In September of 2011, we met with the owner of the SF chain and decided that it was time to do a complete overhaul on the SF website. When we originally built the first SF website back in 2008, we were just getting the brand off the ground and built the site to grow with them for a few years. Those few years have been pretty great for SF, and it was becoming more and more apparent that the original version of the site just wasn’t cutting it anymore. So we undertook the challenge of re-thinking the way the site worked from the ground-up. We looked at what was working and what was not fulfilling expectations, and re-worked the site to keep up with the stunning growth of the SF chain. The outcome of this planning is the newly re-designed and re-developed SF website.

If you haven’t had a chance to drop by a SF location and check it out for yourself yet, I would highly recommend that you do! SF locations are by far the most professional and cleanest fitness centers in the area. Trust me, if you’re into fitness, you’ll want to stop by and check them out.

SportsandFitnessClubs.com

QCBF website

QCBF Facebook

2011 has been the year of beer here at Sublmnl Design! It all started in January 2011 with a call from the organizers of one of the largest beer/brewer’s festivals in the Southeastern United States, and the largest annual beer event in Charlotte, NC, the Annual Charlotte Oktoberfest. (You can learn more about our work on the Charlotte Oktoberfest here). After a hugely successful event, the work we created for the Oktoberfest was noticed by another event organizer who was in the process of creating a new, and unique, beer festival focusing solely on Charlotte area breweries.

Over the past few years, Charlotte, NC has began to put itself on the map in the craft beer world (check out our client The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery who are a leader in this new push for local craft beer) and the Queen City Brewer’s Festival organizers are out to bring even more awareness to these great local brews!

Sublmnl Design’s involvement in this event has been creation of a new event website and social media integration. Normally, we create a brand from the ground-up, but the guys over at Beast Syndicate did a great job developing the QCBF brand, so why mess with a a good thing? We took the work that was previously created and built on that to create a “finished” look and a professional image that would portray this event for what it is, a great addition to the thriving Charlotte craft beer scene.

QCBrewFest.com

Facebook.com/qcbrewfest

Twitter.com/qcbrewfest

We launched a mini-site for AWCLT back in 2009. After some more thought on how this concept could be implemented into the Charlotte market, we worked hand-in-hand with the owners to re-develop the brand and create a new site that could handle becoming Charlotte’s new go-to place for after work restaurant/bar specials. In addition to showcasing the various specials of Charlotte restaurants/bars during the daily, 5-10pm “happy hour” time period, AWCLT will host professional networking events. These events will focus on allowing people from various professional backgrounds the opportunity to socialize and network with one another, without having the “stuffy” and “uptight” feeling that some professional networking events seem to have.

We are very happy to be a part of this great new concept, and had a blast developing a simple, yet very in-depth new site that will benefit Charlotte professionals for years to come.

Little Idea LLC

As with a lot of the clients we work with, the folks over at Charlotte, NC based invention development company, Little Idea, initially contacted us in regards to a new website design/development. After a brief initial conversation they decided that entrusting Sublmnl Design with undertaking a complete branding overhaul was the best way to go (of course, we agreed with them).

The project began with a total re-design of the Little Idea logo. Although they were a young company, they had developed some brand recognition through the use of a yellow light-bulb image being present in all of their previous materials. Taking that idea and working it into the new logo design was a successful way of tying their built-in recognition with current/past clients, and updating it to give them a more professional image. We used a bold color combination of yellow and black to further this notion of the old imagery (the old yellow light bulb) into their new branding scheme.

Once the logo and identity system were finished up and ready for use, we tackled the project of doing a complete re-design/re-development of the Little Idea website. They were the first to admit that their old web presence wasn’t presenting them as the professional organization that they are, so we started with a complete overhaul from the ground-up. We started by creating a new web design that would be cohesive with the new identity system that we had just completed. We also implemented the ability to upload product example videos, and a photo gallery for each product that Little Idea has worked on. We built the site with scalability in mind, so it can grow along with the future of the company. Along with the website design, we took the new “look” into Little Idea’s various social media accounts, so no matter where you might come across them out there on the web, everything from Little Idea looks cohesive.

“Sublmnl Design did a fabulous job for Little Idea, LLC. They developed our new logo/identity scheme and website, giving us a polished new look and an easy-to-use content management system. Their professionalism is impressive, and they’re always responsive and stay on schedule. They have a favorite quote: “No problem,” and they’re right, there were no problems! We couldn’t be happier with our decision to work with Sublmnl Design!”
- Patti Palmer | Marketing Director, Little Idea, LLC

We recently got a unique opportunity to work with a great organization, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western NC. When we were approached by MAW and asked to work with them on their biggest, black-tie, fund-raising event of the year, “The Wish Ball,” I was initially a little flattered, and immediately said “Yes! Anything you need.” Since that initial conversation, we have worked closely with MAW to develop a branding scheme, advertisements and a web presence for this great event that will help raise money used to grant “wishes” for children with life-threatening conditions.

It was important to portray this event in an elegant manner, all the while keeping a sense of child-like whimsy to represent the purpose of the organization and event. Another major part of the project is the use of imagery of actual local “wish-kids” who have benefited from the generous donations of the local patrons who have/are giving money to MAW. The use of the children gives the event a sense of humanity and allows the invitee’s a sense of connection and personal investment into this cause… so it’s more than just “I’m going to donate money as a tax write-off.” They get a sense of personal connection and have the mentality of “I’m giving so that a child can have a dream come true.” I am proud to be donating work to help out such a great organization, and I hope to see all of you at The Wish Ball on January 21, 2011!

“I wanted to personally send a note of sincere thanks for all you have done. I don’t know how we could have pulled this off without you! I am extremely grateful for everything!”
- Doug Hartjes | President, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central & Western NC

www.NCWishBall.org

Since this company is relatively young, it was important to give them the professional appearance and site functionality of a company who has been around the block a few times, so to speak. The main purpose of this site is to give potential customers and distributors more information about the products they offer, as well as where to find them in a retail shop in their area.

If you’re in the market for some great cigar humidification products, I would highly recommend that you check these guys out! They have proven their product’s capabilities to me, and I am now using their products in my humidifier!

www.cigartech.com

So if you haven’t visited the site in quite a while, you may have noticed that there has been a lot going on over here in Sublmnl Design-land. So let me be the first to say “welcome to the new and improved Sublmnl Design!”

After a few years of major growth, the SD web presence was really lacking, and just wasn’t cutting it anymore. It was time to basically start over and update the SD brand from the ground-up to better represent our ever-growing capabilities and growth as a studio. Now you’re looking at the fruits of those labors, the new SD website(s).

I say “website(s)” because a major announcement, is the addition of SD’s new photography services. Over the years, I’ve worked with some great photographers, and still do. I have always had a big interest in photography, and have enjoyed it as a hobby since the first photography class I took back in college years ago. So I took it upon myself to really make it a priority to get a lot more serious about photography so I can offer those services as an alternative to clients who may not be able to afford the prices of a big photo studio. Not only does SD offer commercial photo services, but also wedding/engagement sessions, child sessions, concert photography and pretty much any other services where someone who knows their way around a camera might be needed. So if you have a moment, why not drop by the new Sublmnl Design :: Photography site and check out the galleries.

Photography is something I have always been interested in, and its something I’ve always said “Hey, you know… I really need to invest in some photo equipment and do some photography.” Other than reading blogs and checking out various photographer’s websites in my professional design work, I haven’t really done anything with my desire to get into photography since taking some photo classes back in college. So in early 2009 I decided that was one of my main goals for myself over the next few years. So I began investing in some equipment, reading lots of books, reading lots of blogs, joining photography forums and all-around jumping head-first into the world of becoming a photographer.

I am not only delving into photography for my own personal artistic endeavors, I am also filling a much-needed service void for my clients. Photography and design go hand-in-hand, so it was a natural fit to add photography services to the ever-growing list of services offered by Sublmnl Design. There are many times that I have heard clients say, “I know we need some good photos for this project, but we just don’t have the budget to hire an expensive photographer.” Because of situations such as this, I saw the need to fill the void and offer services at a more competitive price-point for my clients. Just because a client doesn’t have an extra $2,000-3,000+ to spend on photography services, doesn’t mean they should be forced to work with sub-par photography in their materials.

Now, just because SD is now offering in-house photography services doesn’t mean that we are turning our backs on our current list of awesome photography partners. There are just certain situations where a client’s needs don’t quite fit the budget needed to out-source photography services. So here we are… the new photo site is now up and running, so feel free to drop by and check it out!

www.sublmnldesign.com/photo

From a branding and “look” perspective, it was a refreshing break to get a chance to work on something a little more “grungy” and “edgy” (to use a few ridiculous cliche’s) looking. When it came to designing the actual look and layout for this one, the main goal was to get the idea of their “edgy” branding theme across to the visitor, but also portray it as a serious business serving great food. To get the idea across, we did a happy medium between the grungy look of their main branding image and a rigid “blocky” style layout. This allows the visitor to find the content on the site without having to search high and low.

As usual, we integrated a CMS solution into this one for easy updates and easy scalability once this concept takes off and more locations are added. All-in-all it was a fun project to work on… so drop by and check it out. After you get your fill of the site, you should drop by the actual location and grab a cold one!

On to the next project.

We started the project on the ground floor with the development of the S&F logo and branding image. While listening to the goals of the S&F ownership and where they wanted to go with this new concept, it became apparent that they wanted to establish themselves as a clean, modern and professional brand. When it came to the logo, it was important to show the brand as an active and exciting place to take care of your fitness needs. The “swoosh S” mark (as it lovingly came to be known) was the final winner in a logo designing spree that lasted well over a month. The “swooshes” bisecting the “S” stand to show motion and a sense of activity. When it came time to decide on the corporate colors, their outlook was simple… “we want a bold color combination that will instantly stand out and identify our branding from that of our competitors.” In the end, a color combination of a bright and bold orange and black was the winner!

Once the logo and identity was established we began the work needed to further that “look” into the advertising, marketing materials and website for the brand. Furthering the notion of the “swoosh” representing motion, we developed a consistent brand image with a prominent orange swoosh on all S&F materials. Having the overall “look” settled upon, we began the process of building the S&F website.

The overall design of the S&F site is closely tied to the clean, modern look of the other marketing materials, utilizing a pretty restricted color palette of orange, black and shades of grey. As for the functionality of the site, we implemented a Content Management System (CMS) for quick and easy client-side changes, Google Calendars for easy and quick updates to the various club fitness schedules, a banner management system, and all kinds of various back-end goodies that most visitors will never see. The site is still a work in progress with many new features coming in the next round of site additions, or as we call it “S&F v.2.0.” These additions will include some new sections of the site showcasing new features offered by S&F, the ability to automatically sign up and process club dues online, and re-working the layout of a few pages to better represent the content. So, until then here we are with the new S&F website v1.0.

If you get a few minutes, or if you’re in the market to join a new fitness center (we all have those New Year’s resolutions to keep up with, ya know…) drop by and check it out.

www.sportsandfitnessclubs.com

-Justin