Logix: Inside the Studio

Well the past couple of months have been a busy period and because of that I’ve neglected the blog.  I’m going to make an effort to post more frequently starting now and to roll things out I’ll go over what we’ve been up to.  I know you’re asking “Where’s the new website”, and it’s still in development but our clients come first and we’ve had no shortage of them lately.  Stay tuned a little longer for that one.

So what have we been doing with our time?  Here’s a quick breakdown:

E-Commerce: We’ve been working with Birdie’s Nest and Global Creations Jewellery to integrate a custom online shopping cart into both websites.  The final product will be launching shortly.  Following that we’ll be working on redesigning the look of the Birdie’s Nest site.  We’ve also been working with a couple other clients on setting up simple shopping carts for their website.  We’ve been using Magento Commerce fairly heavily for both custom and simple solutions and it’s working out great.

Rolling Stone Magazine (www.rollingstone.com) has contracted Logix for quite a bit of programming and web design work lately.  We’ve developed a few custom solutions for their website that have just been finalized and we’re very pleased with everything.  Working with Rolling Stone has been incredible.

Us Weekly Magazine (www.usmagazine.com) has also contracted Logix for several web design tasks.  Both Us and Rolling Stone is owned by Wenner Media.  They have some fantastic staff who are very friendly and fun to work with.  It’s been a great time so far and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them.

Recently we helped Cheryl Smyth (www.csmythphotography.com) upgrade her website to a new service we’re going to be offering.  For a small setup fee and monthly hosting plan we will be offering simple content management solutions with approximately 100 pre-designed templates to choose from.  This solution is aimed at individuals and small businesses that don’t have a large budget available to hire a web design company for a custom design.  It allows them to quickly and easily start up a website.  It’s based off the Wordpress CMS which we’ve customized to suit our needs.

We have also had the pleasure of being sub-contracted by several other design firms both locally and internationally for web design and development work.  We offer our sub-contracting services for design studios that don’t have a full web design department but want to offer web design as a service.

We have also been working closely over the last little while with Beakbane, Saunders & Silverstein LLC, Baxter & Woodman, Blueline Bus, and the Chatham-Kent Safety Village.

Projects still in development are a website for the local band Southwest Dirt, Warne Construction, and a brochure design for the Joseph Storey Architectural project.

So to sum things up, we’ve been busy and it’s been a blast.  We’re looking forward to bringing many other things out in the next little while so check back.

Well the Logix team is on the road traveling to Tennessee and Alabama for a few days.  Looking for some relaxation and inspiration.  We will be back on Monday, June 1st.  Of course I wouldn’t go anywhere without my Blackberry and Macbook so email is not far away.  I’m hoping to take this time to refresh myself a bit.  An important thing I’ve learned in my four years of business is the benefit of taking time to disconnect.  Without a bit of a break you run the risk of burnout and that does nothing to benefit your business.  I always look forward to traveling as well because of the potential business contacts you can make along the way.

Look for us to be back next week and if you need to contact us we’re only an email away.  Maybe we’ll have some travel photos to post, maybe not.  Wait and see.  Until then, Cheers!

In an effort to provide our clients a way to keep directly involved in their project, Logix has rolled out a project portal. All of our projects and communication is now managed through this portal providing an easy way for clients to keep up to date on the status of their project, submit requests, upload files to us, preview design concepts and generally stay involved in the entire project from start to finish. Response towards the portal has been great so far and we look forward to utilizing it for every new client.

To access the portal there is currently a button at the top right of logixstudios.com. This will take the client to a login page where they will enter their assigned username and password. Each project and client is password protected to keep the project accessible to only that client. A client company can be set up to have multiple logins so employees can each have their own user account.

Here is a small look at the new Logix brand identity. We’ll be launching a new marketing campaign over the next little while featuring some unique mailers and promo kits. The website is still in development and we want to make sure its fully fleshed out before we roll it out. If you want to be notified of the full launch feel free to subscribe to this blog. If you’re interested in receiving one of our marketing kits send me an email at bhouston@logixstudios.com and I’ll add you to the list. I will be posting shots of the kit online here once they’re ready.On another note I’m pleased to announce the addition of a couple new clients to the Logix client list. Rolling Stone Magazine and Us Magazine contracted Logix for a couple programming projects and a banner campaign. Wenner Media is the parent company that owns both magazines and it’s been a pleasure working with them. I’m excited to be adding them to our growing list of clients.

Additionally Logix has been asked to complete a video presentation for the Myles Miracle Mission CANcer Assist Wellness Centre. The video will be displayed in the front lobby of the Wellness Centre once it is completed and will display sponsors.

Just a small post today to present the new Flash intro for the Duke’s Harley-Davidson website. A photo of the storefront was used in place of the old image and the animation was scaled back a bit. The same hand-drawn pinstripe is present but this time the logo reflects in the water in front of the store. A bit of Actionscript animation was used to animate the water and make it ripple.

Overall I think the effect turned out pretty well. It’s a relatively simple intro but effective for the client’s needs.  To check out the new intro go to www.dukeshd.com