“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.

In February, the Canadian Media Fund (CMF) announced changes to their requirements to provide funding for television and media projects. In order to secure CMF support, a television project must now include a rich, interactive digital media component. You can watch their announcement in full at http://webcasts.welcome2theshow.com/cmf-fmc2011

Use of interactive digital in support of television projects is already proving highly successful in Canada.  The Showcase series “Lost Girl” has created exclusive content, back story and teasers for their website, enticing fans to interact with the show through multiple mediums.  The web presence has furthered their reach beyond the current television broadcast area, creating loyal online viewers throughout the United States.

Pixelcarve is currently developing interactive digital strategies with independent film makers, and participating in industry events such as the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Breakfast Series.

No matter which side of the Flash vs. HTML debate you find yourself on, there is no denying that both of them possess strengths and weaknesses. For creating immersive, rich, visually impactful experiences, Flash is still the best way to go – and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. And yes, that includes HTML5 and its many accompanying tools (I’m looking at you AJAX).

Flash’s strength is also its weakness; it’s a powerful tool with near limitless possibilities. Far too often it’s used to assault a user’s screen without regard for message, restraint, relevance or style. This leads to poor experiences, and the perpetuating myths about Flash’s usefulness.

There are infinite examples of REALLY BAD Flash websites. You know the ones – they take FOREVER to load, only to make you “skip intro”, and then treating you to a visual assault of every tool, trick and blinking animation effect the “designer” could think of. Google can’t read it (but really, why would it want to), and even if you wanted to send a sub-page to a friend or copy and paste a phone number it just won’t let you. And if this atrocity’s maker had the gall to force open a fullscreen browser window on you… well… hey, we get the hate! It leaves a bad taste and rightfully deserves the bad reputation the likes of Steve Jobs and others have given it.

Or does it?

There IS a better way. Flash is a powerful development platform that, when used correctly, can allow for the creation of the most basic, simple experience, or the most beautifully, richly interactive experience you have ever seen.

Now let’s take it to the next level. When used correctly and with its full feature set, Flash websites can offer superior Search Engine Optimization (SEO), can be Content Managed, and can offer all of the same copy+paste and unique page linking goodness of conventional HTML websites.

Creating these types of highly functional Flash websites does require specialized skills. Think of it as right brain v. left brain if you will. Flash websites have typically been built by artist/designers who have been using the default set of tools available within Flash the best they can for years. But much like the web as a whole has evolved, so has Flash. It is no longer a glorified scripting language, but rather a media-focused, object-oriented development platform. This allows for a blank canvas on which pretty much anything can be built – displayed on any digital medium from web browser to digital signage to kiosks.

As such, proper and effective Flash development has evolved to require a diverse, skilled team of strategists, designers and developers. And it makes sense; major companies wouldn’t dream of building their entire brand messaging and marketing campaigns using only one type of skillset. Technology has evolved to allow for fully interactive brand experiences that can fill a screen, powerfully blending images, video, audio, vector graphics, fonts and motion into something that can also be indexed, managed and optimized. That begins and ends with Flash.

If you agree that a strong web is an open web, you love the Flash platform because it benefits from both the resources of the open source community, as well as the visionary driving force of a single company (much like Java by Sun Microsystems); a company that works intimately with its community to implement new features and guide development. Because it’s simply a language, it can be built in anything – we ourselves don’t even develop in Adobe’s Flash, and we compile with the open source Flex SDK. This lends itself well to the massive community contributing to the codebase. Adobe has even made available the full player specifications should someone feel inclined to make their own.

So forget everything you thought you knew about Flash, and let me welcome you to the new generation of the web’s best rich-media development platform. Learn how.

Until next time,

Curtis Priest
Pixelcarve Inc.
Partner/President & CEO

New York, NY (October 31, 2010) - The winners of The 2010 Davey Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), and Pixelcarve is proud to be only 1 of 3 Canadian companies to be honoured with gold. Scoring 2 gold statues, one for the Rhombus Media website and another for their own Pixelcarve.com website, Pixelcarve also picked up another silver award for Conte & Associates, which was honoured last week by the W3 Awards as well.

“It is humbling to be included amongst such inspiring and cutting-edge work by some of the world’s most passionate boutique agencies.” says Curtis Priest, President & CEO of Pixelcarve. “We are inspired by this community and delight in the challenge to continually evolve our work to ensure our clients stand-out in a progressive webscape.”

To see more winners, check out the Davey Awards:
http://www.daveyawards.com/winners/list/?l=P&event=6&category=4&award=G

About The Davey’s

The Davey Awards exclusively honor the “Davids” of creativity, the finest small firms, agencies and companies in the world.  David defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock – the sort of thing small firms do each year. The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the “Creative Davids” who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than big budgets.  The Davey Awards is the leading awards competition specifically for smaller firms, where firms compete with their peers to win the recognition they deserve. Please visit www.daveyawards.com for more information.

The Davey 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.

Pixelcarve Inc. was selected as a Silver Winner in 2 categories this year for 2 websites: Conte & Associates for Law & Legal Services, and Pixelcarve.com for Self Promotion.

“We were once again amazed by the high standard of excellence represented throughout the entries we received this year. W3 winners continue to embody what the internet is all about and continue to raise the bar in Web development and design. We are honored to have reviewed such a diverse and remarkable pool of work this year” said Linda Day, the executive director of the IAVA. “On behalf of the entire Academy, congratulations to this year’s W³ Award entrants and winners as they continue to push the limits of Web Creativity.”

W³ Awards Info:

The W³ Awards honors creative excellence on the Web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning Websites, Web Video and Online Marketing programs. Simply put, the W³ is the first major Web competition to be accessible to the biggest agencies, the smallest firms, and everyone in between. Small firms are as likely to win as Fortune 500 companies and international agencies.

The W³ is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, and is sponsored by AdvertisingAge, the Media Partner of the W³ Awards.  The International Academy of the Visual Arts is an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Alloy, Brandweek, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, Fry Hammond Barr, HBO, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, and Yahoo!. For more information, and a full member roster, please visit www.iavisarts.org.

If you would like to know how we can help you win an award, talk to us.

Maritz Canada, part of the Maritz global network the largest single source of sales and marketing performance services in the world, has partnered with Pixelcarve to bring a new dimension of engagement and interactivity to the Blackberry / AT&T “A Bold Step Ahead” campaign. Pixelcarve, known for their innovative use of new technologies, worked closely with the Maritz creative team to conceptualize, create and produce multiple media banner ads that encouraged user interaction and promoted brand engagement. The ads featured Flash AS3 interactivity as well as direct social media integration through Twitter. Check out some of the ads below:

Client: Maritz Canada
Media Buy: Starcom
Artwork: Pixel Pushers

Here is a sample of the ad on Wired Magazine. Also applied to 600 x 480 page take-over.

Legendary Toronto real-estate magnate Brad J. Lamb has moved to a brand new building, featuring 3 interactive displays designed by Pixelcarve. Working with Johnson Chou, who designed the new space and conceptualized the project, the screens present new and resale properties in an innovative and revolutionary way. Users walking by his office on the street can use 1 of the 3 touchpad controllers to navigate through a comprehensive listing of properties, seeing high resolution images, location, description, price, agent, etc. It allows Brad Lamb’s office to showcase their properties in a far more interesting and comprehensive format than the usual clipboard.

Feel free to stop by his new office at 786 King St. W. Toronto to try it out.

The winners of The 2009 Davey Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), and Pixelcarve is honoured to have received two awards. Avenue-Road.com took home a Gold statue in the Retail category, and SinyNY.com took home a Silver statue in the Fashion category.

“Pixelcarve is very honoured to be recognized by such a prestigious organization, and humbled to be included amongst the very best in the industry. Winning not only 1, but 2 awards, is a testament to the exceptional team we have here at Pixelcarve, and to our passion for innovation, relevance and beauty.” says Curtis Priest, CEO and President of Pixelcarve.

About The Davey’s

The Davey Awards is an international creative award focused exclusively on honoring outstanding creative work from the best small firms worldwide. The 2009 Davey Awards received over 4,000 entries from ad agencies, interactive agencies, production firms, in-house creative professionals, graphic designers, design firms, and public relations firms.

The largest and most prestigious awards competition exclusively for the “Davids” of creativity.

David defeated the giant Goliath with a big idea and a little rock – the sort of thing small firms do each year. The annual International Davey Awards honors the achievements of the “Creative Davids” who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than stratospheric budgets.

Pixelcarve Inc. was selected as a Silver Winner in 2 categories this year for 2 websites: Avenue-Road.com for website Branding, and SineNY.com for Fashion.

“We were amazed at the caliber and quality of work received this year. Our winners continue to push the envelope of internet creativity and web design, and it is gratifying to see such great work from the smallest agencies to the biggest firms” said Linda Day, the director of the IAVA. “On behalf of the The International Academy of the Visual Arts, we are honored to recognize our winners as they continue to set a high standard of excellence for Web development.” 

W³ Awards Info:

The W³ Awards honors creative excellence on the Web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning Websites, Web Video and Online Marketing programs. Simply put, the W³ is the first major Web competition to be accessible to the biggest agencies, the smallest firms, and everyone in between. Small firms are as likely to win as Fortune 500 companies and international agencies.

The W³ is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, and is sponsored by AdvertisingAge, the Media Partner of the W³ Awards.  The International Academy of the Visual Arts is an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Alloy, Brandweek, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, Fry Hammond Barr, HBO, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, and Yahoo!. For more information, and a full member roster, please visit www.iavisarts.org.

If you would like to know how we can help you win an award, talk to us.