Pilots call it “Flying by Wire” – where planes collect sensory data thousands of times per second in order to tweak flight controls appropriately.  We employ a similar approach by gathering data from a multitude of sources – clients, their audience, internet user trends, analytics, user focus groups, design trends, usability studies… you get the picture.  

 

In concert with our data-centric approach, we have developed a methodology that is the result of 15 years of design and technology consulting. It’s something we think about at the start of every project as it allows us to make fully informed decisions about design, art, technology and user experience.

 

With the evolution of metrics and analytics tools, we are focused on analyzing, tweaking, and redeploying to yield better results. It is all too common that web initiatives launch only to be left to whither on the vine. A good vine needs pruning and care to flourish into something great – so too does a marketing project, whether it’s web-based or a piece of print collateral. 

 

Not unlike a first date, it’s all about getting to know you, your customers, and your project.  In the back of our minds we’re thinking of past engagements, past results, current trends and techniques and how we might apply our years of experience to create something great super mega awesome.  If we need to do a focus group to get to know your customers better, then we’re happy to do that for you. If you need us to speak with potential customers to understand how to reach them — that’s part of what we call fun.

 

If you know New England sports, you know Bill Belichick. He’s a master strategist and planner, with a drive to prepare so completely that a gameday seems like a vacation. While we don’t often wear hoodies with cutoff sleeves, we certainly enjoy developing a strategic plan that makes execution straight-forward. Our strategy documents are a 10,000 foot view on the overall project objectives, scope, audience, techniques, and post launch metrics. 

 

Armed with a strategic plan and discovery research, the next step is to create high-level flow and architecture documents. Especially important in developing user experience and information hierarchy (a word you may tire of hearing us use), the architecture documents provide a tangible blueprint for the project.  

 

 

Design is our forté. We love all things visual. We appreciate the curve of an elegant coffee cup, the beautiful vintage teak deck of a sailboat, the form and function of a Santiago Calatrava bridge, the late afternoon golden sun on a New England autumn day.  We notice what most people don’t. Fanatical believers that good design effects human emotion, we translate this passion into impactful super mega awesome marketing.  

 

A team of  coders is at the ready to adapt our designs for testing and beta deployment. Some clients will have their own in-house development platforms but chances are we know it, have used it, and know how to work with it.   We’ve been a part of hundreds of websites – large and small so we know what it takes to make a successful launch.   We like making things both digital and print so when a client needs to get 20,000 catalogs printed and shipped to a sales channel, we’ve got that covered too.

 

Our attention to design details can be a bit…. freakish.  Quite possibly even classified as OCD. Our eyes are pixel-tuned with a mission to see the design vision translated flawlessly.  We test on all major platforms and devices to ensure that our designs are ready for primetime.  Punch-lists with prioritization are a specialty. Gleaning insights from user focus groups at this stage of development can quantify project success prior to launch.

 

It’s launch day…. or catalog delivery day… or the day of the tradeshow. We find them equally as exciting.  It’s like driving your new car off the lot. All the research, test drives and decisions have come down to this exciting moment where something great is about start.  It’s how we feel when a client launches a project…. and we love to go along for the ride. Preferably with the music turned up loud.

 

We’ve been deep into analytics since Google Analytics was called Urchin. After years of evolution, Google analytics is the only tool in the world that could possibly rank higher than duct tape.  We know it inside and out and can help glean information about your current audience and traffic patterns to create new opportunities. Powerful analytics insights can help you generate unexpectedly great results for your business — it’s happened for our clients. 

 

Repeating steps isn’t just for shampoo 
it’s a method for refining and tweaking the effectiveness of a project.
Armed with analytics data, we return to the design phase (#4)
to revise, optimize, and produce improved results.
Rinse. Repeat.

 

 

 

Clients we’ve worked with…