ME Cancun Redesign Launches a New Experience

Posted on Mar 28, 2008 by Damien to Projects

THAT Agency, a leading West Palm Beach web design agency successfully launches the completely redesigned ME Cancun experience. ME Cancun, on of four ME Branded hotels by Sol Melia is located in sunny Cancun Mexico.

Upon visiting the new site you’ll be greeted by a smooth and lush visual storyboard taking you through the hotels style and flair. Brilliant photography really define the experience of ME Cancun.

Built on a solid PHP platform and utilizing a vast array of online technologies ME Cancun redefines the online hotel website. Ajax Lightboxes quickly and easily allow the users to view the broad scope of gorgeous imagery throughout the site.

As an added feature, ME Cancun runs it’s own online travel blog allowing the quick ability to update the site with fresh content that’s both great for search engines and keeps the hotel guests up to date on items around the hotel.

Spanning the language gap from English to Spanish, ME Cancun caters to a ever growing demographic.

Image galleries and a unique online experience of several virtual tours give the visitors a real world view of this extravagant hotel.

THAT Agency Launches Masonite.com

Posted on Mar 14, 2008 by Damien to Projects

Masonite, an industry leader in exterior and interior doors contracted THAT Agency for a new online presence and THAT Agency delivers a unique experience.

The new home page design easily and efficiently allows the user to find anything on the site. Well thought out navigation and an interactive photo gallery slider combine for an intuitive interface.

Constructed using PHP, Flash, AJAX and table-less CSS the site is the perfect mix of form and function.

An incredibly unique online interactive door designers allows the user to completely design the perfect door their needs. Interior, exterior and patio doors are all included as well as transoms, sidelights all available in a library of different styles.

Boasting an enormous collection of products the user can easily find the perfect door for their house. The site plays a vital role in keeping Masonite at the very forefront of their industry.

Tags: door designer, Masonite, online marketing, web design

Google’s Video Adsense Coming to a TV Near You

Posted on Mar 13, 2008 by Jonathan to Pay Per Click

New York Times’ Brian Stelter begins his latest editorial with a list of demands; “Pick up the remote.” Simple enough. “Turn on the television.” Again, nothing too strenuous. “and watch YouTube.” Busted! Not Stelter or even the New York Times, but Google.

In my last blog, I mulled over Google’s latest targeted advertising campaign in which video is their delivery boy. I wasn’t a fan of the whole concept then, and they have yet to sell me on it. At least now, however, I understand how they’re planning to drive me further from my television.

I’ll admit I’m being overdramatic. I love Google and occasionally I’ll watch something on my TV that isn’t a DVD, but I believe that with all of this new functionality and “the future of television” talk comes a paradox of sorts. Sure, this may be the future of our TV-experience, but at what cost?

The NYT Headline, ‘YouTube Coming to TV, With TiVo the Gateway‘, answered my most concerning question; who is in bed with whom?

Like some bizarro polygamist sect, so many companies and services can be traced back or linked to one another. Google fathers Adsense. Google and YouTube’s progeny is targeted video advertising. YouTube becomes bored and partners with TiVo; but now, I have two new questions that need answering.

Does Google exist vicariously through TiVo’s YouTube service and, more importantly, will Google’s targeted video ads penetrate my TiVo?

Originally, I cited DVR as what the rest of us use to combat monotonous blocks of commercials, but if what I’ve suggested is fact and Google’s video Adsense extends to the realm of TiVo, then DVR is essentially compromised.

Let’s say all of that hypothetical becomes reality; will we be able to skip over our YouTube adverts, or will there be exceptions? Smart-money suggests just such a scenario.

Tags: adsense

How Google Plans to Pollute Your Web

Posted on Mar 10, 2008 by Jonathan to Pay Per Click

Google, please tell me, just what do you think you are doing? Peddling targeted video advertising. You, the king of information, functionality, simplicity, and monetization.

Adsense was a hit and you own Youtube; breeding the two only makes sense, right? Well, I am here to tell you, Google, brother, that as much as I would love to see this work for you, I just refuse to be a part of the shenanigans; and in all sincerity, I hope you one day come to the realization that not everything need be monetized.

Why this shouldn’t work

Firebrand.com. Anyone remember this pugnacious little scamp? Well, if you don’t, there is good reason; as bright and optimistic a prospect this claimed “advertainement” company seemed, it quickly folded under the weight of what is so painfully obvious—people value their time. The reason TV ads are in such trouble is because people don’t want to watch them, and their solution has come in the form of DVR.

Google, one of the reasons adsense worked was because text is unobtrusive. It doesn’t deter your focus or accost your senses. What the people want is information and now. By lacing results and content with “targeted, contextually relevant video graphical ads and text overlays,” you instead hinder the data-retrieval process.

Why this will probably work

Google has partnered up with Brightcove (whose customers include CBS Corp, Time Warner Inc, and Discovery Communications Inc), YuMe, the pre-existing video ad-service, and comedy site MyDamnChannel.

With this level of financial backing and, well, influence, we can only expect there to be a large sum of money thrown at its implementation.

Why does this really have the unfortunate chance of succeeding? Because Google is at the helm.

So I ask you Google, please reconsider, or at least carefully consider, the direction you take this. If not for us—the impatient but information-savvy—then for the sanctity of an already too-saturated web; corrupted by such similar greedy and offensive methods of turning a buck.

Tags: google

Typography 101

Posted on Mar 7, 2008 by Jonathan to Web Design

Back in January, I rambled on about the importance of typography on the web. But I’ve found that I skimped over the definition (the art and technique of composing printed materials from type), and failed to present a few of the more prevalent types and what characterizes them.

So we’re boarding the figurative school bus and traveling to the Museum of Typographic Style and History—which just so happens to be figurative as well.

The subject may come across as a bit stuffy and something of insipid theses, but is certainly worth familiarizing yourself with; typography, as with any element of design on or off the web, is essential to the cohesion of the final product.

There are two families of font that typically comprise web designs—Serif and Sans-Serif.

Serifs—what I will cover in this post—are mostly confined to body text. It is the style that fills the pages of books, and so it is the most suited for long passages of text. On a side note, when used in logos, Serifs can set a distinctive and more refined theme.

Sans-Serifs are types commonly used for headlines, header text, and logos. However, they have increasingly seeped their way into sites where content is not a focal ingredient.

What I meant to say is… Sans-Serifs reek of chic contemporary aesthetics, whereas Serifs are traditional and lend text an air of sophistication and bookish familiarity.

What are serifs? Serifs are commonly referred to as “the legs” of a type.

In Japanese, it translates to “fish scales” and in Chinese, “forms with/made with legs.” Personally, I call them as I see them and opt for “the feet.” As serifs are the chief identifying trait of the type, they function as its moniker.

There are two classes of Serifs.

Andate Serifs are more organic and mirror book type.

Abrupt Serifs, as the name implies, are a little blockier and more rigid than Andate Serifs.

By memorizing some of the following Serif-terminology, you can either impress your friends by saying something to the tune of, “I can’t say I really care much for girth of that A’s counter,” or you will just come across as insufferably pretentious.

In the diagram below, I’ve deconstructed “Solidify ff” into a handful of useful terms.

The proper Serif type is going to be the most engaging element of your site; it is what the user will spend the most time interacting with; it keeps their movement across a line of text fluid and makes transitions between sentences and paragraphs seamless.

Tags: typography

You Must Adopt a Social Media Strategy

Posted on Mar 3, 2008 by Jonathan to Social Media

Do you remember that old campy saying, Go big, or go home? Of course you do. It’s usually tossed around when the last few seconds are waning away from the clock and the score is tied. “It’s either go, big or go home,” someone will say. Well, that same logic applies to Web 2.0. You either go all out to make it work or it’s not worth doing.

The successful social media campaign is similar to raising a lion cub. If you don’t put forth the time and finesse, it will grow up to maul you in your sleep. But if you make all the right moves, you’re left with a loyal marketing tool that that, instead, ravages your competition.

So why do you need a presence in social media? Well, let me explain…

As you may have guessed, social media is not a large carnivorous cat. It may harbor some similar qualities, but I believe it is much more approachable.

Social media gives you a voice. A website will always remain the face of your brand on the web, but this is Web 2.0, the current state of the internet, and that is simply not enough. To reach your target demographic, you have to be willing to step beyond your existing level of interaction. This means becoming an active voice of authority in your respective community, rebuilding your reputation, and sharing, sharing, sharing.

Succeeding on today’s web is sharing on the web; broadcasting information across the various medias. If you aren’t sharing something, you’re losing relevance and cred.

Social media is also about making and maintaining connections. Blogs, social networks, and, yes, even media sharing are all ripe for monetizing and reciprocating traffic. And the brilliance behind it, what is truly unique, is that a successful campaign does not necessarily depend on a linking scheme. It’s about who you know and what you know. If you’re influential in your field, people will link to you, traffic will pump through your channels; all of this without offering any incentive other than valuable information.

Do these concepts sound vague to the level of daunting? That’s because, in reality, they are, and they require a carefully planed and executed strategy to make them work.

But what about viral media? Well, media won’t go viral if it’s not contagious.

The fact is, unless you are serious about social media and tapping into this demographic-cornucopia, then you need not bother with it. You have to be intent on rising to its forefront. It’s either go big, or go home.

Tags: social media marketing