-fashioned smarts! We started by bringing life to “Outbrain Girl” and gave her a proper name. She’s the heart, soul, and brains of the operation. Say "Hello" to Amelia.
Brain power
As Outbrain outgrew their previous site while growing as a company, a primary dilemma for them was communicating and structuring a site around two audiences: marketers and publishers. How did we help one company speak to two groups of people on one website? With some good old-fashioned brainstorming, clever copy, and site re-structuring. But we then discovered that people are at their best when they use both sides of their brain. So by focusing less on the audiences and more on the benefits to each, Outbrain grew even smarter.
Communicating the benefits
One of the main problem areas we diagnosed with their old site was lack of communication to understand what Outbrain did and how it would benefit its users. Great companies like USA Today and US Weekly were already using Outbrain, but we helped them answer the “How can I benefit?” and gave them the results, too.
The proof is in the pudding
The case studies allowed Outbrain to share their clients' stories. (Mmmm, did someone say pudding?!)
The Need for Steed
The 
icon set – created by the talented hand illustrator Kyle Steed – happened
to exude the charisma Outbrain was asking for. The nerdy – nerd is the new cool, if you haven’t heard – icons aided in visually
communicating Outbrain’s story. They were the tape to Amelia’s glasses, and the wits behind the smarts.
Beauty Brains
We crafted an experience that not only looked good on the outside, but had the smarts to back it up
Beyond the whiteboard
How do you encourage CrossFit’ers to build strength? Forget the ‘Likes’ – we needed to create an interface that gets them pumped!
How we did it
Clients usually ask us, “So, what’s first?” Once we began working with Beyond the Whiteboard, we immediately knew we needed to comb through the unnecessary elements and simplify the essentials. So we started right at the core – their brand identity – and worked our way out to the user interface.
Fist pumps and chest bumps
Initially, Beyond the Whiteboard was looking for a refresh of their web app, but we had bigger things in mind. We gave them an adaptive interface that’s just as lovely and easy-to-use on mobile devices as it is on desktops. We completed the work with a stunning visual analysis of users' progress, custom workout creation tools, and timeline profiles that track workouts and relationships.
Client Hug Tracker*
On average we received 4.2 hugs per week while working with Beyond the Whiteboard
*We know what you’re thinking: No we don’t work for hugs, but they do make us work better. Get in touch.
Matchbox
Matchbox was founded to transform the university student admissions process. We were brought on to ignite their marketing site.
Re-sparking a great brand
Matchbox Admissions was in the midst of a rebrand when they came to us. They needed something that sparked the future of the university-admission process. AdmitPad was renamed to Matchbox, and we took over from there starting with a new, hot identity that plays on the digital flame and box concept.
In need of a home screen
Their beautiful iPad app, which was designed by Matthew Smith, needed an identity and mark that would migrate seamlessly over to the iPad’s homescreen. The fiery red we used was a sure bet to light up the screen, while the subtle texture of a campus map and lighting effects brought an authentic flair.
Small details
We take pride in the small details. Fixed navigations, dynamic scrolling, clever form validation, charismatic button copy ... no detail was left unattended. We nurtured each creative element through launch.
Big Impact
Knowledge empowers
We know first-hand what the power of social media can do for a business. We had big ideas for the Matchbox blog when we turned it into a learning and discussion bulletin board of information – not just company news.
“Really superbly crafted website design. Each page has been treated with utmost care. Like in case of the features page it has been treated with a fixed header because of the length of the content in this section, where in each of the other pages the header is not fixed like that. That’s only one detail of many many more you should check out on this site.”
Kitebrite for iPhone
An iPhone app to float ideas and upcoming plans to friends? Where do we sign up?
Setting sail on a new identity
The Kitebrite team had high hopes for their app, but were struggling to realize its full potential. The concept of sharing plans, posting ideas, and gathering location-based suggestions needed an uplift. So we focused our initial efforts on rebranding and refreshing the logo, which later worked itself into the iPhone-app icon. Now Kitebrite was starting to get its feet off the ground.
High as a kite
The challenge was to develop a UI that was enjoyable and painless. While reorganizing and rethinking the existing user experience, we concocted the new interface to be loaded with user-enabled imagery that matched their plan or idea. We also included shortcuts for easy updates, gestures that’ll keep fingers happy, and pixels that look good enough to snack on. We wanted Kitebrite to soar higher than any other kite out there.
So what's the plan?
Users can customize their plan's photo using their iPhone’s camera, or they can upload directly from their photo library. And all while setting the time and location easily, inviting their Kitebrite friends and groups to tag along, and allowing friends to set a timeframe and “loop in” other friends.
ClearStats
How do marketers want to track their Twitter trends, monitor their competitors, or manage their social inbox?
Simply and beautifully, that's how
ClearStats approached us with an idea that needed nurturing and guidance. ClearStats evolved into a simply enjoyable interface thanks to a balance of the right details in the right places, elegant data visuals, and a carefully articulated user experience.
Encouraging clicks
We wanted to create an experience that was just as gorgeous on the outside as on the inside. We designed an experience that delighted users beyond the clicks.
Land on the big screen. Carry on in your pocket.
Originally, we set out for a desktop-only version of ClearStats marketing site. But hell, it transitioned naturally into a mobile version. So we threw in a few enhancements to make use of a touch interface.
fun fact
Did you know ClearStats is our most loved shot?
Breadcrumb POS
Bringing Breadcrumb into focus
Breadcrumb Point of Sale needed help marketing their new website and bringing focus and attention to their iPad app. First, we refined and clarified their brand. Then we further developed their message to increase the app's visibility and reach new audiences. Only a few weeks later, Breadcrumb was acquired by Groupon.
Kickoff meetings inspire
Their founder Seth and I kicked off initial talks at a Corner Bakery in Manhattan. Not only do they serve up deliciously warm and buttery pretzel croissants, but I happened to have my camera on me that day – so I snapped a photo that later became the faint background image that appears on Breadcrumb’s landing page.
Planning for tomorrow
Big things take time. We knew where Breadcrumb was heading, but we had to first take its current size into consideration. While planning for the initial content for launch, we decided to focus on what’s important now, yet planned the site to expand easily to accommodate more clients, features, and users. Breadcrumb walked away with a website that will grow with them as the web evolves, too.
86 the boring Sign Up
processes
Signing up should be fun for the user and easy on the administrator. We informed Breadcrumb on how they could be both. Go ahead – pull the shade down. All the cool kids are doing it.
Serving up a buffet
of features
A great point of sale has the right features without the distraction. Breadcrumb benefits the cooks, servers, managers, owners, and even the customers. We built an easy-to-navigate feature system that would keep everyone happy and informed.
Breadcrumb was aquired by
Read the full storyMojo Themes
We helped Mojo set the new standard for their market and transformed their company into an entirely new beast.
Finding Horatio's inner beast
When Mojo Themes came to us, they already had a good thing going for them. However, they wanted bigger and better things: happier buyers and more focus on the innovative themes their sellers were creating. They wanted a website and marketplace that could grow at the same pace as their user base. We started by re-inventing Captain Horatio -- their green monster mascot -- by giving him a name and more personality. And we told him to be a bit more useful throughout the site.
Great design takes time
After a few weeks of diving into the landing page, things just didn’t seem to fit the new direction both the Mojo team and I had envisioned. However, we kept plugging away and hit that “Aha!” moment through great feedback and continued collaboration. Both parties never gave up. Mojo’s landing page set sail with a focus on what was most important: its users. We built trust through statistics and testimonials while putting users in the spotlight to encourage even more great collaboration between sellers.
‘Cuz Monsters just wanna have fun-un! (you know the rest)
One of the questions we ask all of our clients is: “What do you like most about your current website?” Mojo’s answer stemmed around their “character” and “playfulness.” We liked that, too. Unfortunately, their copy just wasn’t on-par with their brand. So we helped to juice it up a bit.
Renewed growth and better sales
Beyond the marketing site, we also redesigned and re-thought the entire Mojo Themes Marketplace. After an interview The Next Web ran on co-founder J.R. Farr, Mojo doubled its user base. It only took a few months.
“Before that redesign, authors could have their product on the frontpage for months and still not make a sale. The redesign
seems to be at least one major factor in renewed growth and presumably better sales.” —
“Saving the web – one Space at a time”
Put a face to a Space
We love taking great ideas and bringing them to life. We learned about 80Spaces' mission, goals, and aspirations. We then applied our talents and expertise to their branding. In fact, we then executed their new identity through user-experience planning and art direction.
Craft the experience
80Spaces is the Burger King to web saving, allowing users to have it their way. We wanted users to feel comfortable in their own space. So we made multiple view options, quicker commenting, easy sharing options, location-based search, smarter image uploading techniques, and collapsible sidebars.
Personalize your Space
80Spaces had a vision of creating a space that you could personalize. A space that’s a reflection of ones tastes and enjoyments. We gave users the option to add books they’ve read, events they’ve attended, music they're listening to, recipes they’ve enjoyed, or inspiring quotes they enjoy. The dynamic filtering throughout the site then brought discovery to life.
Anatomy of a Space
We craft digital experiences that reshape, rethink, and redefine our clients to
their users. We focus on the right details in the right places – and leave the unnecessary behind.
Further more
We set out seeking fulfillment in our work and personal lives: to make a positive impact, explore our curiosities, work with great clients, and have the freedom to influence the web and its future.
Each day, these commitments drive us to create more enjoyable and meaningful experiences.
What to expect
If you needed your website by yesterday, we’re not the best match for you.
Great design takes time. Our best work evolves from rigorous thinking, detailed implementation, thorough testing, and consistent collaboration. Plus, we have fun doing it; good fun takes time, too.
We'll be straightforward, communicative, and educational – and you'll be delighted with the end-result. We guarantee it.
We craft these services
- Branding & Logo Design
- Design & Visual Direction
- Interaction Design
- iOS App Design
- CMS Integration
- Copywriting
- Information Architecture
- Front-End Development
- Multi-Screen Design
- iOS Icon Design
- Marketing Collateral