We just completed a new website for O’Brien Helicopters, an helicopter charter service based in Fort Myers, Florida. They operate the luxury twin-engine Agusta 109A and Bell 206 Jetranger helicopters and provide services such as aerial surveying & scouting, aerial photography, powerline/pipeline patrol, executive charters, disaster relief and more.

Brian Joseph Studios developed a strong online presence for them to expand their reach and start attracting business beyond word of mouth and client referrals. If you are ever looking for a helicopter charter in Naples, or a helicopter charter in Miami, please consider O’Brien Helicopters.

The new website’s features include:

• Jquery slideshow
• CMS and Blog system
• Video upload functionality
• Photo Galleries
• Online “Book a Flight” form

View the new O’Brien Helicopters website hereRecent Posts:

• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]
• Facebook Tips : How To Comment as a Person on Your Own Business Page[ August 9, 2011 ]

• 10 years of experience
• Passion and creativity
• Professionalism and expertise
• Great support and customer service

This is the Brian Joseph Studios formula (including a dash of our special ingredient!) for a successful website  that will bring you more sales and more visitors!

Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]
• Facebook Tips : How To Comment as a Person on Your Own Business Page[ August 9, 2011 ]

We recently completed a new website for Jeff Wilson Pool Service, based in Naples Florida. We have been working with this client for over 3 years now and really enjoy the relationship we have built with the owners and staff there. Previously, we designed a logo for their construction company, “KC Wilson Construction”, and a full identity design and web design for their new company “Pool Tile Restoration of Naples“.

The Jeff Wilson Pool Service website was now in need of a refresh after lasting over 5 years online. Casey and Emily at Jeff Wilson Pool Service challenged us with the task of coming up with a unique design for a website in the pool cleaning industry. They told us that the business is celebrating over 25 years of business in Naples, and that they are proud of their longevity in the area. We discussed the idea of a retro web design to represent the experience of lasting, high levels of customer service that they provide.

This retro design concept worked and everything came together nicely to form a really memorable, fun experience for users visiting the new Jeff Wilson Pool Service website.

Some additional aspects of this project included:

• Custom web design
• Content management system
• Interactive slideshows
• Online contact forms
• Website hosting
• Blog addition coming soon
• Ongoing search engine optimization

View the new website here: Pool Cleaning Service Naples FloridaRecent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

As we forge deeper into this digital world together, the ability to create is further challenged with automated systems and robotic processes.

However, sometimes artists can embrace this virtual playground, and produce something truly inspired and beautiful. This is one of those times.Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

Brian Joseph Studios was responsible for the design and development of this new website. With a custom design to match their existing branding, we created a strong, clean and professional online presence for Sandbill Homes and we’re excited to continue working with them to market the site online and drive traffic to it.

The new Cape Coral Foreclosures website features:

• A custom web design
• Interactive “Featured Properties” slideshow on the homepage
• Custom built Google Map property search tool
• A custom plugin developed for listing management in the backend
• “Favorites” tab that allows users to save properties to a cart-like system
• Lead tracking and management tools in the backend
• “VIP of the Week” – weekly email to subscribers  containing exclusive, non-MLS Sandbill Homes
• Online “Schedule a Showing” feature
• and a lot more!

Check out the new Sandbill Homes website now by clicking here . You can also follow them on TwitterRecent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

The details of what the winner receives are unclear in the inquiry, with the only promise made being that the designer will receive compensation if they are chosen.  This brings us to the major problem with this process:

This company will only compensate the winning firm for their work, time and effort. All other designers that enter a bid receive nothing.

A competition like this is called “Speculative Work” and is disrespectful to both the design industry and the designers involved.

The approach they are pursuing is one that compromises quality of work  and also violates a tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide.

If this was spec work, one of these dogs would be fed at the end of the race!

AIGA, the nation’s largest and oldest professional association for design, strongly discourages the practice of requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project.

There are two main reasons for this position:

1. To assure the client receives the most appropriate and responsive work. Successful design work results from a collaborative process between a client and the designer with the intention of developing a clear sense of the client’s objectives, competitive situation and needs. Speculative design competitions or processes result in a superficial assessment of the project at hand that is not grounded in a client’s business dynamics. Design creates value for clients as a result of the strategic approach designers take in addressing the problems or needs of the client and only at the end of that process is a “design” created. Speculative or open competitions for work based on a perfunctory problem statement will not result in the best design solution for the client.
2. Requesting work for free demonstrates a lack of respect for the designer and the design process. Requesting work for free reflects a lack of understanding and respect for the value of effective design as well as the time of the professionals who are asked to provide it. This approach, therefore, reflects on the client’s practices and standards and may be harmful to the professional reputation of both the client and their  business.There are few professions where all possible candidates are asked to do the work first, allowing the buyer to choose which one to compensate for their efforts.
   

   Just consider the response if you were to ask a dozen lawyers to write a brief for you, from which you would then choose which one to pay!

   We realize that there are some creative professions with a different set of standards, such as advertising and architecture, for which billings are substantial and continuous after you select a firm of record. In those cases, you are not receiving the final outcome (the advertising campaign or the building) for free up front as you would be in receiving a communication design solution.

There are designers and design firms that will agree to “work on spec”. They will most likely be less professional and less experienced  than a firm that disagrees with speculative work.

If a designer agrees to work on spec during the bid process in the hopes of being chosen as the winner, it displays a level of desperation which is a common characteristic of an unsuccessful business. If you as a client choose to work with a designer that agrees to spec work, you should not be surprised when you don’t receive the level of service or quality that you are hoping for.

There is an appropriate way to explore the work of various designers. A more effective and ethical approach to requesting speculative work is to ask designers to submit examples of their work from previous assignments as well as a statement of how they would approach your project. It is also wise to judge a design firm’s merit by reviewing their client list. You can then judge the quality of the designer’s previous work and easily determine the level of skill and experience the designer or firm possesses.

More useful information on spec work can be read here

Update – Sunday, August 1st 2010

We responded to the inquiry notifying the client that we would not be entering into their bid process and we included much of the above information in our email to them. It appears that a few hours after our response, the company has now modified the document (hosted on their servers) that contains the details of the bid process that they are sending to designers.

They are no longer requiring two homepage designs to enter with the bid, but have added the alternative option to meet with them and “schedule a time to show us why….you are different from the rest.”.

This still isn’t ideal , as they are still asking for bidders to present design work for free (unless chosen as the winner) as the first option, but at least we helped to educate them and encouraged them to re-think their process. Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

The Identity

We began the project by developing the new identity for our new client and after a face-to-face meeting, we had our logo design brief.

Our two lead designers, Brian Yerkes (Owner & Creative Director) and Colin Hughes (Designer) began with the concept development phase of the project. This stage of the logo design process includes hours of sketching and discussion between the Brian Joseph Studios team after learning about our client, their market, and their company goals.

Below you will see just a few of the sketches we worked on as we were forming our concepts for this new identity. Originally, our client was going to use the name “Sterling Marketing Solutions”, but soon after changed it to “Sterling Integrated Marketing”. You can see some of our sketches were based on the earlier choice, but some of our work on developing an “S” shape carried over.

After our sketching process, we met again to discuss the potential of each concept. There are many vital steps that we take before we choose to proceed with a specific concept. We talk about its flexibility, its versatility and ability to grow into a full brand for the client. When developing logo designs, it is important that the identity is easily viewed in small sizes, and when displayed in different applications, including black and white.

Once we had a few strong concepts that we were happy with, and that matched the logo design brief from our discussions with the client, we then turned the sketches into digital drawings, and finally into finished logo designs for the client to review with us.

We sent a full description about each concept to the client, explaining our inspiration sources and why we were confident that each concept matched their goals for their new identity. After reviewing each concept over the phone with the client, they decided on the design with the black lettering and light blue “IN”. This concept not only provided them with a logo, but also a full branding concept that could be carried over to each piece of collateral.

After receiving our client’s feedback, we began developing the “IN” concept further and decided to integrate it more closely with the other letters…taking inspiration from the word “Integrated” in the company’s new name. After a few more revisions, the final concept was developed and ready to go. We also created some stationary designs as part of the project, with all pieces presenting the new “Are You In?” brand message that we developed.

The Website

Once the identity project was complete, we moved onto the development of the website. We designed a custom web design for Sterling Integrated Marketing, using the bold colors from the logo, and an easy to use interface for the viewer to navigate through. Information is presented in a concise manner, and is easily retrieved to ensure that the user experience is a positive one.

We utilized various pieces of Javascript and Flash to enhance the interactivity of the website without compromising the search engine optimization of each page and its content. After the custom web design was ready, we began the development / coding stage.

Some of the main features included in the website:

• A CMS System for the client to control all content
• A blogging platform for latest news and articles
• Custom Javascript programming
• Custom Flash programming
• Contact form with data tracking that stores all leads online for the client to access in addition to email alerts
• SEO friendly URL’s
• Website statistics

View the new website | View our web design portfolio
Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

We designed a strong visual for this web design project, to ensure a unique online presence was achieved for “Pool Tile Restoration of Naples”. We also utilized some new CSS and Jquery technology to enhance the overall user experience of the website.

Included features in this web design and development project:

• Content Management System
• CSS/XHTML code
• Blogging Platform
• Jquery slideshow
• Contact and Service Request Forms

If you have a pool that looks out-dated and has that white lime-scale buildup on the tiles, please give “Pool Tile Restoration of Naples” a call and check out their new website, they will bring your pool back to life! Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

You can read more about this story in our recent press release – “Naples Web Design Firm Expands “The Exceptional Team” “.

Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]

Earlier today, we launched a new real estate website for Chuck and Kimberley Andrews, highly experienced Sanibel Real Estate agents with Remax of the Islands

Their old website was with “Agent Image” and was a pretty ugly templated website. We custom designed a clean yet fresh looking web design for them to engage their visitors more, and to match their online professionalism with their offline success.

The new ChuckAndrews.com website includes:

• Custom web design
• Blog
• Flash programming
• Real Estate Featured Properties Tool
• MLS Property Search Engine
• Online forms and lead management tools

You can check out the new website here. We look forward to helping Chuck and Kimberley to continue to grow their online marketing ventures and thoroughly enjoyed working with them on this web design project.

Recent Posts:

• New Website Launched – O’Brien Helicopters[ October 19, 2011 ]
• Halloween Fort Myers and Naples 2011[ October 19, 2011 ]
• “Website Awesomesauce” – formula by Brian Joseph Studios[ August 29, 2011 ]
• New Website Launch – KC Wilson Construction, Naples Florida[ August 9, 2011 ]