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

The New AAF Charlotte

Robbie 1 Comments

We recently launched the new AAF Charlotte website to coincide with the beginning of their new season and mark the name change from Charlotte Ad Club to AAF Charlotte. The new site better organizes the group's content as well as adds some new features, including member profiles, company pages and a vendor search. Despite the addition of profiles, this isn't an attempt to create yet another social network. Try to think of it more as an advertising resource for the Charlotte region, as well as a way to keep up with AAF Charlotte happenings. Basically, if you work in an industry that deals directly or indirectly with advertising, you might want to look into joining AAF Charlotte.

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(Project Update) Heels.com

Banks 5 Comments

We were recently approached by one of our favorite clients to help design a logo for a new e-commerce website he is working on. The site will sell women's shoes and was appropriately named Heels.com. In the world of domain names, a short, generic word like "heels" is very valuable - so that made it kind of exciting for us. This particular client has his own team of web developers and just utilizes us for look and feel. So along with the logo we also designed out what each page of the website will look like. As of today, it looks like the developers have not implemented our design yet and have put up their own coming soon page.

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Keen Keyboard Shortcuts

Will 1 Comments

Seeing as I've been using Adobe products almost everyday for the past ten years, I've come to appreciate a number of keyboard shortcuts that aren't generally known or used.

General

• Tab – Hide/Show Tools

• Apple, Alt, Semicolon – Lock/Unlock Guides

• Alt, Left/Right Arrow – Adjusts Kerning of Selected Text

• Alt, Up/Down Arrow – Adjusts Tracking of Selected Text

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No More Soup For You!

Banks 0 Comments

This week's issue of the Charlotte Business Journal reports that local entrepreneurs John and Victorian Kirby will be opening an Original Soupman restaurant in downtown Charlotte. The Original Soupman was created by Al Yeganeh, better know as the inspiration of the "Soup Nazi" from the TV series Seinfeld. With most Original Soupman franchises in the northeast the Kirby's restaurant will be Charlotte's first taste of the 50 soup varieties.

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Hillman Curtis - Artist Documentary Series: Paula Scher

Christy 3 Comments

So, I was catching up on what JT Helms has been up to by reading his blog. JT used to work with us, before he upped and moved to Chicago last year. (Please come back JT!) And I came across this wonderful video clip that I think does an amazing job of describing the designer/artist point of view. I wouldn't do the clip justice by trying to recap it. Just watch for yourself: Hillman Curtis - Artist Documentary Series: Paula Scher.

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Michael Wuori Joins Studiobanks

Studiobanks 1 Comments

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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(New Project) Muzak

Christy 2 Comments

Being the music lovers that we are, Studiobanks is very happy to announce our latest project(s) with Muzak, who is a leading provider of business music. We'll be designing four websites for their various product lines. These are the folks that design, install and maintain the sounds that brand a company. For example, here's the audio architecture (the integration of music, voice and sound to create experiences designed specifically for your business) Muzak created for Ghiradelli Chocolate:

An older, credible, caring female voice delivered in a simple, formal style. No ornate production was needed. The voice is heard over music that could be performed in a jazz club. Brushes on a snare drum, a jazz guitar and a stand-up bass complete the experience.

You'll hear the sounds Muzak architects while shopping in a store, sitting at a restaurant, on hold or in a TV commercial. This is why I love my job, I'm always learning about new companies and what they do.

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(Project Update) Southern Comfort Logo

Christy 0 Comments

Here's the final logo picked by Southern Comfort Development Group. It was our favorite. We've just wrapped up the collateral design and are on to the website design. The client is working hard to gather up content, including photos of their properties and deciding what information they want to provide for each of their site's pages. This is always one of the hardest parts of the process. You would think it would be easy to just sit down and compose a paragraph or two about your company and its processes, but in fact, it's not so easy. This is why we have many great copywriters at our disposal to help our clients along while they gather content.

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The Right Way to Brainstorm

Banks 0 Comments

Just read a good article about brainstorming over at bNet. Brian Libby points out that the term itself

dates to the 1953 book Applied Imagination, in which advertising veteran Alex Osborn first articulated how a well-managed group could generate more ideas than the same number of individuals thinking on their own.

It goes on to show how the term has become a muddled catchall for anything related to creativity since the term became popular. Libby argues that over time Osborn's brainstorming's framework has disintegrated and that

many “brainstorming” sessions undermine his four key principles: focus on quantity instead of quality; allow no criticism; welcome far-fetched ideas; and encourage the group to improve ideas by combining them.

It's worth a glance and also points out how to avoid common mistakes and get the most out of brainstorming meetings.

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(Project Update) Kubilins.com Launched

Christy 3 Comments

As promised, here's a look at the newly launched Kubilins website. While this was a team effort, Clay knocked this out of the park with his design and Will truly showcased his animation skills, bringing the site to life one frame at a time!

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