March 21, 2013
Last Friday, 3/15, was a fun day at Envisionit. We thought we would embrace the holiday fun of St. Patrick’s Day here at the office, so we started our weekend a little early with a little agency gathering.
Of course we provided the finest Irish libations for our employees. Guinness and Jameson all around!
Our employees like to be as creative with their food as they are with their work! This was one tasty rainbow.
One of our clients decided to join us as well. Stefan Wissenbach, founder of MagicFuture.com, is always such a great entertainer.
This must have been some really great food! What’s Erin doing with that knife?
It’s always great to get to know a new employee! Azra chose a great week to start at Envisionit.
It’s all smiles from this gang!
Happy (belated) St. Patrick’s Day from everyone at Envisionit; we hope your celebrations were as great as ours! Stay tuned for our next office shindig!
September 17, 2012
Once upon a time, we were a company with exactly one employee. Ten years — and 5 offices — later, we’ve made Inc. Magazine’s 5000 list for three consecutive years, built our dream workspace, and have a team who’s everything we could have ever hoped for. Yup, it’s a pretty big deal. So, naturally, we decided to have a party.
Putting the new Ideation Lounge to good use, the 10-year party was a huge hit. Our whiteboard wall featured a history of the company in timeline form, as recalled by EIM vets, and illustrated by artists-in-residence Mike L. and Hannah.
We enjoyed live music from the Resonators with Adam on keyboard; some singing from Rob, Amy, and Kevin; catering from our friends at Homestead; a strawberry-filled EIM cake from West Town Bakery; showing off the agency hamster to delighted onlookers; and toasting to 10 amazing years in business.
We’ve come a long way, and there’s no way we could have done it without our employees, clients, friends, family, and coffee. Cheers to 10 years, and here’s to 10 more!
See more photos at Facebook.com/EnvisionitMedia.
July 19, 2012
We are very proud to announce the new envisionit website, at envisionitmedia.com. Although it’s been live for a few weeks now, we decided to take it for a rigorous test drive before announcing it to the public. But don’t worry–it still has that new website smell.
As with every project we undertake, we set measurable goals and objectives for the new site. We’ll keep the competitive details to ourselves, but here’s a little about what we set out to do:
- Our company culture is very important to us, and it bleeds into our work. So we made it a priority to ensure every site visitor will quickly understand who we are, and how we approach the work.
- It was important to leverage our biggest assets as a company to help with every phase of the redesign. Our people. From our super-talented designers to our thoughtful writers, and our expert marketers to our talented business development people, everyone helped make the new website a valuable resource for those who are looking for digital marketing expertise. Not only did we want to showcase our talents, but also help visitors understand the breadth and scope of how we can help their businesses.
- We encourage big ideas, both from our clients and our people. And big ideas don’t need to be complicated. So we made it easy for site visitors to browse some of our work, where we’ve brought big ideas to life.
We had plenty of fun concepting, writing, and building the new site. And we hope you enjoy taking a tour. (We don’t like to brag, but it’s pretty awesome.)
We’d love to hear what you think, you can leave a comment below. As always, we’re ready to discuss your next big idea. Contact us at any time. read the full story...
July 9, 2012
Most of the time, we’re really busy around here. And sometimes we need a little downtime to recharge the batteries and reconnect with each other. So what does a digital marketing agency do to blow off a little steam?
We watch someone else run around at breakneck speed. We head to the racetrack!
With our racing forms in one hand, and a cold beer in the other, we did our best Bob Baffert impersonations and threw down our minimum $2 wagers. Then most of us threw down our losing tickets, too. But not before checking them again. And again.
We firmly believe in the importance of having some fun in a fast-paced environment like digital marketing. It’s part of our agency culture and it keeps us fresh. So at the racetrack, when it comes to fun, we were all winners!
See more of the fun at the Envisionit Media Facebook page!
July 3, 2012
Hi everyone! My name’s Veronica Corningstone, and I am a hamster. Not only am I the first hamster at Envisionit, but the only staff member who can truly claim I live here full-time. You might not think living at an agency would be so fun, but it’s even better than playing in a hamster ball. Come say hi if you’re at the office! I live on the top floor right next to the account team. Todd says it’s a good spot because I can keep an eye on them.
I’m learning all about digital marketing, development, and something called “the creative process.” It’s pretty neat how everyone works together to launch sites, drive marketing strategies, and make sure clients are happy. When I’m happy, I like to run in my wheel.
As part of my office hamster duty (in addition to adding some much-needed adorableness to the agency), the marketing team is teaching me how to use Twitter so I can tweet agency happenings. They’ve been very patient as I learn how to use it, as typing is not my strong suit. But it’s great fun.
April 26, 2012
As a graphic designer and a student, I cannot help but drop my head whenever I see improper use of typography. It’s everywhere. But what truly makes me cringe is the logo I see whenever I tune into my weekly guilty pleasure, Glee:
The kerning is unpleasant and it’s obvious. Kerning, the spacing between letters, is normally judged by your eye rather than mechanically. The negative space in between the letters should be relatively even. This reads “g-lee.” As minor as some might find this to be, I cannot stand it!
It is very difficult to watch for the two seconds the Glee logo appears on screen and I know I’m not the only Gleek who feels this way…
That’s three.
Perhaps this was purposefully done and I’m sure there was a motive, but it has brought discomfort and grief to my Tuesday evenings. So please, Ryan Murphy and Co., take the time to kern your letters! There are only four of them.
March 12, 2012
If you follow our Facebook page, you may have noticed that early last week, we quietly marked the 10-year anniversary of envisionit media, inc. We’ll be celebrating properly as the year goes on (so be sure to keep up with us here and on Facebook and Twitter for updates). Meanwhile, I thought I’d take a look back at a few notable differences between the digital marketing landscape a decade ago and today.
It wouldn’t be a very quick read if I included every single difference, so these are just my faves. Enjoy the walk down memory lane and provide your own memories in the comments!
OMG, what did we do without Facebook?
That’s right…10 years ago, Facebook didn’t. even. exist. Gasp! Social media was barely even a phrase. Yes, the idea of social media has been alive for some time—think instant messenger and message boards. But the marketing world’s favorite buzzword of the last few years didn’t quite yet have today’s popularity and meaning back in 2002.
And how quickly the space has grown! In 2002, Friendster was introduced. Myspace followed in 2003. Flickr and Digg hit in 2004, and that same year the college scene was introduced to The Facebook. Twitter was born in 2006. StumbleUpon, FourSquare, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest…all these social networks later, and companies now commonly have dedicated social media marketing roles and entire departments.
Phone is ringin’…
I happened to graduate from college in December 2001 (which is why I know to follow up this section’s subtitle with “…oh my god.” Name the reference in the comments if you know it!) and got my first cell phone a few months later in 2002. It was the standard Nokia phone that everyone else had. It made calls, it received calls, that was about it. Some fancy people had PDAs at the time, but it would be a few years before Blackberrys found popularity and exactly 5 years until the first iPhone was introduced. And now? There’s an app for that! And QR codes, geo-fencing, mobile-friendly websites, mobile SEO…and the word on the street for a few years now has been that the future is mobile marketing. read the full story...
March 2, 2012
Similar to adding the words “in bed” to the end of a fortune found in a cookie and chuckling, try placing “in bed” at the end of a phrase you would use to describe your experience at work. If the resulting phrase doesn’t make you chuckle and isn’t something you’re looking forward to, then you’re probably not doing something you want to do.
I’m willing to risk spoiling Victoria’s secret that there’s a difference in the experience received and delivered when a person wants to do something as opposed to having to do something. I would also wager my dog’s lunch that most would agree when you’re engaged in something that you “want to do,” the experience is heightened and you become much more involved. As a result, amazing things happen and more creative moments are realized.
I believe if we can transition and replicate the “in bed” experience into an “at work” experience as well, we’ll begin to create an environment that many will enjoy and look forward to.
Too often, companies become so focused on operating and growing a successful business that they lose sight of the talents, strengths, and passions that exist within their company. The result of this oversight is the missed opportunity to align passions and interests with client goals, to drive meaningful results. Not to mention the positive physical and mental impact the common thread would have on the team.
Many companies would agree that a client’s experience is a cornerstone of their business, and would probably do what it takes to continue making that experience better and better. Well, here’s a suggestion for taking steps to evolve your client’s great experience into an exceptional one. read the full story...
February 21, 2012
Good pairings help make for a complete, thoughtful experience. The icing on the cake, if you will. Though cakes, with the exception of coffee cake, need icing. They just do.
Now that you’re thinking about cake, let’s jump to dinner. Dinner is fun! Especially when you’re able to consider a wine to drink with your dinner (perhaps pairing acidity to heaviness), or a beer to drink with another dinner (bitter and hoppy plays well with heavier dishes). Pairing can elevate a meal. Similarly, well paired fonts can make a good design.
The purpose of pairing fonts is to improve readability and establish hierarchy. The classic serif-with-a-sans-serif combination is used on print and web, often with the headline as the sans-serif font. It works because it grabs attention, but more importantly, it’s easy to read.
The ease-of-reading factor is key in font pairing. (And ideally, in choosing a font in general.) When readability becomes an issue, communication becomes an issue. This is to be avoided. Using fonts that are legible on screen or when printed is always a good place to start. If you find a font combination that works both online and in print, you have made magic and deserve cake.
But note! Two fonts looking good together does not equal good design. There are images and layouts and format to consider. Consult your local graphic designer for more information.
February 8, 2012
Chatype, a font created by designers Robbie de Villiers and Jeremy Dooley out of Chattanooga, Tenn., is set to be the first font created for a town.
“A custom typeface reflects character, extends excitement, and becomes a rally point for suffering projects,” the Chatype website states. “This opportunity…is as important as picking the colors in a flag.”
If the font initiative is approved, Chatype may be used free of charge by city government, local businesses, and Chattanoogans around the city.
Chatype: A Typeface for Chattanooga! from D + J on Vimeo.
This must have been some really great food! What’s Erin doing with that knife?
It’s all smiles from this gang!
Happy (belated) St. Patrick’s Day from everyone at Envisionit; we hope your celebrations were as great as ours! Stay tuned for our next office shindig!