Dec 3
DesignHammer Continues Sponsorship of Local Film Festival
DesignHammer Media Group, LLC has been named a “Festival Sponsor” for the Fifth Annual North Carolina Jewish Film Festival. the NCJFF will be held at the Carolina Theatre in Durham on February 22-24. In addition, DesignHammer has agreed to sponsor the Sixth Annual Festival in 2004.
“We were very happy to have the opportunity to support the North Carolina Jewish Film Festival again” said David Minton, DesignHammer Managing Partner. He added further “I was impressed by the lineup of films the festival brought to the Triangle, and look forward to personally attending the festival in 2003.”
According to Thomas King, Sr. Marketing Associate, Carolina Theatre, “Without a doubt, DesignHammer is one of the most responsive, creative and professional firms that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. The creative team takes abstract notions and ideas, and transforms them into brilliantly cutting-edge web designs. Kudos, again for being such a pleasure to work with and making a product we can all be proud of.”
Film festival information, including a schedule and ticket information will be available on the 2003 NCJFF site in January.
Sep 18
Bulls Win Governor’s Cup Championship!
DesignHammer would like to congratulate the Durham Bulls Baseball Club for winning the Governor’s Cup. The Bulls won the 2002 International League championship with a 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Bisons at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday night. The Bulls captured the best-of-five championship series, three games to none.
This is the first Triple-A championship for the Durham Bulls and the first title at any level since 1969. The Bulls swept the West Division Champion Toledo Mud Hens 3-0 in the first round of the championship. The Bulls finished the regular season with a 80-64 record.
The 2002 season also marked the second year DesignHammer has fulfilled the web site development needs for the Bulls. “At DesignHammer, we are pleased to be associated with one of the greatest franchises in Minor League Baseball. The Bulls are terrific to work with, and we are already collaborating on improvements for the 2003 season web site.” said David Minton, DesignHammer Managing Partner.
Aaron Bare, Director of Media Operations for the Durham Bulls added add "Since DesignHammer took on DurhamBulls.com in February of 2001, we have more than tripled our yearly amount of page views. Both our fans and peers consider DurhamBulls.com to be among the best web sites in all of baseball. We feel we owe a substantial portion of that success to DesignHammer."
In addition to the Governor’s Cup win, the 100th Anniversary season saw paid attendance eclipse the 500,000 mark for the second straight season, finishing 13th in paid attendance in all of Minor League Baseball. Season Tickets for the 2003 season are still available—enjoy the same great seat every game of the season. Durham Bulls Season Tickets are a great value for personal or business needs. For more information call the Bulls ticket line at 956-BULL or consult the Bulls web site.
Jun 28
DesignHammer Makes the List of Top Internet Marketing and Design Firms in the Triangle
This week, The Business Journal featured its annual list of the top twenty-five Internet Marketing and Design Firms in the Triangle. Among the easily recognized names such as Blast Internet Services (the merger of EMJI and Blast, ranked #1), webslingerZ Inc. (#5) and hesketh.com (#6), DesignHammer Media Group, LLC breaks the top twenty at #16 in its first appearance.
“We are very proud to be included with such well-established companies,” said David Minton, DesignHammer’s Managing Partner. “The Dot Com bust and the downturn in the economy have hit our industry pretty hard. A number of the familiar names have either downsized or closed their doors, creating opportunities for companies such as DesignHammer”.
Founded in January of 2001, DesignHammer is a relative newcomer compared with the other companies listed, who have a mean founding date of 1995. “With only three companies founded within the last two years on the list, I feel we have joined the ranks of the established pretty quickly,” added Minton.
Companies were ranked by Triangle employees dedicated to Internet marketing and design. Each week, The Business Journal publishes a Special Report focusing on a particular industry or region.
The Business Journal claims a weekly readership of more than 40,000, including top management and decision makers. The offices of The Business Journal are in Raleigh, NC.
The Business Journal is owned by American City Business Journals Inc., the nation’s largest publisher of metropolitan business newspapers, serving 41 of the country’s most vibrant markets, with a claimed combined readership of approximately 3.2 million.
Jun 20
RTI International turns to DesignHammer for Web Site Redesign
RTI International has adopted a new logo and redesigned its external web site to better serve the needs of its current and potential clients and to help recruit new staff members. When it came to design the new interface for the web site, RTI turned to DesignHammer Media Group, LLC.
DesignHammer partner and graphic designer, Frank Yonnetti, said of the project, “I worked to develop a layout with simple graphics and eye-pleasing colors. Consistent content placement, with customized differentiation, allows viewers to find what they are looking for with ease. The three-column design, with spaces that show page-related content, keeps the look simple, uncluttered and easy to read.”
According to Stuart Somer, RTI’s Web Designer/Developer, “I thoroughly enjoyed the process of working with DesignHammer on the redesign of our web site. Frank Yonnetti, their lead designer, provided us with many interesting initial designs and was able to take our feedback and create polished design alternatives for us to choose from very quickly.”
“Further,” Somer added, “I particularly liked that Frank was very attentive to our design choices and was not afraid to explain why he felt certain decisions our company made could hurt the overall design or the site’s usability. I believe this ability to communicate the refinements of the design and his attention to quality and detail made the final design much stronger. The new site has been very well-received and it achieves the look and feel of the functional requirements that we desired.”
Yonnetti responded, “I could not have done it alone—RTI really has a great team of designers and developers on staff. The RTI team was very well-prepared and tremendously helpful with their detailed and insightful direction during the design process.”
The redesigned web site serves a diverse audience of clients/collaborators, policymakers, researchers, current and potential customers, investors, employees, news media and the general public. The completed assignment was DesignHammer’s seventh design project for RTI.
RTI International is an independent organization dedicated to conducting innovative and multidisciplinary research that improves the human condition. With over 2,000 employees worldwide, RTI is active in fields as diverse as health and medicine, environmental protection, technological commercialization, education and decision support systems. Duke University, NC State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill founded RTI in 1958 to be the first scientific organization and centerpiece of the Research Triangle Park.
RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.
May 15
DesignHammer Sheds Old Skin, Emerges with New Look
DesignHammer Media Group is pleased to present its new look. The redesigned web site includes additional case studies, news releases, and features a new company logo, all wrapped in a new interface.
Frank Yonnetti, DesignHammer Partner responsible for the company’s visual image said of the new site “I was working towards a more modern, simple approach. Since the majority of the new site is samples of work we have done for our clients, limiting the palette to shades of gray prevented the DesignHammer site from overpowering the other works. The animation, done with Flash, is also very subtle.”
As for the new logo, Yonnetti added “I was playing off the idea of the word ‘Hammer’ without working with a literal hammer. I wanted a very blunt and solid object, yet easily recognizable with strong geometric shapes. When placing the company name, ‘designHAMMER,’ next to the logo, the resulting new shape takes the form of a hammer without actually being a hammer.”
The new site features fourteen case studies, highlighting the design and development work of DesignHammer Partners Frank Yonnetti and Robert Weeks. “DesignHammer has been busy for the last eighteen months, and the expended Results and News sections of the site show what we have been up to.” said DesignHammer Managing Partner David Minton.
Apr 24
DesignHammer Develops Hat Trick for CS Recognition Solutions
DesignHammer Media Group has completed the development, during the month of April, of two separate online order systems for CS Recognition Solutions; a third system having been developed at the end of 2001. The online order systems will allow for the ordering of corporate sales awards by clients of CS Recognition Solutions, in this case two Fortune 500 companies.
The two groups of award winners, in excess of 500 and 1000 respectively, would otherwise have had to submit written orders, and CS Recognition Solutions would have had to compile over 1,500 separate written orders by hand in a short period of time. With the new systems, CS Recognition Solutions can instantly access a list of submitted award orders, as well as produce lists of accredited winners that have yet to place orders.
According to Chip Separk, President of CS Recognition Solutions, "Our clients really liked the look of the sites and the ease of use. These were great projects, efficient and error free."
CS Recognition Solutions has been in the recognition awards business for 25 years with a focus on unique high quality awards and a reputation of superior customer service. The company’s mission is helping companies effectively recognize, reward and motivate their employees, through programs and services that reinforce positive behavior.
Apr 15
DesignHammer completes Redesign of StaffNet and NewsDesk for RTI International
DesignHammer Media Group has completed the redesign of two Intranet web sites for RTI International. The newly redesigned StaffNet and NewsDesk sites will be utilized by RTI’s nearly 2000 staff members; both at its main campus in RTP, NC and at its off-site locations. The two sites comprise RTI’s Intranet, providing online resources and news for administrative and employee services.
According to Lisa Bachelder, StaffNet Webmaster, “We are very happy with our brand new (and-much-improved) intranet logo and design. Professional looking, yet warm and accessible, the design’s form doesn’t override the main function of an intranet: to provide employees with the information they need to do their jobs well.”
Bachelder further added, “DesignHammer has been great to work with! Not only do they work quickly, but they work smart — seeking feedback and remaining flexible throughout the design process. Frank and David always responded quickly to our questions and concerns, and made themselves available for meetings.”
The completed redesign assignment was DesignHammer’s sixth design project for RTI International. The new designs are expected to deploy in June of 2002.
RTI International is an independent organization dedicated to conducting innovative, multidisciplinary research that improves the human condition. With a worldwide staff of more than 2,000 people, RTI is active in health and medicine, environmental protection, technology commercialization, education, and decision support systems. Universities in North Carolina founded RTI in 1958 as the first scientific organization in and centerpiece of the Research Triangle Park. RTI International is a tradename of Research Triangle Institute.
Feb 1
DesignHammer Sponsors Local Film Festival
DesignHammer Media Group, LLC has been named a "Festival Sponsor" for the Fourth Annual North Carolina Jewish Film Festival. the NCJFF will be held at the Carolina Theatre in Durham on February 21, 23-24.
"We are very happy to be able to contribute to the community" said David Minton, DesignHammer Managing Partner. He added further "I have attended the festival in past years, and they do a great job of bringing some great films that might not otherwise have a theatrical screening in the area."
According to Stephen Martin, executive director of the Carolina Theatre, more than 4000 people are expected at this year’s festival which has quickly become a much-anticipated annual tradition. This year’s North Carolina Jewish Film Festival grows in prestige as the major distributor Lion’s Gate premieres a feature movie at the festival held on Thursday, February 21, Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24, 2002. The fourteen films screened during the festival represent a variety of film styles and subjects from four countries designed to illustrate the diversity and universality of Jewish life.
Jan 10
Film Festival Sees Stars in DesignHammer Work
DesignHammer Media Group, LLC today unveiled the web site for the Fourth Annual North Carolina Jewish Film Festival. the NCJFF will be held at the Carolina Theatre in Durham on February 21, 23-24.
"I am extremely pleased with DesignHammer’s work for the NC Jewish Film Festival. Our web site now has an elegant design and professional look. Our web site also has new functionality that would not have been possible without DesignHammer’s expertise. Throughout, DesignHammer’s staff was easy to work with. The whole experience of working with DesignHammer was a pleasure." Said Sydney Miller, a member of the Steering Committee of the 2002 NCJFF.
In addition to the standard schedule, film descriptions and ticket information, this year’s site features and animated splash screen (produced in Flash) as well as an automated system to allow volunteers to register for opportunities to help the Film Festival (as well as a means for the Carolina Theatre staff to manage the system). In referring to the automated volunteer registration system, Matt Pennachi, Director of Audience Services for the Carolina Theatre said "...I love it. I think this is a terrific system and I applaud all of the hard work you’ve put into it."
According to Stephen Martin, executive director of the Carolina Theatre, more than 4000 people are expected at this year’s festival which has quickly become a much-anticipated annual tradition. This year’s North Carolina Jewish Film Festival grows in prestige as the major distributor Lion’s Gate premieres a feature movie at the festival held on Thursday, February 21, Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24, 2002. The fourteen films screened during the festival represent a variety of film styles and subjects from four countries designed to illustrate the diversity and universality of Jewish life.