WebEnertia Wins Big at the 2013 Addy Awards

March 26th, 2013

So there we were. Just doing what we do. And, BAM! 14 Addy Awards., including 5 Best of Categories, 2 out of 3 Judge’s Awards, and the coveted Best of Show!

Every year the American Advertising Federation (AAF) hosts the Addy Awards to recognize the creative teams behind all forms of advertising. And last Thursday was a big night for the team here at WebEnertia. It was our best Addy showing ever, actually. To be amongst the leading agencies in the Silicon Valley and walk away with so many top honors was incredible.

Our dedicated and talented team of designers, developers, and client service managers really outdid themselves this year and we couldn’t be more proud of the great work that has been accomplished. But when it comes down to it, our clients are the real motivation for what we do. Being recognized by our peers was just the icing on the cake.

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instantly

rdx

artemis

jhtech

photoworks

panasas

shutterfly

For all of our awesome clients and our tireless team, these Addys are for you:

Best of Show:
- WebEnertia: ADVERTISING INDUSTRY SELF-PROMOTION - Collateral

Judge’s Award:
- Magnet Systems, Inc.: ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING - Responsive Design
- WebEnertia: ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING - Illustration

ADDY Statues:
- Instant.ly: ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING - Logo
- Magnet Systems, Inc.: ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING - Responsive Design
- RDX: DIGITAL ADVERTISING - Websites, B-to-B
- WebEnertia: ADVERTISING INDUSTRY SELF-PROMOTION - Collateral
- WebEnertia: ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING - Illustration

Gold ADDY:
- Artemis: ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING - Illustration
- JH Technologies: DIGITAL ADVERTISING - Websites, Consumer, Products
- PhotoWorks Interactive: DIGITAL ADVERTISING - Websites, Consumer, Services

Bronze ADDY:
- Electronic Arts: DIGITAL ADVERTISING - Apps, Web-based
- Panasas: DIGITAL ADVERTISING - Micro Sites, Products
- Shutterfly: DIGITAL ADVERTISING - Social Media, Single Platform

Posted in All, Web Design, WebEnertia | No Comments »

Doing the Responsive Thing—A Challenge for Today’s Digital Agency.

February 8th, 2013

Doing the Responsive Thing

Back in the day, a digital agency’s biggest web design worry was browser compatibility. Just the thought of making things work in IE6 and 7 still makes us cringe. Now, with sites being accessed from thousands of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops and televisions with every size screen and resolution, things are even more complex. That’s where Responsive Web Design comes in. It’s been the big topic in the world of Web design, and also around our company lunch table.

The evolution to Responsive Design has been interesting. It used to be you’d build your site for the desktop, and then create separate native sites or apps for different mobile devices. Although that might still be a viable solution in some cases, it’s just not a very efficient way to tackle this exponentially expanding Web development challenge. With Responsive Design, we think about all devices right from the get-go, and create a site that responds (see where the name came from?) to whatever device the visitor is using. That way, the experience is always fully optimized— touch/no touch, mouse overs/no mouse overs, small screen/big screen, you get the idea.

As with implementing any new approach, Responsive Design presents new challenges for agencies. One of the biggest is reorganizing and rethinking how we present the user experience and visuals to a client in this Responsive context. Is it really necessary to mock-up and wireframe every screen for every resolution? Probably not. With Responsive, design and development are much more integrated. Designers are solving development issues and developers are adapting design during programming. “Be flexible and collaborate” is our mantra.

Implementing a new approach also means educating clients about Responsive Design, because what they see in the creative process and content strategy will be different than what they’re used to. For example, if we truly think “mobile first,” content will have to be stripped down to the bare minimum and then grow as we plan for devices and browsers with bigger screen real estate.

Our approach to Responsive Design continues to evolve as we continue to find ways to solve the challenge. Come back to our blog frequently to see how we’re responding to Responsive Design. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts.

Posted in All, Browsers, Responsive Design, Web Design, WebEnertia | No Comments »

FotoFlake is back as a Facebook app!

December 21st, 2012

FotoFlake.It, WebEnertia’s fun paper-flake generator is now on Facebook, allowing users to digitally cut away their flake from a folded piece of paper and then select a photo background for a pop of color and a hint of texture. Then share and post your FotoFlake on your Facebook page!

One of the best parts of arts and crafts is having your hard work on display to share with your friends and family. The FotoFlake app has its own gallery with a rating system where others are encouraged to view and rate the creative work of others, and also has a simple way to share your design on facebook, twitter or by email.

Check it out: http://apps.facebook.com/fotoflake/

Posted in Facebook, Flash, Web Design, WebEnertia | No Comments »

Show your Halloween spirit with Shutterfly’s HTML5 Facebook Application.

October 25th, 2012

It’s here! Yes, we’re super excited about the upcoming holiday season but right now we’re more excited about our brand new Shutterfly application! We just built a creepy Facebook cover photo generator and we want you to check it out:
http://bit.ly/PNujIn.

Just log in and give your Facebook profile some Halloween spirit. We leveraged Facebook’s photo and canvas application platform to create an experience that is truly social and personalized. Give it a try on your laptop, your iPad, and your mobile browser.

It all works thanks to spooky HTML5 rich media technology! What can we do for your company that’s scary good?

Posted in All, Facebook, HTML5, Web Design | No Comments »

Channeling the Cloud.

October 5th, 2012

Channeling the Cloud

The cloud is hot. Everyone from enterprises and vendors to integrators and service providers are developing and deploying cloud services. But many are leaving a key player out of the mix — the channel. You know, the people that sell, install, and maintain IT, and directly interface with the customer.

If you’re selling cloud services, you may be missing out on a huge opportunity. And you won’t want to wait too long to get into the game. We’re starting to see movement in this area. Avnet has launched Avnet Cloud Solutions. IBM is now driving SaaS sales through its channel partners. And the newly updated Cisco Partner Program now includes managed services and outsourcing programs for the channel. How are you using the channel to build your cloud advantage?

We just collaborated with model developer WaveLength Market Analytics to create a tool that can help you make it happen. The Enterprise Cloud Services Revenue Opportunity Calculator is a great way to get channel partners excited about your opportunity. It’s easy to use and utterly compelling. And there’s nothing more compelling than clear bottom-line benefit.

See for yourself »

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We Know the Way…

September 13th, 2012

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Content Magazine is a bimonthly magazine celebrating the culture, life, and events in San Jose. For their 4.3 Branding issue, they approached us and a few other local agencies with the following challenge: “If San Jose had billboard advertising campaign, what would it look like?”

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WebEnertia is deeply rooted in San Jose. Both of our founding partners grew up in the area. Many of our team members graduated from San Jose State University. Our office is located right in the middle of downtown. So, when Content approached us with this fun idea, we jumped at it!

Our billboard campaign built on familiarity with the beloved song “Do you know the way to San Jose?” We called it “We Know the Way” and it’s designed to feature prominent local figures such as artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, professionals, and others that have made a big impact, as well as up-and-comers that are doing great things now. The call-to-action is to visit the website SJKnowsTheWay.com where we continue the story and build pride by starting the conversation about who and what makes our city great.

The following are the billboard ideas we submitted:

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We were excited to see our work featured in the latest Content issue! Grab yourself a copy and check out their website.

Posted in WebEnertia | 1 Comment »

WebEnertia is on the move.

August 30th, 2012

WebEnertia is on the move.

We’ve got new digs and wanted to give you a sneak peak. Our previous offices were getting tight, so when it was time to move on, we jumped at the opportunity to design our ideal creative space. Our mission was simple: The new office had to be a place that was inspiring for both our clients and our employees. From the colors we picked, to the quotes on the walls and windows, to our staff’s favorite feature — “idea walls” painted with whiteboard paint, every detail is designed to motivate collaboration and make it fun to innovate and produce kick-ass solutions.

Inspiring interaction was key. The workspaces are open and collaborative, and we even have a full kitchen complete with a dining table where we all gather for lunch family-style. Just inside the front door, you’ll see two huge digital displays featuring our latest work and tweets, which was an engineering feat in and of itself. We also integrated a little edge by inviting Bay Area graffiti artist Rigel “Crayone” Juratovac to make his mark in one of the offices. Watch a time-lapse video of the master doing his art, and check out Crayone’s other work here.

We’re still in downtown San Jose, so come on by and see it when you have a moment. Time it right and you could even get to join us for lunch.

Posted in All, WebEnertia | 2 Comments »

WebEnertia takes home 5 Addy® Awards including Best in Category

April 20th, 2012

addy12_blogbanner

Once again, “WebEnertia for the win!” WebEnertia is proud to announce our five award-winning projects honored at the 2012 ADDY Awards Gala presented by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Advertising Federation. This year’s ADDY’s Awards was held on March 22nd at the San Pedro Square Market in downtown San Jose, where the Valley’s best agencies came together to recognize creativity at its finest.

This year, WebEnertia received the following ADDY Awards:

WESK2012 - Best in Category

Playing off of the 2012 mythology, WebEnertia designed and assembled this 2012 Survival Kit for our clients as a gift for the new year. Each kit included a watertight case, flashlight, flask, iPod, and USB drive – along with a letter from WebEnertia and an instructional sheet describing everything they will need to survive the predicted 2012 doomsday in style.

FotoFlake.it

FotoFlake.It is a fun new flake generator for the winter season. Pick a photo from Flickr, cut out a flake, view it in 3D and share it with friends! FotoFlake.It has an augmented reality view of the flake you create, a gallery with rating system, and is connected to Facebook for sharing your design with a photo post.

HipGifter Hippo

HipGifter is a highly interactive and social online marketplace and platform for gifting. WebEnertia concepted and created the HipGifter Hippo character to be used on their future digital and print collateral.

WebEnertia Ski Break

The Snow Break logo was created to commemorate the WebEnertia winter retreat event. The logo uses imagery inspired by snowboard and extreme sports culture while incorporating the official WebEnertia color palette. It was three-color screen printed onto black shirts giving the team members a choice of orange, green, blue or purple logos.

Panasas Website

Panasas is the premier provider of high performance parallel storage solutions for technical applications and big data workloads. WebEnertia designed and programmed the new CMS driven website which carried over to their product marketing collateral.

Click here to view our photos from the ADDY Awards show.

Tags: ADDY, Awards, FotoFlake.it, HipGifter, Hippo, Panasas, Ski, Snow, Survival Kit, WebEnertia
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The Paper Snowflake is Back!

February 17th, 2012

Many of us can clearly recall back to the wintery days at school when arts and crafts was our teachers’ strategy of keeping our mouths shut and our hands busy. Equipped with safety-tipped scissors and construction paper, our teachers taught us the skill of carving rudimentary shapes out of folded paper. While the tedious task of cutting triangles and circles did not wow us into an awestruck wonder, the true magic and beauty of the task was reserved for the unveiling of the unique masterpiece folded within.

FotoFlake.It is WebEnertia’s fun flake generator created for the winter season. Much like the nostalgic childhood pastime, FotoFlake.it functions with the same concept in mind, but without the snowy blizzard of scrap paper to clean up after. FotoFlake.it allows users to digitally cut away their flake from a folded piece of paper and then select a photo background for a pop of color and a hint of texture.

To meld our childhood memories with today’s technologies, WebEnertia implemented an augmented reality feature that would take our 2-Dimensional snowflake and bring it to life within a 3-Dimensional landscape.

As many of us can remember, one of the best parts of arts and crafts was having your hard work on display to share with your friends and family. That being said FotoFlake.it has its own gallery with a rating system where others are encouraged to view and rate the creative work of others, while also providing a simple way to share your design with a photo post on facebook, twitter or email.

So whether you’re 8 or your 68, FotoFlake.it will help you make it. Cut, Unfold, Name and Save it. Just join in and you will see, a FotoFlake.it master you will be!

FotoFlake.it

Tags: 3D, cut, foto, paper, paste, photo, Snowflake, virtual augmentation, WebEnertia, winter
Posted in All, Browsers, E-blasts / HTML Emails, Flash, HTML5, Web Design, WebEnertia | No Comments »

Changing the World One Stitch at a Time

February 13th, 2012

Changing the World One Stitch at a Time

When WebEnertia employees aren’t building award winning websites in the office they’re often out stretching their creative abilities in different ways. Recently, Brian (WebEnertia’s interactive developer), started an apparel company with a mission to help non-profit organizations. It’s called Paix Clothiers and every shirt sold contributes to the funding of a specific humanitarian project. Also, every shirt has a patch sewn in with a project number and QR code that links your smart phone directly to the project status page so it’s easy to see the impact your contribution has on the lives of real people. Currently Paix Clothiers is tackling the world wide need for clean water by helping Thirst Relief Interantional build wells and sanitation programs in rural India. WebEnertia’s designer Jessi also pitched in with an awesome shirt design and product photography. You can buy a shirt at www.paixclothiers.com and be sure to follow them on Facebook to get deals and updates!

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