Studioblog (n): a blog by Studiobanks about design, marketing, internet, business, Charlotte and more.

Sagmeister Video on TED.com

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TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has expanded to include topics such as business, culture, arts, science and global issues. TED.com makes the best talks and performances from TED conferencees available to the public, for free. Inspired talks are given by the world's greatest thinkers and doers inlcuding: Al Gore, Bono, J.J. Abrams, Jeff Bezos and Stefan Sagmeister, just to name a few.

You may recall that AIGA Charlotte hosted a wildly successful event with Sagmeister in uptown Charlotte, back in April. Stefan Sagmeister formed the New York based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has since designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. Having been nominated five times for the Grammies he finally won one for the Talking Heads boxed set. He also earned practically every important international design award.

Check out his funny and inspirational talk: "Yes, design can make you happy".

(New Project) Duke Energy

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We get extra excited when we're approached with website projects where one of the primary goals is to push both the design and technology envelope. So when Duke Energy retained us to work on a large internal communications project that requires innovative, cutting-edge design that integrates the latest website technology, we said "Count us in!" We couldn't be happier about working with them and look forward to sharing more with you as the project unfolds!

(New Project) Crossroads Charlotte

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What course will Charlotte-Mecklenburg chart over the next ten years as we deal with issues of access, inclusion, equity and trust for all residents in the social, political, economic and cultural life of our community? This is a question that I know we are all asking ourselves in one way or another during these uncertain times. This is also THE question Crossroads Charlotte is posing to our community.

What is Crossroads Charlotte? First of all, it’s one of the latest projects we’ve been working on. Studiobanks has been tasked with re-designing the Crossroads Charlotte website in an effort to provide a more dynamic and interactive means for Crossroads to get its message across and provide opportunities for organizations, institutions and individuals to take action in the future of our community. So what EXACTLY IS Crossroads Charlotte?

Started in 2001, Crossroads Charlotte is a large-scale civic engagement initiative designed to examine the possible futures of our community and to enlist residents and organizations to help steer the future of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This project is a special initiative of Foundation for the Carolinas and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and is managed by the Community Building Initiative.

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(New Project) Summer is Over?

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I cannot believe the Summer has come and gone. Whew, have we been busy! I wanted to give you a quick update on some of the things we've been up to. Sorry I've been so behind in keeping everyone in the loop! We have a lot of projects in the works right now and I'll be able to announce some of the others we're working on in the coming weeks.

First of all, we are just wrapping up the development on a huge project for one of our favorite clients, Muzak. I'll be able to share more once this puppy launches, but I can tell you, this was a real team effort; Banks, Robbie, Will and Michael rocked this one out!

We have several projects that are getting ready to go into development now. We’re pleased with the diverse mix of businesses we have on our plate, because we’ve been able to innovate and try some new, edgy things! We look forward to sharing these with you too, once they're finished.

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We got to sit with the Price's at the Charlotte Center City Vision Awards!

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Charlotte Center City Partners hosted their third annual Vision Awards on April 10th. Basically, this was one big party for over 700 people that honors and celebrates those who've made a significant contribution to the vision and vibrancy of uptown and South End.

First, let me tell you about the best part of the night! Banks and I were delighted to accept an invitation to attend this event, especially since Studiobanks is in South End and I live uptown. And, well, Banks definitely plays a lot uptown—I'm sure all you night-owls have run into him out and about. Anyway, the event was held at the Charlotte Convention Center and started with a cocktail reception outside and then moved into the ballroom.

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Bourbon Boards - Next Big Thing Article

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As you know, we recently launched the Bourbon Boards website. There's a great article in today's Charlotte Observer by Doug Smith about their business, which just opened it's new showroom at Interiors Marketplace (designed by our good friends over at Eye Design). Thought we'd share!

The Old Crow Distillery near Frankfort, Ky., shown in this photo, is being dismantled for its vintage heart pine, brick, limestone and other materials. Charlotteans John Vieregg (from left), Jubal Early and Monte Ritchey bought salvage rights to the 14-building complex and are marketing the reclaimed materials through a South End showroom. Their company, named Bourbon Boards, shares space off South Boulevard with Interiors Marketplace.

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(Project Update) Dilworth Billiards Website Launch

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In the heart of Dilworth, is a bar: a local bar, a watering hole, a social club. It's a special place where people meet, drink, play pool and have a great time!

Eric, Susan and the gang have become our friends. Dilworth Billiards has become our "satellite office".

Check out the new Dilworth Billiards Website!

(Project Update) Muzak Voice & Music Press Release

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Here's a press release from Muzak regarding the recent launch of their Music and Voice websites. Thought we'd share!

Beginning this week, online visitors to Muzak will be able to access completely redesigned Web sites representing two of the company’s core products – Music and Voice. Both sites are designed to communicate the emotion, energy and creativity infused into the Muzak brand, which now reaches more than 100 million people every day.

Visitors to the Muzak Music Website will enjoy new interactive features designed to enhance their listening experience. Each of the more than 90 music programs includes a complete description and rich audio samples. Listeners to the satellite-broadcast programming who frequently find themselves asking, “Who did that song?” will now enjoy a new feature called “What’s Playing Now”, highlighting the artist and song title. Visually, graphic representations of featured programs recapture the lost beauty of album art.

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(Project Update) Muzak Voice & Music Websites Launch

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Muzak is a company that is a lot like us. They understand the importance of branding. While we tell a company's story visually, they do it with music, voice and sound. Check out the two websites we've launched so far for their Music and Voice product lines.

(Project Update) Varji & Varji Website Launched

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Yay! Our latest creative creation, the Varji & Varji website, is live. Take a look and let us know what you think. We were really excited about working with such beautiful high resolution images for this project. And we were able to figure out a clever way to utilize them; literally from corner to corner of the site!