Month: January 2009
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Editorial Markup
I realize that this article should be common knowledge but it bears repeating because not everyone is aware of standardized editing marks. I am sure anyone that has worked in a business environment has received feedback on something they wrote and had to figure out what the proofreader was trying to say.
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Stages of an Online Project
One of the very first important issues I had to deal with when starting my first business was how to effectively manage a client through a project. At first the jobs were relatively small, so I reinvented the wheel with each of my clients, but that quickly became tiresome and besides I was focusing on…
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The Beginnings of a Plan
Each day people have a great many articles to read. Whether it is for personal or professional consumption, the sources of information are virtually unlimited. Since there is so much information competing for our eyeballs, it is crucial for content providers to produce that information in a manner which is easy to find, read and…
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Change Management
It is important, or rather necessary, to detail any changes that you or your company make on the request of a client and you must keep a proper record of all changes implemented during a project’s lifecycle. More often than not it will be the duty of the Producer/Project Manger to ensure the implementation and…
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Good foundations for eCRM
Ever company talks about eCRM and in the late 90’s it used to be one of the industry’s most favourite buzzwords. Since then the hype has calmed down, possibly because there aren’t as many companies hopping on to the bandwagon. Nevertheless eCRM is just as important today but perhaps better understood. eCRM is basically a…
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Naming Methodology
There are many theories on how to best structure a site, but it suffices to say that it is best determined from the intent of the product or service and from the type of content. That is why this article will solely deal with a naming methodology for various sections and single content pages within…
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Why 418 QE?
How did I get here? I have always wanted to consolidate my work and my thoughts on the broad nature of design. But until recent years, the technology was not really in place. Of course the advent of computers being commonplace was a help but rich open source CMS software did not exist, much less…
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Pfizer Sales Force Automation Tool
The task at hand was to build Pfizer’s internal sales force application tool for their US sales team of over 45,000. This was a project that grew out of a need for better efficiency in sales within Pfizer and kept Thirst very busy for the next three years.
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A Photographer’s Gallery
An artist’s site always captures interest. Their online galleries are often windows into other times or worlds, real or imaginary.
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Sakonnet takes its Energy Online
Sakonnet needed a first strike into the energy market to compete against longer standing risk management software firms. They hired Thirst to help them out.
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Cahners Evolves its Vortal
Cahners wanted to be the ‘E-business Portal’. They enjoyed a mix of advanced technology and they had a tremendous amount of wholly owned content to make it an ultimate business vortal destination.
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Microsoft Rethinks MSN
MSN asked for sketches for a new launch of MSN. It wanted people to have instant access to their content and they wanted it to be bright and attractive.
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Rogers Communications Launches
Rogers is synonymous with Canadian communications. The uber-media company needed to showcase their portfolio of companies and products and take their first serious move online.
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Gateway as a Moving Target
Gateway was a continually large project. IAB helped with just about anything that Gateway could think of, everything from their internal sales application to an interactive marketing web-based operating system interface that was way ahead of its time. Gateway was not just exciting for its work but for its people and learning curve that it…
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The Guardian UK Online
The Guardian Unlimited hired Neville Brody to make the Guardian Online infinitely flexible and readable. In turn he needed help and called the IAB studious where John Schmitz and I fleshed out ideas and finalized the design.
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Zoonlab Identity
Zoonlab needed several logos to enhance the synthesis of its company and its products.
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Univision moves Online
Univision decided to make their move online. As a result, Univision’s new hispanic portal contains separate channels for content and an online shopping experience specifically designed for their culture. These designs enabled Univision to take new market share and solidify the hispanic market in the United States.
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PHChapman Financial Logo
The creation of a logo based on elegance for the financial world.
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Newsweek moves Online
Newsweek should be instantly recognizable for most people and because of this fact, the staff wanted an online extension that kept as faithful as possible to their print publication while establishing it’s own personality.
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NetMarket gets Enhanced
There were two basic tasks for this client: the identity was reworked – a simple colour reduction to help strengthen the brand’s image and the storefront was enhanced – quick previews and easy browsing for increased selling potential.
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Law Firm, Hiltz Szigeti: A New Look
This law firm wanted a more professional look for itself to bring it inline with its practise. They wanted a clean but traditional look. A standard package with basic stationary was included.
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Galileo Interactive visual identity
This was a start-up firm based in New York City that needed a visual identity for its new CMS product.
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A Logo for Twentieth Century Fox
Thirst creates another well received logo, this time for Twentieth Century Fox.
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The New York Daily News Online
This was a very involved online extension of a well respected and time honored print brand. The look and feel of the New York Daily News in its traditional printed medium is unmistakable to every New Yorker and so the task at hand was formidable. The starting point was the clean up of a trusted…
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da Costa Talent Management
da Costa was a small company that rose quickly, they soon realized that their fledgling ‘look and feel’ was unsatisfactory for its capabilities and thought that they needed a more professional image… to match their own. Thirst created a logo and mark for them that was highly visible and clean. Based on this new identity…
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Peace Magazine
This was an independent magazine (as you would think independent movie), lots passion and no money. This redesign and templating structure was voluntary work for a worthy cause. It was mass produced by photocopiers, hand stapled and distributed to the various magazine and book stores in Toronto.
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Midas
Midas hired Thirst for a lot of it’s internal promotional work and bilingual communications. Whether it was cue cards for employee learning or their internal magazine, they wanted to help their company by focusing on their employees enjoyment and sound teaching practises.
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ODA (Ontario Dental Association)
As it is a non-profit, this company has to use it’s money sparingly and engage resources only when they believe it can help their directives. They service both Ontario dentists and the people of Ontario to help educate them and to provide consistency to the practise. Thirst tried to help them with their publication redesign.
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Canadian Living Redesign
After too many years of different people leading the art direction for this magazine and influencing it’s graphic language in one direction or another, it had become unfocused and therefore hard to read. Canadian Living hired Roger Black to simplify and bring back editorial content to every page of their publication. Fortunately, Thirst helped with…
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The Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is an institution in Toronto, many families get it delivered to their home and you can find it on almost every street corner in a blue vending box. It really caters to all the communities in the larger GTA area and focuses on the people and their situations in those neighbourhoods. (Rather…