Logix: Inside the Studio

Honestly, a photo doesn't do these cards justice. You have to hold one in your hand to really appreciate it's beauty.

At Logix we love challenges.  We also love unique ideas.  When Go Green Installations approached Logix to do up some new business cards, they wanted something creative and different that conveyed an environmental theme.  First thoughts immediately went to printing on a rough, recycled paper product.  With that in mind we went on the hunt for recycled paper products that we could print the cards on.  We wanted something no one in the area had seen before, and we found that with Botanical Paperworks.

Botanical Paperworks is a Manitoba-based company that offers a unique printing product that infuses wildflower seeds into the 100% recycled paper.  Wait, wildflower seeds you say??  Yes!  The final product is not only a fantastic looking business card but also completely environment friendly.  Simply place one of the cards in a garden or pot and spread a thin layer of soil on top, water well, place in the sun and in a few weeks it will bloom into a small arrangement of wildflowers.

The paper scored a 10 out-of 10 on our curiosity and amazement scale so we just had to try it out.

Botanical Paperworks did the printing for us after we received final approval of the layout from the client and a week later the cards arrived at the door.  The final product was amazing and the client was thrilled.  Not only did we keep Go Green’s environmentally-friendly vision intact but we blew their socks off with a unique product that they couldn’t wait to start handing out.

July so far has been about promotion, promotion, promotion.  The first project of the month to launch was the new online store for Bride & Joy (brideandjoy.chathamkent.com).  This new site uses Magento Commerce as an e-commerce platform.  It offers some really amazing reporting and tracking features and a very easy to use admin area for the store owner.  The front-end of the site is now simplified more to make browsing products easier and with the one-page checkout it makes purchasing products very easy for users.

Another change to the Bride & Joy online store involves search engine optimization.  Magento has excellent integration for Google Site Map and clean URL rewriting so the product pages will be picked up easily by search engines.  Logix also worked on a few other SEO methods to help boost search engine ranking.  While it’s still too early to tell how well the optimizations have worked, Google Analytics has showed traffic coming in from search engines has more than doubled and is making up over 40% of new traffic.

The Bride & Joy online store is the first in an e-commerce service being offered to local Chatham-Kent businesses.  Local businesses will be able to set up online stores to sell their products for a low monthly fee.  We won’t take a percentage cut off the sales like some other e-commerce providers online and we provide customized support and training for each store owner.  Each store built by Logix will be featured on ChathamKent.com as well, which is building up to be a local art, culture and entertainment portal.

Logix also launched a new website for DKN Canada this week. (dkncanada.com)
DKN is working on making a large push in the Canadian market and needed a website that presented it’s quality line of whole body vibration platforms.  Search engine optimization was put in place as the site was being developed to help it gain top exposure in it’s market.  Again, it is still early to tell how much of an improvement we will see with the new site and SEO, but we’re confident over the next little while traffic will jump significantly.

I honestly didn’t know what a vibration platform and vibration technology was until I started working with the great people at DKN.  Their products seem really great though and after familiarizing myself with the technology while working on the site and seeing some of their competitors I’m proud to have worked with them.  The product line they offer seems superior to anything else I’ve seen and it seems like a good way to stay in shape.  If you happen to be in Chatham and curious like I was, check the products out at Great Life Wrap n Vibes.

One last mention in regards to search engine optimization again… In January we designed the new website for Parks Blueberries and optimized it.  We have been tracking it since then and traffic has quadrupled!  July has already seen over 1,600 unique visitors and we’ve only hit the halfway mark.  Yes the season is now in full swing compared to January but we compared traffic rates from the previous year and the improvement is fantastic!  Moments like these make me very happy.  Being able to see your hard work pay off is a good feeling.  It’s a feeling I want to offer every single one of our clients as well.

Where to begin… It has been a little over a month since my last post and plenty has been going on in the studio, both internally and with client work.

The latest project that just launched this week is for Zimmer Air Services Inc. (www.zimmerair.com).  They approached Logix to redesign their existing website and update the content.  I’m very proud of the outcome of this project.  The new design of the site provides a lighter look than previously by using a bright, colourful background image of a grassy field with a soft blue sky.  The image nicely complements the company’s core focus on providing aviation services.  The structure of the site is held together with a content management system that allows the client to update every page with ease.  The site focuses mainly on their main services as well as providing a gallery that features photo albums and streaming videos.  As I mentioned, I’m very proud of how the final site turned out and the client was extremely happy.  Providing a content management system (CMS) has become a very popular request lately and I’m confident in saying that Logix can provide the perfect content management solution for any client.

The second project, which did launch over a month ago now, is the new website for the Chatham Girls Hockey Association (www.chathamgirlshockey.com).  This is another CMS-based website with a bit of a twist.  The website was set up to allow specific board members to edit only pages that were assigned to them.  This allows the member responsible for the Travel league to edit only the Travel page, and so on.  Access management was an important request for this client because there were multiple people managing the website and they wanted a way to keep things organized.  The site also includes a mailing list so that players and parents can keep updated on news within the organization.  Future plans are to include online registration for players.

Lakeview Greenhouses and Farm
(www.lakeviewgreenhousesandfarm.com) was a small site launched a couple months ago.  This site is meant as an online compliment to the company’s printed brochure.  The design and format stays in line with format of the brochure and presents basic information on the company as well as a message from the President and a simple contact form to get in touch with them.  It also showcases a view site photos from their brochure.  This was a relatively small website but shows that Logix can provide solutions for any project size.

The Links of Kent (www.thelinksofkent.com) is another small project recently finished.  This project wasn’t a full redesign, but rather a little freshening up of the existing website.  The new owners came to Logix to update the layout to match the new logo and brand colours.  Content throughout the site was updated as well.  The general structure was kept the same as this was just a small update to bring their customers updated information on the reopening of the course.  A photo from one of the course holes was used as an introductory image on the home page with a small paragraph welcoming visitors to the website.

On a final note, Sams Publishing’s latest book “Teach Yourself Flash CS4 in 24 Hours” was just released this week.  I again had the privilege of working with the fantastic authors as a technical editor for the book.  I’ve worked with Sams Publishing for quite a while now and they put out some really great books on web design and programming. Link

The latest project fresh out the door by Logix is a custom document manager for a local business.  Comiskey Insurance Adjusters Inc. contacted Logix to build a secure document manager to simplify communication between their office and the insurance companies they work with.

Built with PHP and MySQL, the document manager acts as a secure repository of client documents.  The entire application is secured behind an SSL connection.  The documents are also encrypted so they can’t simply be linked to from the web.  Logix worked with Chatham Internet Access (www.ciaccess.com) to set up the hosting and SSL for the client.  The reliability and strength of the CIAccess network offered the perfect place to host the application from.

Some of the features of the application include:

• Secure file upload/download.
• Large size document management.
• User access management allowing the admin to assign files to a specific user.
• Automatic email notification of new files uploaded.
• Area for detailed file notes and information.
• Advanced search by file, claim and policy numbers.
• And plenty of other tiny features…

The most important feature of the application was its ease-of-use.  Logix established a proper workflow and simple menu system before beginning the programming phase of the project to ensure every aspect of the application was fast and simple to use.

The final product, which just launched this week, was received very well by the client.  Looking forward to many more projects like this in the future.

February brought two more print design projects for Logix.  One is a fundraiser for the Myles Miracle Mission, while the other is a business seminar.

Myles Miracle Mission needed a poster designed for their upcoming fundraiser. The Walk to D’Feet the Burden of Cancer is a family fun walk taking place May 2, 2009. Visit www.mylesmiraclemission.ca for more information on how to participate.

The design was completed as full-colour, 8-1/2″x11″ poster.  It consists of a grassy path with someone standing at the top.  The title of the event was sunken into the grass and detail was added to make the grass appear as if it were growing around the words.

Chatham-Kent Economic Development needed a flyer to promote a session on March 25, 2009 focusing on improving employee service skills and establishing strong brand identities. The session takes place at Smith & Wilson Estate Wines.

The flyer is a 2-sided, full-colour 8-1/2″x11″ promotional piece that was being distribuetd around Chatham-Kent.  The front provides general information about the seminar and the back details specific aspects that will be covered.