By Jason Venetoulis and Cliff Cobb
Sustainability Indicators Program
March 2004

For example, one of the most effective methods for reducing our negative environmental impact is to emphasize online marketing over traditional advertising. The graphic design industry has a reputation of producing an excessive amount of printed material. Building a web presence cuts down on this waste and is actually more effective in reaching your audience. The reduction of paper, ink, waste and transportation costs adds up.

Below are a few sites that reflect this diversity. If you don’t see a style you like, we’ll create it. Send us your idea using the contact form and we will contact you to discuss it. For more portfolio examples, Click Here!

Examples

PetalPushersGardenPlace.com: Owner, Lynn LeClair has a natural approach to gardening. She is inspired by what Mother Nature provides as a template for her creativity. Co-designing this website with her was no exception. Gardening has been passed down from generation to generation in Lynn’s family. She wanted a site that reflected this creative lineage as well as a place to share her most recent and future creations. This site features a photo feeds from her Flickr Galleries, custom forum/blog and easily editable home page functionality.

NewMoonRisingArts.com: needed a website to advertise business and creative services and have it integrated with e-commerce, workshop registration software, newsletter, email, and art gallery. The site had to be easily expandable to accommodate for ever changing workshop provider information and ones own regular updates to content. The site also needed to be flexible enough for one to change the look-and-feel whenever inspiration struck. These goals were both accomplished using WordPress and HeadwayThemes.

Hometogether.org: needed a site to launch their campaign to offer “A durable solution to homelessness through shelter, work, and community.” by ways of creating a home and work environment based on the “Emmaus” model (details at their site). They required an informative site which also had all the right tools for raising funds and support.
BowdoinhamMeetings.com: required a site that was able to display videos in a clear and easily accessible manner.Needed was a gallery-style layout and the ability to use ANY embeddable video format. This client received a tutorial in operating the video uploader which was all that was needed in maintaining the site. Site built on WordPress and Press75 Premium Theme. Note: This site concept is available to any town or citizen initiative to bring local governance closer to the people by transparently documenting events. Contact us to set this up for your town.
GaryGurney.com: wanted a basic site that presented all of his business essentials in a professional and easy to navigate way. Yet having little time and need to update content regularly and not wanting the site to appear as most static sites appear, we developed a home page that uses a motion banner and revolving slide show.
SagadahocDems.org: needed a site that required maximum agility and scalability due to the quick and unpredictable needs of responding to political issues. It also needed to be manageable while coordinating several author contributors, feeds, email and outreach campaigns and other activities. The solution resulted in combining a CMS, a premium Press75 WordPress theme and a year-long maintenance contract. The latter provided the client the security of knowing the site will be well maintained while attending to other, less technical priorities.
Flash Portfolio: This site was created to demonstrate how a flash template (or any other web template for that matter) can be customized for ones use. This method is an affordable and quick way to achieve a professional looking web presence if you are not concerned with the fact that other businesses may be using the same template. Note: If the portfolio page can not be viewed properly, you may need to load Adobe Flash. This site also utilizes sound. Music by Deana Ingraham Gurney.

The process will vary some from project to project, since each business is unique, but the basics are the same. Quite simply:

1. We connect to talk, listen and share ideas.
2. We come up with a plan and design.
3. We then build and test the site.
4. We launch, promote and monitor the finished site.
5. We celebrate!

The diagram above illustrates the main characteristics of each stage of development starting from “Intention” and moving counter-clockwise around the circle to “Identity”. For a more detailed description of this process click on the link below.

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The creative process actually began before you read these words. It is where you are coming from – your identity. You are probably searching for creative and effective ways to make a strong web presence. You may know what you want or don’t want to some degree. You may have a budget in mind and a set amount of time and resources to reach your goals. You may be looking for guarantees or wondering what to expect. This page attempts to address your concerns.Once you contact us, we will gladly reply by phone and/or email to any preliminary questions you have – no matter how basic they may be. When you decide to work with us, we will send you our “Proposal Form”. Signing and returning this form with a negotiated deposit confirms your intentions and initiates the project.
Lines of communication are then broadened. Our first priority is to understand your business and intentions. Everything that you can tell us is recorded as potential material to draw from. You are given your individual “Planning Worksheet” which helps focus your thoughts on the site. This worksheet and the initial proposal form eventually combine into a central contractual document covering all aspects of the work. This document is put online with privacy protection and functions as a convenient depository from which to exchange information, and critique developments. The characteristic of this stage and the next in the process is about “Relationships”.

Embedded in your content which includes text, logo, brand items, assorted graphics and mixed media, are your principles and business practices, Your culture and unique offering to the on-line community is expressed here. This material, (if not already infused with vitality and individuality), will be prepared to convey an attractive impression -complimenting your messaging.
Market analysis of how your website would rank next to similar business websites helps to differentiate you from the others. Your target audience is identified and the ways to reach them are mapped out on a time-line. Your unique business qualities are identified and will be used to frame the argument for your business.

By now it should be fairly clear what path to take technically. The work of combining the design into programming code begins. What now exists between your target audience and your business are the pages coming into existence. A volley of reviews and revisions commences to make sure the design and functionality is customized to clients preferences. The characteristic of this stage and the next in the process is about “Execution”.

During this stage the site is privately put online and tested rigorously in the field and studio for: resolution and cross browser compatibility, loading time, coding errors, scalability and stress, user scenarios and other points. Final design adjustments are also made.

If you prefer to be more hands on, and update your own content, we can help you get started. Since many of our projects utilize easy to use open-source content management systems, there is a plethora of information and video tutorials available to learn the ropes of keeping your website up to date. We go out of our way to make this transition comfortable. For those who still may wish for us to manage their site, we offer an affordable web maintenance plan.

Sustainability also depends on search engine code and programs being submitted to the right places. Also, Zellous.org network affiliations are established which help promote your site within your local area. A pre-launch checklist is reviewed. All systems go!

Website is uploaded to client’s server or to one of our “green” hosts. The announcements go out and the opportunity is lived for all that it is worth – an excuse to host a special launch event. Meanwhile, we monitor the site closely using the analytical programs built into the site during its development stage. Follow-through is important. It sometimes becomes apparent that the site might be changed in some way to maximize the user’s experience. All in all the characteristic of this stage of the process is about “Identity”. You have established yourself and made a statement. There is an incredible sense of accomplishment.

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