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

CityBlackBook.com: Coming Soon!

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Five years ago, we noticed a website in Charlotte that was creating a lot of buzz with its online nightlife resource guide. However, the website was horribly designed and even harder to use. We decided that there was an opportunity there to create something along the same lines, but with a much improved user experience. Now, five years later, CarolinaNightlife.com has become a household name amongst the city’s party goers.

We are happy to announce today that we are at it again. On May 21st, we will launch the beta version of our latest internal project, CityBlackBook.com, for public use. The idea was born from the distaste for other large city-based resource guides like CitySearch.com, CityGuide.com and YellowPages.com. About a year ago, we decided we would build a lean, easy-to-use, clean-and-simple city-based resource guide that wasn’t so bloated. Basically, we wanted a guide that would be actually useful.

In the coming weeks, we will release sneak peeks about what we have going on and what will make this resource guide unique. So, bookmark the City Black Book Blog to keep up with the forthcoming launch.

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New Studiobanks T-Shirts are Here!

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At last, our new t-shirts have arrived! We will be giving them to our clients, but have also decided to sell them to anyone else who might want one here on our blog.

The shirt features a design we hired Bloo Empire's Keeley Carrigan to create for us. The design depicts a large Studiobanks robot bashing in a computer monitor with elements of the internet flying out. Along with the rest of the internet, our various Toolbox packages and a bird (since we often code name our redesign projects after birds) pop out.

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Studiobanks Receives 7 ADDY Awards

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The ADDYs are the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence. This year more than 50 Charlotte-area companies submitted over 375 entries of work to the Charlotte ADDY competition. Only 135, or roughly 35%, of those entries were honored with an ADDY Award. We are happy to announce Studiobanks received 7 of those ADDYs. We snagged 5 of the 12 ADDYs bestowed on website development. Studiobanks was the only shop to win a Gold ADDY for web development.

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Whiskerino

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Studiobanks team members Banks, Robbie and Will have been growing and showing for two months in the biennial Whiskerino:

The Greatest Facial Hair Growing Competition to Hit The Internet.

The contest is curated by Michael of Yewknee.com. This is the third time the contest has been held and second time Studiobanks has competed. You might remember Ben’s mammoth beard during our acceptance speech at the 2006 Addy Awards Show.

For more on the contest, visit Whiskerino.org. Read the Manifesto where we cry out with one voice:

"I WILL HAVE A BEARD! I WILL BE A MAN! I WILL NOT CONFORM TO YOUR RULES!"

We have two more months of the contest. Keep tabs on Banks, Robbie and Will’s growth along with our friends Ben, Joey, Byron, Mizey and Jeremy.

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2007 Holiday Party

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2007 has been another wonderful year for the Studiobanks Team. We have added some great new clients to our family and have been able to produce some really cool new projects. In the past, we have held our company holiday party privately, but this year we bucked the tradition and invited clients, friends and family to show our thanks for their support this past year!

The party was held at Dilworth Billiards, a private club that is about a block away from the studio. Those who came enjoyed some free food, played some pool and met some of our other friends. Special thanks to clients Urbana, Varji & Varji, Asana Activewear and Dilworth Billiards for donating door prizes and everyone else who was able to make it out. We all had a great time and most likely have started a new Studiobanks tradition!

It you missed the party, check out the photos!

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(Press Release) Charlotte Ad Club Unveils New Name & Web Site Design

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The Charlotte Ad Club launched today its new name—AAF Charlotte—and redesigned website, aafcharlotte.com. The new AAF Charlotte website launch coincides with the beginning of the organization's new season and marks the name change from Charlotte Ad Club to AAF Charlotte.

Created by Web design firm Studiobanks of Charlotte, NC, the new site better organizes the group's content with added features, including member profiles, company pages and a vendor search. The site serves as an advertising resource for the Charlotte region, as well as a way to keep up with AAF Charlotte news and events. The overall enhanced design promotes AAF Charlotte's role as an organization that unifies the diverse voices of the local advertising community. For those who work in an industry that deals directly or indirectly with advertising, AAF Charlotte is the area's go-to resource.

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Michael Glasshoff Joins Studiobanks

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We just completed a month-long search for a new graphic designer to replace Clay’s old position after he left to take a new job in New York.

We posted the position on the new AAF Charlotte website and contacted some of our friends in AIGA for recommendations of prospective designers. We identified the top candidates and interviewed a hand full of people. In the end, we think we found the right person for the job and are proud to announce the addition of Michael Glasshoff to the Studiobanks team.

Michael is a recent graduate of the Art Institute of Charlotte. While in school, Michael worked as the senior designer at 1st Metropolitan Mortgage. His portfolio was very impressive, and while we are sad to lose Clay to New York, we are excited about bringing Michael’s talents to the group.

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Michael Wuori Joins Studiobanks

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We are proud to announce the addition of our latest team member, Michael. Before joining Studiobanks, Michael created internet applications for commerce, marketing, and support as a web developer for Comporium Communications. Michael is a graduate of USC-Lancaster. In just a couple of weeks here at the studio he has already started to make his mark and is leading the soon to be launched Zobo.tv website among other projects.

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Charlotte Observer "Best Holiday Card"

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Check it out! Studiobanks got voted "The Best Holiday Card" of the season in the Charlotte Observer business section today. Thanks to Will on his oh so creative illustration skills! And Santa... for needing a new website.

Jeff Elder of The Charlotte Observer:

The Best Holiday Card Award goes to the young bucks over at Studiobanks, the hip Web site builder on South Tryon. They sent 'round a foldout comic book about the company creating a new Web site for Santa. It's very cool, and, hey, don't we all want to use our superpowers to help St. Nick?

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Year-End Recap

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With another year almost gone, we're overdue for a recap. Studiobanks has seen its fair share of changes this year, most notably moving into our new office in South End's Citispace and effectively doubling in size. Recently, we brought ECU graduate Clay Johnson into the fold. Clay's design and aesthetic sensibilities are sure to help Studiobanks branch out even further next year. Mostly, we've just been glued to our computers working. So, take some time to browse around the portfolio and view our most recent projects. Last but not least, Happy Holidays from the whole Studiobanks crew and we'll see you in '07!

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