This will be my final posting on the Simple Square blog. This portion of the web site has recieved very little traffic over the past year. I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to discontinue efforts here and to direct them else where on the site.

The main portion of this web site is still going strong. Samples of my work can be viewed there aswell as my design/development process, philosophies and featured project. 

Thank you to all those who followed the Open Square Blog.

- John Furness

Isn’t social networking just for people who want to connect with old classmates? Not any more. With the internet becoming a more prominent commerce venue everyday, small to medium sized businesses are taking advantage of a fairly new form of networking. Social Networking.

Acording to Wikipedia:

A social network service focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.

With another year coming to a close in a month in a half, I have been reviewing the year and taking toll of how great a year it has been for Simple Square. With the launch of nine new sites and countless updates and site expansions it has been very busy in 2008. Before the end of this year I am projecting another six sites will be launched before year’s end.

Amit Benjamin wanted to reshape his online presence. This project included a new brand/identity, color, logo and web site. All elements of the project were handled through Simple Square. Amit wanted a clean logo with a fresh basic color pallet. Bright blue paired with grey and white against a black backdrop gives the photographer a dynamic and current image.

The new site follows suit. Using the new color pallet and logo the web site features an extensive portfolio, bio, blog and shop. The blog is driven by the open source application WordPress, ensuring ease of use. The shop and portfolio are also managed through the WordPress Content Management System via a custom plug-in written to communicate to the Flash portion of the site. Giving complete control of updates to the Client.

This last month we launched the new OASIS web site. OASIS is a not for profit organization who’s focus is on helping individuals with special needs. Having created the previous version of the OASIS site we were please to have an opportunity to work on the revamp of their online presence.

The new OASIS site was developed around the Drupal content management system. We focused our efforts on the presentation of the site’s information and how users will go about accessing it. OASIS has a wealth of data that has been collected over the years that is very valuable to those who work within the field of special needs. Some of the new site’s features include a membership database, a industry specific job posting board, two protected access areas for sensitive materials and an extensive archive.

The last few months have been a busy few here at this end. With so many project startups and launches, I have really let Open Square slide by the way side. This post is a showcase of what’s been on the up and up around here project-wise. For more information on these and any other of our projects please see our portfolio at http://simplesquare.com.

1. Corrosive Studios

With the ground work laid out for Corrosive Studio’s new corporate image, all was a go with the development of their new online presence. The desire was to follow the pre-established corrosive/corroded look without making the site look too ‘grungy’. By keeping the site bright and working with a contrasting color pallet this desired effect was accomplished.

It has been a goal of mine to offer graphic apparel for some time now. However, personal projects as such always seem to fall by the wayside while client’s projects get all of my attention. Originally I wanted to build and manage a separate online store for this, after quite a bit of research I chose to use CafePress.com’s services. It’s so easy to use and make products available to the public that I jumped on board almost immediately. Within an hour I had 4 products available for sale. Granted I have had the designs completed for some time now.

Over the past year I have given much thought to minimizing the amount of paperwork and files on my local computer. My reasoning for such thought is simply to alleviate my worries about computer theft/fire and to make myself more mobile.

The first reason is rather self explanatory. In the event of a fire or system theft I would lose all local files. While I do make regular backups and store these in a fire safe, nothing is better than keeping duplicates of important information off site. After all my livelihood resides on my computer, losing this would be catastrophic for my business.

Part Two; Creating the Right Online Presence

In the previous part of this post (Part One; The Importance of Having an Online Presence) we explore the importance of having an online presence. Here in part two we take a closer look at creating that presence and the process involved.

a. Approaching the Right Designer/Developer

Finding a Designer/Developer who possesses a solid understanding of online trends is crucial to the success of your new site. Finding and working with someone whom you trust and feel confident with is equally important. Any well established, creditable agency will want, and need, to spend the time getting to know you and your product or services. Properly establishing an online presence for your company should not be a templated process, each online solution should be uniquely tailored to a client’s needs.

The following two part post has been created to educate new and existing businesses and organizations on the importance of having an online presence; empowering them to seek the right help and take the right steps towards achieving this goal.

Part One; The Importance of Having an Online Presence

a. Always Open Around the World

Imagine your business being open 24/7 with no labour costs. An online store never closes. A web site faces no time zone barriers. Internet is the most cost effective way to trade nationally and internationally.  A web site will broaden your base of customers, members, distributors and suppliers. You can generate more clients for your business without doing any additional marketing.