March 2012 may go down as one of Team Armadillo’s most productive months. Not only did we launch our political side project AlbertaTweets to overwhelming fan fare, but we also launched three brand new redesigns. To celebrate such a great month we decided to do a recap of *these three great projects*.

Lion’s Eye Catering

Lion's Eye Catering Redesign - 2012

As one of our longest standing clients, we were ecstatic when the wonderful Miss Monica was looking for a reboot to the “Lion’s Eye Catering web site”:http://www.lionseyecatering. Since it was one of our very first corporate projects, we were more than happy to take a second run at the web site.

By taking the already existing WordPress Content Management system and the established elements of the site’s content, we set out to modernize the look and the feel of lionseyecatering.com. One of our main goals was to improve the overall usability of the site, while also making it a more attractive site to potential clients. We accomplished this goal through a series of new design changes. We implemented Web Fonts to provide for a more seamless and less image heavy design. We also created a bevy of new content, by taking Lion’s Eye Catering’s mouth watering menus and placing that information directly on the site. To help customers better understand the process for ordering, we also set-up a series of pages with easy to follow _How To_ instructions and clearer payment option information.

Overall, with the new minimalistic design, lush photos and a more content heavy site, Miss Monica and Lion’s Eye Catering are seeing stronger search engine results and a new bevy of clients for this long standing business. As always, we have been humbled by being able to work with Miss Monica and we look forward to continuing to help her business grow over the next few years.

I Know Smart People

IKNOWSMARTPEOPLE.com -2012

Started a couple of years ago, “IKnowSmartPeople.com”:http://iknowsmartpeople.com is the brain child of tech savant and *crowd-sourcing guru Sarah Blue*. The site features interviews with some of the most inspiring and thoughtful thinkers in the tech industry. Sarah has been a long friend of the company and was looking to take her popular site from it’s humble posterous roots to the next stage of evolution with a full WordPress install. She approached us to craft a unique look that would help showcase her unique side-project.

Using our hand-crafted WordPress blogging theme, we set about crafting a look that not only matched Sarah’s elegant personality, but also provided a subtle backdrop for her fantastic interviews. By using the power of the WordPress CMS and a minimalist design aesthetic, we have created something that will not only help garner new readers, but provide for stimulating discussion. As always, it was a pleasure working with Sarah and we look forward to continuing to help her fascinating project grow.

Unrest Magazine

Unrestmagazine Redesign - 2012
“Unrest Magazine”:http://www.unrestmag.com is an online academic journal based out of Washington, D.C. Started a little over two years ago, the journal has grown from it’s humble roots as a vehicle for the students of George Manson University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution to an academic powerhouse for the field of International Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The site now features articles and postings from some of the fields most predominate thinkers on the subject of International Conflict.

The initial version of the site was powered by the cumbersome Joomla Content Management System and was not conducive for the journal to adapt or grow. Late last year, we were approached by the chief editor, Michael English, to assist in crafting a site that was not only easier for readers to navigate, but also provided a more fluid functionality to allow the site to increase it’s readership.

We set about this by migrating the current site from the Joomla CMS to the more user friendly WordPress CMS. In doing so we granted the editorial team with a stronger understanding and control of the backend, which in turn has already improved content creation. We also crafted a unique design and layout which now better represents the varying levels of content of the magazine, and now allows the magazine to offer up a more current flow of content. We also integrated the journals various Social Media outlets, including syncing the new Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr accounts directly into the site, which in turn allows users to connect with the site on another scale.

As always, it was a pleasure to work with all three of these clients and on such diverse projects. We welcome all three of these projects to the ever growing family of Armadillo Clients and look forward to our continued partnerships in the future.