CEDAR Institute is a continuing education provider for licensed therapists. An experienced team of administrators and contributors set out to create a better online home for this type of specialty education. We think they succeeded! The new brand was crafted around the concepts of being rooted in truth, trustworthy, and genuine.  In the logo above, you get this sense. The tree is mature, stable, and has many good stories to tell. The type and colors are more modern and progressive without loosing the security of the tree and foundational aspect of the ground.

Translating the new brand to the digital space was enjoyable. CEDAR is one of the only continuing education providers we’ve seen that really has an eye for design and a desire for a modern look and feel. Even with a full list of courses and categories, it’s a breeze to navigate and the user interface is really clean.

Each user’s account home allows them manage their course list, access course content, take exams, leave evaluations, and publish their completion certificates. All aspects of this site and application were custom built from the ground up. CEDAR is a company with unique content and a new approach, so we had to outline their workflow and build a system that accounted for each and every process, exactly the way they needed it to work. We’re talking a highly scalable, web based business model with efficiency and key integrations for administration.

Everything needed to be dynamic, from creating courses, to building tests, auto-scoring exams, and for managing users. Also, integrating sales, marketing, and accounting created key workflow efficiencies and very clean custom reports. No rock was left unturned and we are proud to say that CE for therapists now has a reliable, trustworthy, and modern place home on the web. If you are in need of CE courses or know someone who is, please direct them to cedarinstitute.com

CIFT is a top notch Christian counseling center in Orange County with four locations and over 50 qualified therapists.  They have been doing phenomenal work for close to two decades helping people find hope, healing, & growth through difficult circumstances. When they sought a rebrand and new marketing approach, we were eager to help. It’s certainly a blessing for our team to work with companies and individuals who are very good at what they do and have such a big rate of success. Our job was to prepare their communications strategy and provide a new visual identity to match the essence of what already has existed for some time.

The new logo (above) has been carefully crafted to communicate the essence of the organization.  The focus of the logo is on the primary concept of growth as the goal. The text shows movement and has character (life), while the rings get progressively more refined as they work from the inside out (ie: true growth).  The T that falls in the circle has the subtle imagery of Christ working at the center of the person to create growth from the inside out.  Working with the other design elements, it has a very strong, but understated feel…

Translating a similar strength and warmth to the web presence was key.  We took actual images of the locations and staff to remain authentic and used black and white for the images to capture depth and emotion.  The overall feel needed to be peaceful, safe, and comfortable while certainly user friendly and easy to navigate.

One of the most used part of the site is the staff interface, so we wanted to create a easy way to find and contact the desired therapist.  Each individual has their own page, accessible from this spot or from their own personal URL.  Helping the therapists market themselves within the umbrella of the company brand was an important marketing strategy and value.

Accessing resources is now much more easy as well.  Links to books and websites for many topics allow for anyone to find trusted information about things that concern them presently.

Hope you enjoy their new digs and if you ever find yourself in a rough spot with need of a quality counselor, please contact CIFT…great people doing wonderful work.

In October 2007 we published an article titled, Don’t be fooled by the SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The point that we were making was that the way to be loved by Google and the other search engines was to be “relevant”.

One project that has been completed recently was the launch of Dane Sanders’ book Fast Track Photographer. Here is snapshot of a search for “Fast Track Photographer” (click for larger view):

Results 1-28 all about Fast Track Photographer. You have to get to the bottom of page 3 to see anything else. How much did the SEO cost? ZERO!! This shows how being relevant is the best way to be noticed by the search engines (like we said).

Our web gurus have acknowledged that the one benefit to SEO is when you want to be found for generic terms that relate to prospecting. Sometimes SEO works to generate non-paid search referrals but if it’s really generic or valuable then paid placements are the way to go (if relevance doesn’t work as well as you want).

So what does this mean for you? It’s better to focus on your content than Google. If you do that then Google and the others will find you. If you just focus on SEO you might just get a lot of fluff and no traffic.

Most of you faithful blog readers know that we have been very blessed to work closely with a handful of very talented wedding photogs. We recently had the delightful opportunity to re-brand one of our personal favs, Dane Sanders. Dane came to us with a bit of a dilemma, Dane had a visual identity crisis (no, not personally, he’s actually quite the snappy dresser). The problem was, Dane had a lot going on (which is always a good problem to have). His photography business consists of many parts; Dane the Photographer, Dane the Author and Dane the Speaker, not to mention all of Danes photography resources like FastTrackPhotographer and CutFrame TV. With all these pieces, products and personas, Dane’s brand was in dire need of re-organization. Before the re-design process began, we noticed something, Dane wasn’t merely peddling a product, he was selling a philosophy, and not just any philosophy, one that actually worked. Our first step became clear, capitalize on Dane himself. Dane has quite the following in the wedding photog world, something of a minor celebrity in his business. The obvious solution, take all of Dane, his resources and philosophy and put it all under one brand. The result, the red DS box (see below) which was created from his actual signature initials. The simple yet effective graphic isn’t just the anchor of the Dane Sanders brand, but also acts as a fingerprint on all of Danes other elements. From print to web and back again, anything that has become a part of the DS philosophy is branded with the simple, eye catching red box. A special thanks to Dane for trusting (and putting up) with the e team.

The DS box logo in all it’s glory!

Not your standard biz card, museum board w/ a custom paper wrap:

Wanna see how we translated all of Danes new branding elements to the web? Check out DaneSanders.com

Hey everybody, check it out!

AlbumExposure has been officially released. All you professional photographers looking for some style and efficiency in your album presentation, go sign up now…I think you’ll be very glad that you did.

We recently launched a new project for our friends over at MODE, a Los Angeles based firm that specializes in audio/visual design, integration, and fabrication. They needed an iconic brand that communicated their high-end professionalism while maintaining their expertise as A/V gurus. The end result, a blue fire inspired galaxy icon paired with a clean, modern, custom designed typeface. The brand, along with their focus on experiential installations lead to a cinema type feel for their website. The site was built entirely in Flash to allow for innovative animations and transitions which effectively showcased their unique style and skill. This project was done in coordination with RedEngine Productions, a Hollywood based design, visual effects, animation, and production studio for the film, broadcast, and game industries.

Elevation has developed the very best album presentation solution for today’s wedding photographers. It’s a well designed and easy to use comprehensive solution for presenting and managing your designed albums. It provides powerful tools in an easy to use format, available to you anytime, anywhere. Check back soon for launch details!

When NYC wedding photographer and all around good guy Luke Walker came to us with a desire to redevelop his brand, we knew just what to do. Through our vision based approach, we identified Luke’s unique, stylish, fashion forward approach to shooting weddings. We developed a brand that reflected Luke’s ability to capture timeless images but with an updated, fresh perspective. The final logo (seen below) was a blending of Luke’s personality, artistic style and professionalism.
We then translated that brand strategy into several print materials and then topped the whole thing off with a completely redesigned website. Check it out at http://lukewalkerphotography.com