The Washington Post recently hosted an online contest for the top tweeps in DC. In order to be eligible for the award, contestants had to be nominated in one of twelve categories which ranged from favorite food truck to favorite non-profit. Think Tank Creative was nominated in the Favorite Entrepreneur category, accompanied by seven local entrepreneurs including Pete Snyder of New Media Strategies and Melanie Spring of Sisarina. Voting took place over the week long period from December 27th to December 31 and winners were announced on Monday, January 3. With over 5,000 votes cast in the contest, we were shocked and excited to learn that Think Tank Creative was voted as DC’s Favorite Entrepreneur. The full list of winners is available here.

Many, many, many months ago, I decided my website needed a little sprucing up. My then site was a good a website — a stones throw from the very first website I designed, and it suited my purposes: it was easy to update, it had decent content and it wasn’t completely awful to look at. But, in this Web 2.0 world, it was looking more tired and more dated by the day. And while the website’s cute little table structure worked (even in IE 6!) it wasn’t exactly search-friendly. It was very 2005. Coincidentally, I think the site was designed in 2005. But, as the saying goes, “We’ve come a long way, baby!”

So, I set off on a redesign of the site — a beautiful, fresh, clean, timeless look — a look very similar to the design style our clients love to see from us. The age of web-safe color palettes was a thing of the past, so our drab maroon was brightened to an excited magenta — our actual “corporate” color. We even took the site from its little 800 pixel width to a seemingly gigantic 960 pixels! Web fonts were added in (sparingly) to further reinforce the brand identity. With the basic structure and look done, it was time to have fun. Widgets and gadgets and javascript and do-dads and do-hickeys were all envisioned. And when it came time to program the site, my amazing (and I mean amazing) development team was able to build a site that does ALMOST everything I pictured. I sacrificed a blinking purple unicorn that would follow the cursor around the screen (not), but ultimately, I pictured it and they made it happen. I really could not have done this with out the amazing Related Media team  and I’m so thankful that they took my vision and made it a reality. (Shameless plug in 3, 2, 1…www.relatedmedia.com)

I really could not be more excited about the new site, and while there are a few areas I still want to flush out and a million work samples that need to get added in, it’s time to send it off into the interwebs.

But, before you go marvel at the beauty that is my new site, there is one final piece of business to attend to:

A Eulogy to My Website

I remember when you first came into my life. You made my dream — my business — seem real. Suddenly, anyone in the world could find me, see my work, and hire me. When the phone would ring, the magic words “I saw your website” were often the first words out of the caller’s mouth. You helped me grow, but more than that, you helped me believe in what Think Tank Creative could one day be. And you, you my little website, helped me get there.

Just this year, I was sitting in front of you, updating you, adding a news post here and a work sample there and enjoying the little bit of time I got to spend with you. What had been a pleasant experience for so many years was becoming harder and harder on both of us. You were getting old and technology was getting younger. I didn’t have the time to constantly update you. I’d try to add in a new fancy accessory and you would rebel by sending something else out of whack. We’d play a technology version of tug-of-war before one of us gave in. In the end, I think we both knew it was time.

Letting go wasn’t easy and it was hard to look at you in your final days. Websites don’t get a last meal or a special tribute. They just go away. Not you my little site. Your pieces are all stored so one day, you can be put back together just the way you always were. One day when we’re both ready.

But, it’s time. It’s time to let go, say goodbye and hope that my new site helps me grow as much over the next five years as you have over the past five. We’ve come a long way, baby.

Now, get out of here, and go enjoy six-plus months of hard work! www.creativebythinktank.com

A little gift arrived at the door of Think Tank Creative yesterday, and while I knew it was coming (since I personally selected and typed in my 16-digit credit card number to actually PAY for it), it was still like Christmas morning. What was this exciting present, you ask? A brand new…

How pretty is that packaging?

A padded box!

Yes, that is a hinge to lift the laptop out of the box.

Tray with accessories underneath.

Documentation

Welcome to the world, Little Mac.

As we recently mentioned we’re about to undertake a redesign of our Web site. In preparation, we’re making some preliminary changes to the site to see what sticks. The first of these changes is the addition of an event calendar which is available here. In addition, the events for the day will always be posted on the right hand of the blog. We’re focusing exclusively on events for the design and association communities in the DC area, but on occasion, we’ll include national events that we think will be of interest to our clients.

Check back often for the latest events listings, and if you know of something we’ve missed, please email us with the details!

It’s hard to believe that we’re kicking off the third month of 2010. This year is our busiest yet and we’re eternally grateful to our clients for keeping us so busy! Since the beginning of the year we’ve welcomed two new clients to our roster — Ein Communications, one of the nation’s top boutique PR firms, as well as Saint Armand Ventures, an elite networking group based in New York City. We’re looking forward to an ongoing relationship with both of these clients. In addition to our new additions, we’ve continued to grow our relationship with GYMR PR, The Nature Conservancy, and athenahealth by taking on new projects in 2010.

In addition to keeping up with work from our clients, we have some updates we want to make our clients and fans aware of:

Things We’re Th!nking About

As you may have noticed over the past few weeks, we’ve launched a new series on our blog titled “Things We’re Th!nking About.” Through Twitter, Facebook, and our RSS feeds, we stumble upon quite a few interesting articles on a weekly basis. This series will aggregate the articles we think are the most relevant for our clients into one central location. Below each article, we post the general topics the articles touch upon so you don’t have to click through on every link — only the ones relevant to you. We’ll try and post the latest articles at least once a week on the blog, but you can always access our real time feed here.

Online Sketchbook

In addition to posting relevant articles to delicious, we’ve also launched an online sketchbook on Posterous. Here, we’ll post examples of beautiful design, typography, color palettes, and other things that make our design heart tick. Feel free to grab some inspiration here for your own projects.

Facebook

As if keeping up with us on Twitter, our Website, blog, delicious, and Posterous wasn’t enough, Think Tank Creative is also on Facebook. In addition to linking to our blog posts, we also post fun things on our Facebook page (we recently told you how to get free pancakes!). Join our 120-plus fans to stay up-to-date with the latest!

*NEW* Thanks for Th!nking of Us

New this month, Think Tank Creative is launching its “Thanks for Th!nking of Us” program. Our clients — past and present — have always been our best form of advertising, and we think it’s important to say “thank you.” So, beginning March 1, we’re launching our referral program. For every referral that results in a new project, we’ll say thank you with a discount on your next project or a little gift to say thanks! Contact us for full details.

*NEW* Designing for our Most Difficult Client

Our final announcement for today, is that we’re about to embark on a redesign of our Website. Sigh. The redesign is bittersweet — it we last redesigned our site about five years ago, so we’re anxious to rip it apart and come up with something new and exciting. But it has been our site for five years. We definitely know what our clients go through at the prospect of a redesign. Plus, designing for me. UGH! There isn’t a client in the world that’s as big a pain as I am. Maybe I should hire a designer to torment with the redesign (I mean to handle the redesign…). But really, it is going to be a great project. And we’re going to look to you — our clients, fans and readers — to help us. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking for your opinion on the site as it exists today, what you’d like to see, and what you think about our competitors sites. The best part is, we’ll be blogging the whole entire (good, bad and ugly) process. Stay tuned!

Before we can get back to our regularly scheduled blogging at Think Tank Creative, we thought it appropriate to recap the top 5 most popular blog posts from 2009. If you’ve missed any of these, now is your chance to catch up. (And if your favorite didn’t make the list, let us know in the comments!)

5. Making the Case: Showcasing the Strategic Business Value of Your In-House Team
A wrap-up of Stanley Hainsworth’s, Former Starbucks VP Global Creative, conversation on Showcasing the Strategic Business Value of Your In-House Team. Relevant for anyone in the marketing or creative industry.

4. Seven Essential Checks Before Your Website Goes Live
Ready to push your new Website live? There is one final round of checks you MUST perform on your site.

3. Recap: Social Media for Creatives and Their Clients
Five trends in digital media from Ogilvy PR’s 360 Degree Digital Influence Practice.

2. Adding Up: Publications Making It Work in the Downfall
What two magazines did to increase their ad revenue amidst a downturn.

1. And That’s a Wrap! The Final Blog Potomac
A summary of the many topics covered at BlogPotomac, including geo-tagging, iPhone app development, Twitterville, and Ning.

Thanks for reading in 2009 — we look forward to even more exciting topics in 2010!

Recently, we received a call from a potential client who was looking for a redesign of their Web site. We put together a little presentation about our design services, and the services of our Web development partner, Related Media. The presentation turned out great, so we thought we’d share it with you here:

Designers have a language all their own, and it’s not always obvious what the most commonly used design terms mean. The list below should help you communicate with and better understand your designer. Download a copy of this list here. And, if we’ve missed any terms, feel free to post them in the comments section.

Bleed: any image or element on a page touches the edge of the page, leaving no margin it is said to bleed.
Crop marks: lines that indicate the edge of the printed piece.
DPI (dots per inch): the unit of measurement used to describe the resolution of printed output.
Facing pages: in a double-sided document, the two pages that appear as a spread when the publication is opened.
Gutter: In double-sided documents, the combination of the inside margins of facing pages; the gutter should be wide enough to accommodate binding.
Landscape (orientation): a page or layout that is wider than it is tall.
Leading: (pronounced “led-ding”) the space between lines of type.
Orphan: the first line of a paragraph ending on a new column or page.
PMS (Pantone Matching System): a standard color-matching system used for inks, papers, and other materials.
Point: a measurement used in typography for type size, leading, and other space specifications in a page layout.
Resolution: the number of pixels per square inch; the greater the resolution, the better the picture.
Rivers: spaces between words that create irregular lines of white space in body type.
Rule: a line used as a graphic enhancement.
Sans serif typeface: a typeface that has no serifs, such as Helvetica or Arial.
Serif: a counterstroke on letterforms, projecting from the ends of the main strokes. For example, Times or Garamond is a serifed typeface.
Spread: in a double-sided document, the combination of two facing pages, which are designed as a unit. Also, the adjacent inside panels of a brochure when opened.
Tabloid-sized page: a page that measures 11″ x 17″
Tracking: the space between characters in a line.
Trim size: the final or finished size of the publication.
White space: areas where there is no text or graphics — essentially, the negative space of the page design.
Widow: a short line (one or two words) ending a paragraph at the top of a page.

Dowload a copy.

Think Tank Creative has been hard at work on the Share Our Strength Great American Bake Sale® campaign.

The campaign is sponsored by national brands such as Domino® Sugar and C&H® Sugar, Food Network, and Family Circle. Food Network stars Sandra Lee and Duff Goldman serve as the official spokesman for the campaign.

Great American Bake Sale is a national effort that encourages Americans to host bake sales in their communities to help end childhood hunger in America. Share Our Strength grants bake sale proceeds to summer and after-school programs in the communities where the funds were raised. The 2009 campaign runs from March 1 – July 31, 2009. Since 2003, over 1.3 million people have participated in Great American Bake Sale, and raised over $5 million towards ending childhood hunger.

Great American Bake Sale first joined Think Tank Creative’s client roster in 2008. For the past two years, we have developed print PSAs, a campaign booklet, poster, postcards, and a series of pieces bake sale hosts could print at home and use to promote their bake sale. This year, Share Our Strength has asked us to develop a series of illustrations for a line of products that will be offered on a Cafe Press site.

To learn more about Great American Bake Sale, or to host your own bake sale, visit www.strength.org.