Harlo signs Bellissimo!

Coffee lovers, we have exciting news. Last week Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup, the world’s most recognized coffee-business consulting firm, selected Harlo as their digital agency of choice. For the next 3-4 months the Harlo and Bellissimo strategic, creative and development teams will be joining forces to re-define and develop an all-encompassing digital presence to market Bellissimo’s extensive education, training and consulting services.

For the past 25 years, Bellissimo has been setting standards in the specialty-coffee industry providing expertise in all business functions (marketing, finance, operations, roasting, etc.), benefitting both domestic and international business owners at all levels, including: small business and independently run owner/operator cafes and drive-thru coffee bars, through to major coffee chains around the country. Through their Portland based training school (The American Barista & Coffee School (ABCS)) and 2,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup and ABCS provide a hands on approach to starting and running a specialty coffee business. Don’t believe me? Taste their brilliance for yourself at Water Avenue Coffee, Bellissimo’s very own micro-roaster.

So if your still not sure why we’re excited to be working with such a distinguished company, in such a dynamic and growing industry, you really need to read these fun facts (kindly provided by Bellissimo employee, Darryl Feldman)……

• Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, next to oil.¹
• Coffee is grown inclose to 80 tropical and subtropical climate countries.¹
• The entire Harlo team consumes an average of 8 coffees p/day. It’s true, I didn’t just make that up.¹
• More than 400 billion cups of coffee are consumes each day, making it the most popular beverage in the world. Funny enough.¹
• Americans consume 400 million of those daily cups, equaling 4,500 cups per second.²
• The United States is the larges coffee consumer, drinking close to 3 billion pounds of coffee each year.¹

Sources – (1) www.coffeemarvel.com, (2) Coffee Research Organization and National Small Business Development Support Center.

Cinetopia Goes Mobile with Harlo Interactive

Cinetopia has hired Harlo Interactive to develop a mobile site highlighting their restaurant and theater menus, movie trailers, showtimes and their expansive wine list. Cinetopia is also proud to announce the opening of two new locations: Progress Ridge Town Center in Beaverton, Oregon, and Westfield Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, Washington.

Cinetopia exceeds all current movie going standards and amenities offered in the Northwest by providing a variety of high-end entertainment options under one roof. The theaters have superior seating and Digital Super High Definition projection and audio equipment.  The wine bar, Vinotopia, has a fully automated tasting system where patrons sample from over 100 different wines from around the world. The complex also offers a state-of-the-art business conferencing and meeting facilities that can also be reserved for private parties and affairs.

The Harlo crew always likes a good flick and a little vino! We’re sure you’ll enjoy spending time at Cinetopia.

Posted by Jay Jaacks [intern]

We Need a Developer!

INTERACTIVE PHP DEVELOPER

The Job
To facilitate our rapid growth, we are currently on the search for “rockstar” PHP developers to join our team. The successful recruits will spearhead interactive web development on a variety of levels, including, but not limited to:

• E-commerce Platforms
• Mobile Applications
• Custom Content Management Systems
• Blog Development
• Social Media Applications
• And More…

The Team
Interactive Developers will work closely with the Lead Developer, Lead Designer and Interactive Project Managers.

Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate would have:

• A natural talent for all things CODE - HTML, PHP, Java Script, and CSS, specifically.
• EXCEPTIONAL communication skills.
• A strong knowledge of current web technologies.
• A sense of humor and the ability to throw down on the foosball table when the challenge arises.
• Flexibility with working hours. Harlo’s hours are from 8.30am to 5.30pm, five days a week, however overtime work is occasionally required.
• The ability to meet very tight deadlines and multi-task.
• A solid work ethic, high attention to detail and a respect for client confidentiality.

If this sounds like you, send us an e-mail with: YOUR RESUMÉ & COVER LETTER, REFERENCES & WORK EXAMPLES to careers@harlointeractive.com.

Nikon takes aim…

After months of hard work, Harlo is proud to announce the launch of NikonHunting.com.

Contracted by Chevalier Advertising, our objectives were clear from the get-go. Develop a robust and interactive site that carried the same level of quality, functionality and craftsmanship Nikon customers were already accustomed to.

With a sleek and dynamic design direction provided by Chevalier, it was our responsibility to bring the site to life. In doing this, we created a site that features an extensive online product catalog with supporting database, flash integration, multi-media video and image galleries, and advanced search engine optimization strategies. However, the power of this site truly lies behind the scenes.

Through the development of a custom content management system, Chevalier Advertising and Nikon Hunting have the power to manage site content, multi-media, product details, and page structure. This custom CMS even provides admin users with the ability to edit landing page banners via a drag-and-drop mechanism, saving admin users time on unnecessary image editing.

Scope out the new Nikon Hunting Web site for yourself @ www.nikonhunting.com!

Lucero Illumination breaks the mold!

Lucero Illumination knows a thing or two about security. As a leading global engineering consulting service, they provide a variety of technical services to help companies of all sizes design, deploy, and install the systems needed to monitor, communicate, and track corporate assets. However, not even a company with their level of expertise could stop us from breaking the mold on their identity and web development project.

When tackling the design portion of this project, resident creative guru Chip Truex explored the Lucero brand, and that of their competitors, to establish a design theme that would differentiate Lucero from the pack and speak directly to their target audience. Visual mood played an integral role in the development of the Lucero logo with darker colors and soft edges utilized to illuminate the essence of the Lucero brand, complimented by a vibrant blue icon to prove contrast and impact. The end result was a unique and vibrant logo that could easily be adapted across multiple marketing and identity materials. A few of these can be seen below.

Once the brand identity was designed, the next step was to transfer this established mood, palette and thematic design direction to the web. The site needed to carry a professional and sophisticated look and feel in order to seamlessly communicate Lucero’s expertise, technical consulting services, clientele, and of course, their high customer service standards. Furthermore, site content needed to be easily accessible to front-end users and equally as accessible to admin users through the custom content management system (CMS).  The end result is a visual engaging corporate site that provides Lucero staff with the power they need to manage and update their site. Below are a few snapshots from the new Lucero site.

Visit the Lucero site @ www.luceroillumination.com. We guarantee you’ll like what you see!

A New Site Takes Flight!

Our good friends at Hillsboro Aviation called upon us to design and develop a Mount St. Helens Helicopter Tours micro-site that would effectively communicate their experience (16 years to be exact), impeccable safety record and the vast array of tour options they operate out of Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center.

Much like Hillsboro Aviations U.S. site, the Mount St. Helens Tours site has been designed with clean aesthetics in mind, intuitive navigation for ease of content accessibility, and an engaging photo and video gallery to truly represent the experience Hillsboro Aviation provides to their passengers during their Mount St. Helen Helicopter Tours. Furthermore, to ensure a secure and simple booking process, an online appointment system was integrated into the site.

Fly on over to www.mtsthelenshelicoptertours.com and book your tour today!

Inspired by travel and fashion!

When the opportunity arose to design the front-end interface for international online womens boutique Básico, we simply jumped at the opportunity. Basicoshop.com specializes in travel inspired fashion jewelery, bags and accessories sourced from some of the most exotic locations around the globe.

As our first Australian client, we knew we had to bring the “hot fire” to this project. Taking the travel inspired theme, we created a stylish, exotic and unique web design that reflects the product, brand and staff. The site features an extensive online catalog, social media feeds and sharing capabilities, multiple product views, a full e-commerce platform,  a customized blog and much more!

A big thanks goes out to Tobstar, the Australian agency we teamed with to make this project happen……

Ladies, do yourself a favor and check out basicoshop.com now!!

Rule 4 Consulting Launches New Site

The primary focus of this web project was to create an online platform that strongly showcases and communicates Rule 4 solutions and services directly to their target demographic. As a primary marketing tool, the site needed to reflect the company brand and culture, demonstrate thought leadership via an industry blog and support all business development activities. However, the greatest feature of this site is its custom content management system. This user-friendly solution provides Rule 4 with the power to edit site content, multimedia and blog posts from one centralized and intuitive location.

The design of the Rule 4 web site is now more aesthetically appealing to clients new and old alike. We took the opportunity to clean up the design by utilizing the same vibrant green as an accent to highlight the main subjects, drop down menus and hyperlinks used by clients to gain more information about a particular subject. The information is now presented with a softer color palette comprising shades of grey, black and white; much easier on the eye. The majority of the information is presented in a horizontal chronological order, progressing the user through the process of gaining valuable information about Rule 4.

Harlo Launches New MoveSMART® Site

After two months of hard work, Harlo is pleased to announce the launch of the new MoveSMART® web site.

MoveSMART®, a worldwide leader in unique workplace injury prevention techniques, approached Harlo to design and develop an industry leading web platform that would effectively market their core service offerings and thought leadership capabilities directly to their target market.

Through the design and development of an interactive blog, multimedia gallery, client log-in portal, and an interactive map, MoveSMART® now has a web site designed to generate and support increased online lead generation, whilst providing visitors and clients with an enhanced user experience.

Furthermore, the new site features a robust custom content management system, providing admin user the power to edit site content, media, documents, and client resources.

Check out the before and after images below or alternatively view the live site now at movesmart.com.

BEFORE

AFTER

Power of Content Management Systems

Are your sick of paying extravagant fees to web design and development firms when all you want to do is make a simple content edit? Well fear no more, Harlo Interactive has the solution for you!

Content Management Systems (CMS) have changed the way companies manage their online presence. With a vast array of custom and open source solutions available, users with no technical knowledge now have the power and confidence to manage their online presence.

The power of any given CMS solution can range from allowing the user to simply manage content and images, through to the more robust solutions that allow admin users to manage multimedia galleries, menu structure, page layout, and even a sites color scheme. But how do you know what solution is right for you?

Open Source

Open source content management systems provide a cost effective solution for individuals and businesses of all sizes looking to increase Web site control and flexibility. They are often supported through large communities of users and developers, allowing the frameworks to evolve and improve over time. The down site to all of this is the restricted level of  flexibility your web designer will have when designing your site. Unlike custom solutions, open source frameworks often limit the level of design customization a Web site can possess.

Custom

Custom CMS solutions are designed and developed to meet the specific needs of a Web site. They offer zero limitations from a web design and functionality perspective, empowering the admin user with full control over their site.

At Harlo, we specialize in developing custom CMS solutions that give our clients complete freedom when it comes to their sites’ design and functionality.  Furthermore, all custom CMS solutions are 100% transferable making CMS edits and additions a walk in the park.

Our Recommendation

Both of the solutions discussed above offer their own unique set of advantages. The decision on which CMS is best for you comes down to your specific Web site goals and objectives, the size of your site and the level of functionality required. If design isn’t a high priority, then an open source framework may be the best solution for you. However, if the design of your site is a high priority for your business, then we would suggest opting for our custom CMS solution.

To learn more about our content management systems, click here.