“These 3 projects are amongst my favourite that Pixelcarve has ever produced, and it’s immensely rewarding to have them recognized along side the very best in the industry. It’s also humbling, to say the least, as the calibre of interactive working being produced online is remarkable and evolving rapidly. I am incredibly proud of the values, dedication and world-class strategic, creative and development talent we have here at Pixelcarve.” says Curtis Priest, CEO and President of Pixelcarve.

The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 550+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.  Current IAVA membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including:  Condè Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, HBO, Keller Crescent, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Tribal DDB, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, Yahoo!, and many others.  See www.iavisarts.org for more information.

“The pool of entries we received for this year’s Communicator Awards serves as a true testament to the innovative ideas and capabilities of communications and marketing professionals around the world. Each year our entrants continue to amaze by reinventing the ways we communicate and market in an ever-changing industry” noted Linda Day, executive director of the IAVA.  She added, “On behalf of the entire Academy, we congratulate this year’s Communicator Award Entrants and Winners for their passion and dedication.  We are humbled to be given the opportunity to recognize such amazing work.”

For more information about the Communicator Awards, please visit www.communicatorawards.com, email the Communicator Awards at info@communicatorawards.com or call us at (212) 675-3555.

About The Communicator Awards:

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and
identity work for print, video, interactive and audio. This  year’s  Communicator Awards received  thousands of entries from companies and
agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the
world. Please visit www.communicatorawards.com for more information.

The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms. Please visit www.iavisarts.org for a full member list and more information.

The recent explosion of tablets and smartphones in the consumer market is presenting a number of opportunities, and challenges, for businesses in every industry. As a business, the biggest challenge you will likely face in this regard is optimizing your website experience for the different screen sizes and technologies supported by these devices. Here are 3 important strategies to keep in mind in ensure you’re not losing clients.

1. Not All Devices Are Created Equal
   In this wild west of beautiful flat glass and simplistic user interfaces it’s important to understand that, unlike PC’s, the tablet market is still very new and there are very few standards. Therefore your website, or parts of your website, may work with one device or tablet and not another. For instance, many websites using rich-media components such as video, audio and motion built in Adobe’s popular Flash language won’t work correctly on an Apple iPad, but work fine on RIM’s Playbook or Google’s Android. On the other hand, those same elements built for the iPad using HTML5 often won’t work on the majority of desktop or laptop browsers. There simply is no universal language that just works, and there is no “one-size fits all” solution.
2. Adapt to, and Respect the User
   Embrace the fact that your clients are using these devices and they expect you to cater to their choice of technology. If your website does not take them into consideration, they will not be blaming their device – they will be faulting you for not adapting to them. This means more than simply having a website that serves the lowest common denominator that “just works” – it also needs to leverage the unique features, and adapt to the limitations, of every device so that it represents the best experience possible, which brings us to…
3. Don’t Sacrifice – Respect Your Brand
   Most business owners say “let’s build one website that works everywhere”. Unfortunately it’s not quite that simple. Limiting some of the great things you can do on a PC just to make your website work on a smartphone or tablet defeats the purpose, and vice versa. Flash’s ActionScript3 language is still the only way to create compelling immersive fullscreen experiences on the desktop across all browsers, while HTML5 offers some advantages for tablets. What’s more, each type of device offers its own unique viewing experience and a design that works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another. Phones have considerably smaller screens, and even the larger tablets often suffer from poor network speeds due to mobile network limitations or low-powered Wi-Fi hardware. Big images and streaming video that are so effective on desktop websites are often a detriment on mobile devices. Each device deserves and requires an experience customized to it, with its own benefits and limitations harnessed so that instead of sacrificing for any particular device, you’re using them to their full advantage.

Websites should not, and do not need to, be built with a “one-size fits all” mentality. Modern development allows for a more intelligent solution. It’s called Device Responsive Design. Gone are the days of “Our website is best viewed with…”. With this technology the website is built with a common framework for the design and information, and then it detects what device is being used and what it’s capable of, and then delivers the best user experience for that screen and device. It’s an important piece of your overall digital marketing strategy to ensure that none of your clients feel left behind and you are maximizing every opportunity to attract, retain and develop new clients going forward.

To learn more about how your business can harness the tablet and smartphone evolution, and how you can leverage these technologies with your current website, please feel free to get in touch with me via e-mail, phone 416.987.4935 x3000 or @curtispriest

Curtis

Curtis Priest
Partner / President & CEO
Pixelcarve Inc.

416.987.4935 x3000
http://www.pixelcarve.com
http://www.pixelcarve.com/blog/
304 – 96 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON

The BlackBerry Blade is our dream Superphone. It was created out of our passion for RIM’s products – retaining everything that makes them great, while propelling their design aesthetic and technology into the next era. Our vision was to create a design that’s inspiring, beautiful and will re-ignite the BlackBerry brand.

A fusion of acrylic and aluminum, the Blade feels solid and sturdy, but is a comfortable light weight. In addition to defining its modern style, the Blade’s curved design serves several functional purposes; it’s meant to feel more comfortable while typing, reduce direct glare on the screen, resist a face-first impact, feel invisible when put in a pocket, and of course, bring the microphone closer to your face. It also allows the phone to stand up on its own in the landscape position.

The external LED, a popular feature on BlackBerry’s, has been enhanced with an ultra-modern wrap-around design that glows in different colours, animates, provides visual notifications, displays battery life, game effects, etc.

There are 3 smartphones based on the Blade’s overall visual styling – a full touchscreen, a physical keyboard, and a slider. In each version we felt it important to maintain the trackpad and physical buttons – the BlackBerry is a uniquely productive device and these features are critical for precise movements and more efficient phone functions – after all, a smartphone still has to be a great phone, which is something others seem to have lost.

The BlackBerry Blade continues RIM’s proud tradition of being a world-class enterprise device sought after by business professionals. Its multiple outputs will serve any business need, from its MicroHDMI to MiniVGA – it’s a powerhouse for presentations, e-mail, social media, security, and web browsing with full Adobe® Flash®. It has no compromises with the new QNX based BlackBerry 10 OS – and desktop calibre real-time operating system.

Features like NFC, Wi-Fi hotspot and 4G LTE bring it into the next generation of connectivity. It’s tough, highly resistant to damage and supports breathtaking quality photos and video for both work and play.

The BlackBerry Blade is distinctly BlackBerry, while modernizing the brand and allowing RIM to not only catch-up to the current consumer competition, but leap-frog them entirely.

As mentioned last month, the Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP holiday card “Blakes Gives Thanks”, which was filmed, edited and produced by Pixelcarve, has been getting a lot of industry attention. Today, the LMA’s announced the Your Honour award winners and they gave Blakes the top spot for Promotional/Collateral Piece Winners — Holiday Cards.

Summary

Blakes wanted to send a unique and memorable holiday greeting to clients that conveyed a message of gratitude. This was accomplished with a short video that captured the spirit of the season as well as the culture of the firm. Blakes also leveraged social media to spread the message and track results.

The upbeat holiday video features an introduction of a typical day which sets up the theme (and features a Blakes partner and her children), and then leads into clips submitted by people from various Blakes offices about what they are thankful for.

From a marketing perspective, the team wanted the eCard/video to be creative, thoughtful, unique, memorable and engaging. Realizing that eCards had become standard among law firms, Blakes sought a new way that lawyers could effectively connect with their wide network of contacts and clients around the globe. The email portion of the card was customizable with a personal message from the sender, and led to the short video message. Following the video there was an invitation to share the message via social media. The entire experience was flawlessly branded as well as completely bilingual (English and French).

Following the distribution of the “Blakes Gives Thanks” eCard/video in mid-Dec. 2011, the firm received over 8,000 views on YouTube, and all our social media properties saw an increase in followers, dialogue and reach. In addition, the video message elicited more direct replies and good wishes to lawyers than any eCard sent in previous years.

The core objective of our holiday eCard was to maintain and strengthen client relationships, and the total budget for this project was comparable to eCard development and significantly less than sending traditional printed cards.

What the judges say:

Classy. Nice results tracking of the card. Good messaging, unique look.

The video was produced in both English & French and has since been viewed by almost 11,000 people.

Pixelcarve is also pleased to announce the release of the Director’s Cut, which features all new scenes including an introduction not seen in the final video.

Let us know what you think!

Pixelcarve President & CEO Curtis Priest spent some time recently speaking about his support for CorporationCentre.ca. View video >

We are seeking a Flash ActionScript 3 developer to add to our growing team.

You are:

An incredibly passionate, motivated Actionscript3 developer always on the cutting edge and able to rock out amazing work very quickly. You work in fullscreen, and think websites should be more experiential than static. You pride yourself in your beautiful, fluid tweening and movements, flawlessly organized code, and having never seen a Flash timeline. You see The Matrix, even in your sleep, and start to get the shakes if you are deprived of a computer for too long.

You recognize that Flash is NOT dead that it is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, the most powerful rich-media web development platform in the world – no matter what Apple says. You have fun playing with HTML5 and are eager to learn its new features as it matures, but your life’s blood is AS3 and you can’t live without it.

You are confident in what you can do, but your ego is in check and you’re still open to learning new things and new ways. You are comfortable working on your own and in a team in a modern open office, and would benefit from the mentorship of a Flash master.

You have:

-          High level experience with Flash Design, Actionscript 3.0
-          Experience in Server Side Database MySQL
-          Experience with PHP
-          Excellent spoken and written communication skills
-          Ability to clearly articulate design requirements
-          Organized
-          Punctual
-          Attention to Detail (a MUST!)
-          Experience in other Adobe Creative Suite Applications (Photoshop, Illustrator)

You are not:

A junior with no experience. A senior with bad habits. A company or subcontracting production house. Please don’t waste our time if you are.

We are:

An agency unlike any other. Our work is immersive and beautiful – it has to be because we deal with premium brands. Every project sets a new standard and is immediately copied (poorly) by our client’s competition. We are downtown Toronto in the Agency district.

If you’re what we’re looking for, please send your resume and portfolio to careers@pixelcarve.com.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary:

Dependent on experience and skills.

Holiday cards have become a staple in the legal industry, having evolved into large productions that often feature elaborate designs and even full commercial video production. Blakes, who have over 550 lawyers in cities all over the globe and are frequently recognized as Best Law Firm in Canada, wanted to take the opportunity to communicate their deep gratitude for their clients, partners, friends and family. They turned to Pixelcarve to produce a 1 minute short that showcased “a day in the life of a Blakes lawyer” and all of the things they are thankful for, as well as a compilation of their lawyers giving thanks from around the world.

“Blakes went all out with this video on thankfulness. Extra marks for the heartwarming scene of a lawyer being welcomed home by her pajama-clad children.” says Precedent, after awarding them the Best Law Firm Holiday Card of 2011.

UPDATE: The Blakes Gives Thanks video has been selected as a finalist by the Legal Marketing Association in the Promotional and Collateral Materials – Holiday cards category. There were nearly 235 submissions this year, and the panel of judges was highly selective in deciding which would be recognized from among the many high-caliber entries. Winners will be announced in the Feb. 29 edition of LMA Briefs.

The video was produced in both English & French and was distributed by a large e-mail campaign also created by Pixelcarve.

The following video caught the attention of the entire legal community and ultimately was viewed by over 10,000 people.

Pixelcarve is also pleased to announce the release of the Director’s Cut, which features all new scenes including an introduction not seen in the final video.

Let us know what you think!

“It’s an honour to be recognized with the best in the industry. Although achieving business objectives and results for our clients is our top priority, let’s be honest it never hurts to be recognized by your peers for outstanding contribution to the entire industry. It’s a testament to the incredible creativity, dedication and unique hybrid of talent found within Pixelcarve.” says Curtis Priest, CEO and President of Pixelcarve.

The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 550+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.  Current IAVA membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including:  Condè Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, HBO, Keller Crescent, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Tribal DDB, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, Yahoo!, and many others.  See www.iavisarts.org for more information.

“As we continue our mission to honor Creative Excellence for Communications Professionals, we were once again amazed at the high level of work we received for this year’s Communicator Awards. With this year’s entries we found an increased awareness and reflection of the digital world in which we live, and our entrants always seem to find new and creative ways to push the envelope of possibilities across all mediums” noted Linda Day, director of the IAVA.  She added, “We are honored to witness the amazing work being done throughout the industry and want to commend and congratulate this year’s Communicator Award Winners and Entrants for their hard work and dedication.  On behalf of the entire Academy – Job well done.”

For more information about the Communicator Awards, please visit www.communicatorawards.com, email the Communicator Awards at info@communicatorawards.com or call us at (212) 675-3555.

About The Communicator Awards:

The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and
identity work for print, video, interactive and audio. This  year’s  Communicator Awards received  thousands of entries from companies and
agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the
world. Please visit www.communicatorawards.com for more information.

The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms. Please visit www.iavisarts.org for a full member list and more information.

Short & Sweet brings people and short film together, inspiring and empowering audiences while celebrating the medium.

Curtis Priest, President & CEO of Pixelcarve Inc., will be the Guest Host on Monday, May 2, 2011. Please join him for this fun, inspiring and FREE evening of the best short films from around the world!

A little bit about Short & Sweet – it began as London, England’s only weekly short film festival, running every Monday night since May 8th, 2006. Short & Sweet has recently expanded to Toronto, with plans to launch in Australia and South Africa in the near future. Each and every week, we show a selection of the finest short films, music videos and short animations from around the globe: old films, new films, from established directors to breaking talent. The intent is to inspire all who attend, expose the best talent and ultimately celebrate film. We are dedicated to the exhibition of short film as an art form in its own right.

Doors open at 7:30pm, films start at 8pm!

Location:
No One Writes to the Colonel
460 College St. (Just west of College & Bathurst) +Map It
Toronto, ON

We look forward to seeing you there!

All lawyers are the same, right? Not so. Wolf Kimelman has a unique understanding of the Canadian legal system, and of the challenges and crisis’s that their clients experience. As such, Wolf Kimelman required a website that allowed them to stand out amongst the clutter of law firms in the city, and turned to Pixelcarve to help them meet this challenge. We designed and built a beautiful and experiential website that portrays the power of Wolf Kimelman’s brand, as well as their level of unwavering skill and dedication to their clients.

Here is what senior partner Jason Kimelman had to say about working with Pixelcarve.

“We have just launched our web site which was designed and created by the great people at Pixelcarve. Having never purchased a web site and knowing very little about the intricacies of web sites and marketing, we were quite lost initially. Quickly, however, our nerves were calmed by Curtis, Ryan and Jeremy.

Throughout the process (which was relatively quick), our questions were answered, our requests were satisfied and our deadlines were met. We are thrilled with the finished product. It was a pleasure working with Pixelcarve and selfishly, I hope no one ever retains their web site design services in the future.”

Wolf Kimelman was a fantastic firm to work with, and we’re excited by the great results they are already experiencing from their new website.

You can check it out here: http://www.wolfkimelman.com