Tasty eCommerce Solution for Small Businesses

December 8th, 2011

Chefs to Dine For

CHALLENGE Lynne Ryan, a diner insider with 20 years experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry, has a unique business. Chefs to Dine For hosts monthly dinners with menus designed exclusively for her guests at the finest Manhattan restaurants. Without a great deal of computer experience, Lynne needed a website and an ecommerce solution she could manage on her own.

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION Full Deck helped Lynne secure her ChefsToDineFor.com domain and set her up with a web host. WordPress—a free content management system—made the most sense. Accessible from any internet browser, its easy-to-use interface resembles word processing software. Lynne was able to quickly learn how to input text and images on her own. The Wazala ecommerce solution we selected is an elegant shopping cart for small businesses. Its clean, professional design allows Ryan to include multiple photos, an event description, identify her guests’ gender (to assure a nice mix) and interfaces seamlessly with her PayPal account. Wazala also works with Google Checkout and Authorize payment platforms. Join Lynne and fellow foodies at the next Chefs to Dine For dinner at xxxxxxx on January XX, 2012.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can help your company, too. Give Full Deck Design a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to see how we wake up your business image!

Holiday Cards Remind Clients You’re Out There

November 1st, 2011

CHALLENGE Marketing your business is not easy these days. The internet has given us a great opportunity to communicate with our clients more regularly, but sometimes can lack a human touch.

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION Sending your clients—past and potential—a holiday greeting is a gentle, friendly way to remind them you’re out there. Whether you send printed cards by mail or email a postcard, you’re telling your clients that you value their business. It’s also a great opportunity to focus your mailing list on those who are most likely to hire you or help your business grow. If you prefer to avoid associating your business with secular holidays, send a New Year’s card instead. Full Deck will design a card that highlights your business.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can increase interest in your company, too. Give Full Deck Design a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to find out how we could wake up your business image!

Do You Want to Have Fun?

August 11th, 2011

CHALLENGE If you’ve got kids, chances are you’ve been to Fun Central. An irresistible combination of mini golf, bumper boats, arcade and batting cages make it the ideal place to spend a summer day—or evening. Their old website didn’t reflect the good times their customers’ were having and parents couldn’t easily compare pricing packages.

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION Happy colors, happy kids. The bright shining smiles of the kids featured on each of the site pages say it all—can we go to Fun Central? A captivating home page animation quickly tells viewers about main attractions and birthday parties. By arranging pricing in easy-to-compare charts, parents can plan the most cost-effective visit. Andrea Rhodes, owner of GiG Marketing, developed the catchy “Live a Little, Play a Lot” tagline and wrote engaging text for the entire site. Fun Central is located at 1630 Route 9 in Wappingers Falls, click here for directions.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can increase interest inyour company, too. Give Full Deck Design a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to find out how we could wake up your website! Or, Get it Going and contact Andrea at GiG Marketing 917-991-1055.

 

Perfect Place to Find a Mother’s Day Gift!

June 20th, 2011

CHALLENGE Simplicity is a new kind of boutique combining new, vintage and eco-friendly clothing, accessories and home goods. Shop owner Megan Lawrence wanted to have a web presence the day she opened her doors—before she had any merchandise!

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION Team member Andrea Rhodes, owner of GiG Marketing, made this project easy by developing mood boards and finding photos that perfectly conveyed the inviting feel of the store. With one oversized silhouetted image and a row of small photos, Full Deck’s classic yet fresh design draws attention to the eclectic treasures shoppers can expect to find. The easy-to-use WordPress blog that’s embedded in the site allows Megan to post new finds as they come in and not have to know a thing about programming! Buy something for your mom with this 10% coupon offered exclusively to Full Deck Design readers! Simplicity is located at 1820 New Hackensack Road in Poughkeepsie, click here for directions.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can increase interest in your company, too. Give Full Deck Design a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to find out how we could wake up your website! Or, Get it Going and contact Andrea at GiG Marketing 917-991-1055.

Wow Potential Clients with Outstanding Imagery

June 20th, 2011

CHALLENGE Daniel Contelmo is an accomplished architect with a stunning portfolio of private homes built throughout the Hudson Valley.  A new website design needed to highlight the beauty of the work and appeal to his selective clientele.

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION To underscore the quality of his architecture, an oversized image is the focal point of each page. Key to the site’s success, Full Deck used a variety of Photoshop tools to bring out the best in each image. The resulting vibrant glimpses into Contelmo’s homes give prospective clients a tangible sense of his design style and attention to detail. Full Deck’s understated design elements—a unique navigation system using circles and a soft color palette—add to the sophisticated feel.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can increase interest in your company, too. Give us a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to find out how we could wake up your website!

Producing Lengthy Reports for Less!

June 20th, 2011

CHALLENGE Idealware is a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and evaluating software for the nonprofit community. Once or twice a year they compile a comprehensive review of open source (free) Content Management Systems (CMS) that enable organizations to modify website content inhouse. The 82-page report compares WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Plone.

FULL DECK DESIGN PARTICIPATION FDD’s expertise with layout software Adobe Indesign helps reduce report production time. Master page templates with page numbers, footers and page text boxes ensure consistent positioning and automatic page numbering. The table of contents was generated automatically with page header and subheader levels. The complicated charts were easy to duplicate using chart styles. Because the final report will be printed in hard copy as well as posted online as a PDF, image files were converted printable format and resolution verified. By the way, if your organization is considering a CMS for your website, this report is a must read.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? If your organization produces reports or newsletters, we can help you save money by reducing production time, too. Give us a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to get an estimate.

Holiday Spirits!

June 18th, 2011

BEER CHALLENGE Halftime has the world’s largest selection of beer. Owner Alan Daniels is constantly developing new ways to market to customers who come to his store or his successful website. One thing that sets his store apart from others is that he encourages people to grab an empty six-pack holder and fill it with any 6 beers they want.

FULL DECK DESIGN BEER SOLUTION Beer is fun, and we had some developing this 30-foot wide wall banner to familiarize store customers with the Mix Six concept.

WINE CHALLENGE Dutchess Wine is in the same plaza as Halftime. What could be more convenient? Owner Alain Urbani has organized his store by food type making it easy for customers to choose the best wine to go with their meal.

FULL DECK DESIGN WINE SOLUTION Wine is fun, too! A cow talking to a fish? Makes it perfectly clear that Dutchess Wine will help you pair the perfect wine for the perfect meal.

December is a time for toasts. Halftime and Dutchess Wine at 2290 South Road in Poughkeepsie have all the holiday spirits you’ll need. Their holiday baskets are the ideal gift!

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can increase interest in your company, too. Give us a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to find out how we could wake up your business image!

A Professionally Designed Brochure Might Lead to Increased Donations

June 18th, 2011

CHALLENGE Blue Belt Janicik, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization with the goal of promoting bicycle safety and awareness to cyclists and motorists across the U.S. The organization was founded by Colleen Janicik whose son was tragically killed in a bike crash. Blue Belt’s brochure lacked visual appeal and didn’t present information clearly.

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION Blue Belt’s bike safety goals are immediately conveyed with a full-size cover image of a bicyclist riding on a country road and three smaller images that highlight bike safety rules. Blue Belt’s mission and donation information are prominently displayed on the foldover panel. On the inside, bright colors and photographs reinforce safety facts. Full Deck extended usability by adding a mailing panel on the back. Most importantly, the brochure conveys a sense of professionalism that will hopefully translate into increased donations for this worthy cause.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can help your organization develop a brochure that appeals to potential donors, too Give us a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to see how.

A Solution for Companies that Update Site Content Frequently

June 18th, 2011

CHALLENGE Hudson Valley Mercantile is a monthly publication highlighting local events, businesses, places and faces throughout the Hudson Valley. They wanted a website where people could quickly find out what was going on and where. The content would change on a monthly basis matching the print version. In addition, they wanted their regular columnists to have blogs within the site.

FULL DECK DESIGN SOLUTION Hudson Valley Mercantile is known for covers that feature the work of local artists, so we created a mosaic from different sky images silhouetted the Catskill mountain range.The entire site was created using free open source WordPress software. Originally developed as a blogging software, WordPress allows users to easily add content via internet browser. It enabled blogger-columnists to post blogs but restricted accessibility to their blog areas. The calendar is updated and categorized automatically from a spreadsheet file.

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? Our creativity and original thinking can increase interest in your company, too. Give us a call at 845-266-3852 or email us to see how we can improve the effectiveness of your website!