WHERE

We really enjoy working with architects. The simple fact that we speak the same language of design and work in the creative field, often immersed in a similar processes makes it all the more appealing. Last year we were fortunate to be asked by Vancouver-based Henriquez Partners Architects to recreate their online presence. Their goal was to showcase their studio, some of their recent projects, and the ideas behind them via a clean, modern web interface.

For many architects, the thoughts and stories they have to tell are often left to be expressed solely by the buildings they create. As creative professionals, there aren’t many architects who don’t fill notebooks with sketches and thoughts. This was especially true of Gregory Henriquez. We set out to provide a digital outlet for his, and his team’s, prolific analogue output in tandem with a new portfolio website for the firm.

IDEAS

The blog, called Archimemo, functions as a modern upgrade to the old fax blast newsletters Gregory used to send to the industry, and lets him and his staff speak their minds on any topic. But it goes beyond that. Through some careful analysis and planning, we created an editorial method of promoting certain posts from the text-based blog format to their Flash-based website via what we called “the tunnel” using RSS. Specific posts that directly relate to a project are ported and represented on the main Henriquez portfolio website, lending a deeper understanding to the process and the project than is usually seen on other architect sites.

WORK

The final result is two sites that are linked, yet function independently of one another when required, since the opions expressed on Archimemo are not always the ones Henriquez wants directly in front of clients. The primary corporate website is presented as simple and elegant with large images of the firm’s oevre, deep content and an underlying CMS system to allow the client complete control of their online presence.

“We are so very happy with our new website and blog. Industrial Brand delivered exactly what they promised.” - Gregory Henriquez, Managing Partner, Henriquez Partners Architects

Launch portfolio website: www.henriquezpartners.com
Launch Archimemo Blog: www.archimemo.ca

Personal Branding is not a new concept (see Tom Peters’ great primer called The Brand Called You). As personal identities move online, managing them becomes increasingly important. As online personal identities evolve they leave a trail called a Digital Shadow. Want to know what your Digital Shadow is? Google yourself. And you can be sure others are Googling you. Prospective employers, prospective employees and even first dates! With that in mind here are a few relatively simple lessons to managing your Digital Shadow.

1) Be aware of what’s our there. (Google yourself) Depending on how common your name is, other people may be mixed in with your results. Increasingly potential employers, and other people looking to check your references, turn to Google. It’s an honest representation of who you are much more than a closely tailored CV.

2) Reserve your digital touch points. Even if you don’t have the desire to micro-blog to Twitter or post photos to Flickr it’s important to reserve these names. You might know that the Twitter account with your name isn’t yours, but will others? Take this a step further and register your name as a domain even if you don’t think you’re going to need it. And while you’re registering domain names, get rid of that old Hotmail address you’ve been using forever (I’m talking to you cutesy54@hotmail.com!) and make use of a professional email address.

3) Use and standardize an avatar. Avatars are the logo of your digital brand. Whether you’re twittering, or commenting on a blog, it is important to have a uniform ‘face’ to your online persona. Standardize the photo you use for all online services, and don’t change it. While the effects of rebranding your digital persona are significantly less than rebranding your company, the principals are the same. People that you interact with on a daily or weekly basis, will not recognize your new avatar and it will take time to build that recognition up again. Register for Gravatar (a service that ties an avatar to your email address) and make sure that the same avatar is being used for your Twitter account, Flickr page etc. Take what you know about the importance of Brand Consistency and apply it to yourself.

4) Increase Search Engine Visibility. If you’re serious about developing a digital shadow and online visibility you need to be involved. This means creating and using as many digital touchpoints as you can. Become a thought leader in your industry and start publishing original content that people will want to read. (side note: starting a blog with content that people will want to read is very different from simply starting a blog). Start Twittering, posting pictures to Flickr, videos to Vimeo, bookmarks to del.icio.us and cross promote. Participate and interact with other twitter-ers and bloggers in your areas of interest and start conversations with them.

5) Set Facebook Privacy Settings. We’re all on Facebook, well most of us at least. But how many of you have altered the privacy settings on your account and locked it down? Familiarize yourself with the options under Settings -> Privacy. The major ones to check are the Public Search listing (Under Search Options) and making sure that Beacon Websites is checked (Under Applications). One final stop under section and you should be significantly more secure then before. (though with Facebook, nothing is entirely secure!) More information available on articles from Wired Magazine here and here.

Egg Strategy‘s new blog, called The Dozen, is an eclectic take on innovation, branding, media, strategy and research. Designed and developed by the  web team at Industrial Brand, this blog is already becoming a “go to” resource for those interested in branding, marketing strategy, design and innovation. Welcome to the blogosphere guys!

We often implement content management systems (CMS) for our web clients and the topic of Drupal versus WordPress is commonly debated. Linux.com’s Bruce Byfield recently compared the two open source platforms, comparing their interfaces, customizing a site, adding content, managing comments, spam control, and reading site statistics, as well as the other available options. Not surprisingly, his conclusion was that both systems were mature pieces of software, with Drupal having a slight advantage for more robust community sites or multiple bogs with more fine-tuning and tools, while WordPress proved better for simpler sites and bogs, is easier to use, and superior interface makes it easier to navigate and administer. [Note: this blog is created using WordPress, though we use both platforms for different situations]

Read the entire comparison on Linux.com.