We’ve had the pleasure of working with Iaomai Medical Ministries, a San Diego  medical outreach non-profit, and in nearly record time, we launched their new, fully-custom website: check out the live site here!!

Not only was it wonderful working with Iaomai because of the inspiring advanced healthcare they provide to those most in need worldwide, but President Sean Burgess was extremely helpful providing content, managing some multi-browser testing and supporting our artistic efforts along the way! As a thank you to Skybox Creative for our work on the project, Burgess kindly sent our staff an incredibly beautiful and exotic floral arrangement that literally dropped all of our jaws – it has the largest lilies we’d ever seen!

It was very gracious of Iaomai to offer such a warm gesture, and we in turn commend the organization on their medical outreach, which includes both clinical and surgical procedures during their medical trips. Iaomai specializes in the mobilization of advanced healthcare services to under-served populations around the world. Photo galleries for their most recent trips to Guatemala in 2009 and Jamaica in 2008 are available on the site click here, as well as photos of their most recent fund raising event at the Hotel Del Coronado click here.

Without even asking, Burgess provided a testimonial about the entire web development experience and end product:

“Skybox has been one of the freshest breath of business air I have had in a long time. I am so glad we have done business. I hope your business continues to be a huge success and other potential clients see your diversity and creativity in delivering unique and relevant websites.”

We’re a month into 2010, and it has been a busy and fulfilling year already!

Skybox Creative’s eco-friendly printing business, Skybox Ink is doing increasingly well, and we are consistently expanding product options and paper stocks. New this year is 100# Linen and rounded corners for business cards and postcards – definitely check out the site – 250 business cards start as low as $14!

Skybox Creative has also been working with some wonderful clients, both new additions to our business family and some long-standing relationships. SKIN1 by Dr. Gram recently changed its name to GRAM Skincare, and we are the branding firm revamping their new look (updated packaging and logo to be presented Spring 2010!)

We are also very excited to be working with new client Iaomai Medical Ministries, a medical outreach non-profit here in San Diego. We are currently in the final stages of their website redesign, and it has been a wonderful experience working with people who are so giving of their time, expertise and spirit to make this world a healthier, happier place. Last year, they provided medical care to almost 1400 people in Guatemala during a 10-day outreach trip – incredible!

Mark it on your calendar – Thursday, March 18, 2010 – the next installment of “Green is the New Black.” Skybox Ink, in association with Skybox Creative, welcomes everyone to our Green Networking Quarterly Series at Se San Diego Hotel in the Gaslamp. More details to come soon, but there will be raffle prizes, great conversation and eco-friendly business brainstorming shared by all!

We’ll do our best to keep you current on everything Skybox here on our blog, but please drop us a line at 619.381.3825 or email info@skyboxcreative.com to inquire about our services!

Last night, Skybox Creative attended the “Grand Premier” Showroom Opening for our client, OfficePlanIt + Olab Studio in downtown’s East Village. We completed their custom website in September of this year, and also worked with the contemporary office solutions company to create large format wall art, email campaign designs and postcards.

Their spectacular space, highlighted by premier dealer Inscape’s office systems, brings together the simplicity and edge of contemporary design with the unique character of their space – the original Wonder Bread factory building, heralding rich brick walls and industrial-style ceilings.

A showroom full of guests enjoyed a wide selection of delectable appetizers and cocktails, and most importantly, the lavish atmosphere created by presidents Theron Williams and Jim Edmondson, and their masterful OfficePlanIt team.

For more information on how OfficePlanIt can build your office interior dreams, visit OfficePlanIt.com

NEW YORK As the economy begins its turnaround, the global advertising market is showing signs of improvement. According to Nielsen’s Global AdView Pulse, which tracks advertising across 27 markets in Asia, North America, Europe and Africa, overall media expenditures decreased 6.8 percent for the first half of the year compared to the first half of 2008.

However, the second quarter closed with a more contained decline of 5.8 percent compared to a 7.9 percent decline in the first quarter (vs. the same periods of the previous year). The Asia-Pacific region is driving the improvements, with 6.5 percent ad expenditure growth in Q2, while Europe and North America are still facing challenges posed by the economic crisis.

All media types have suffered from general cutbacks by advertisers throughout the first half of the year. Magazines and newspapers took the biggest hits, losing 18.5 and 7.5 percent, respectively, with negative growth in all regions. Radio has emerged in many markets as the media type with the most contained percentage decline (down 3.1 percent globally) — and it even registered an increase in the Asia-Pacific realm (up 3.1 percent).

Television, too, delivered mixed results depending on the region, with North America (down 14.9 percent) and Europe (down 8.0 percent) showing drops in spending, while Asia-Pacific showed growth compared to the first half of 2008.

As with the half-year results, television and radio are the media types showing the smallest percentage decreases in the second quarter and they are still showing growth in Asia-Pacific and losing revenue in both Europe and North America.

Read Entire Article

As noted by AdWeek , Oct. 1, 2009

Clients, guests, industry friends and influential San Diego business associates celebrated 3 years of Skybox Creative last night at downtown’s hottest new venue, S√® San Diego Hotel’s Siren Pool and Uber Lounge.

Close to 200 guests attended the award-winning web design firm’s milestone mixer and enjoyed a balmy summer evening on the luxurious pool deck. Newly made acquaintances toasted upcoming and exciting business ideas during the networking themed event.

An expansive raffle included an array of products and services, including a logo giveaway from Skybox and printing services from their latest venture – Skybox Ink – a full-service green printing website offering wholesale prices to the public. Guest Patty Mallory already shared her good fortune and experience at the event on her blog: click here!

Check back soon for event photos and contact info@skyboxcreative.com for all of your web design and branding needs!

iStock Design Spotlight is a designer showcase on the stock photography and design community website http://www.istockphoto.com/. They include a variety of categories including print design, promotional materials, web design, graphic design and more. Designs are hand picked to be showcased as inspiration for other artists. Multiple designs from Skybox Creative have been selected for the Spotlight, below are a few of the most recent.

View the Design Spotlight selections here:

LifeSource BioMedical Trade Show Booth Design
http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=26945

SKIN1 Web Design and Development
http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=26946

Miracle Recovery Tri-Fold Brochure Design
http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=26947

SEO is a term that is tossed around on a daily basis yet there are many people who still do not understand what it is. Firstly, there are 2 components to SEO and generating traffic online: Organic SEO and PPC. The term ‘Organic Search Engine Optimization’ refers to ranking well on Search Engines for specific keywords without paying on a per-click basis. Then there is PPC, which stands for, you guessed it Pay-Per-Click! There are a slew of local and national organizations offering SEO, but it is important to do your homework before hiring any of these companies. There are some basics that everyone should understand, so we are going to educate you here on just a few of the main points.

Defining your keywords and keyword combinations is a vital first step in the process. For instance, Web Design San Diego is a different keyword combination than San Diego Web Design, so selecting the appropriate keyword combinations is tricky. Getting thousands of ‘hits’ is not nearly as important as attracting relevant traffic. A great way to start your research is to sign up with a Google ‘Ad Words’ Account. You do not have pay anything to start the set up, but once your account is activated, you will have access to a tool called: Search-based Keyword Tool and the Keyword Tool. It is good to understand which keywords generate the most traffic, but also to make sure the ones you choose will help drive sales. For instance, a term such as ‘Brand’ will generate over 1,000,000 searches on Google monthly, but the term is too generic to sell ‘Branding’ or a specific brand for that matter, besides, you will be drown out by the 617,000,000 results, try getting to page 1-3, it will take A LOT of work!!

If you have a product or service that people will search for locally vs nationally, you are in luck! Whenever you add a city name to a search it narrows down the results tremendously. Take the Web Design example, a search for ‘Web Design’ generates 375,000,000 results, where as a search for ‘Web Design San Diego’ generates 11,600,000 results, you just eliminated 363,400,000 competitors from the running…not a bad place to start! If you have local seekers, you also have the benefit of Map listings which show up above the organic listings when a city name is added to a search. Google offers a free map listing, you can even add coupons and many other business details through their Local Business Center. Yahoo has a similar product as well, I would recommend setting up a listing with both Search Engines. A couple of factors will help you get to the top of that list, number one is location, but you can also submit your listing to specific categories + sub-categories and fill in keywords that way. It also helps to have customers go on and rate your business, if they like you! When visitors find a business with multiple testimonials and a five star rating up front, they will automatically feel a stronger sense of trust vs. your traditional Organic Search Results.

Ok, now to the on-site details.

Now that you understand the importance of keywords, you should know that your top (2-5) keywords should be all over your website. Developing a site entirely in Flash is fine if you don’t care about search engines, but if you want your site to be found, you should limit flash to a certain location on the page, keeping the navigation, title tags and body text in HTML/CSS. There is also a rule to be aware of called: Keyword Stuffing. If Google catches you trying to ‘trick’ the system, they can potentially blacklist your domain, which is definitely no good! Ok, so how do you repeat keywords without keyword stuffing, let me count the ways: title tags, url strings, meta keywords + description, h1 tags (proper definition of header text), body text and links (internal, inbound and outbound). If you have more questions about how these elements can be implemented on your site, please email us info@skyboxcreative.com I have attached a graphic below visually illustrating the elements I have mentioned above. The live site used as a reference model can be seen here: www.drgram.com

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One of our clients, Vigor Systems, was recently an attendee at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in lavish Las Vegas, Nevada.

More than just broadcasting, the NAB Show™ is attended by leading media, entertainment and communications professionals who share a passion for delivering the next generation of audio, video, and filmed content across multiple platforms – from televisions, radios and computers to phones, the big screen and beyond.

Amidst all of the giant plasma screens, graphic and web design (Skybox Creative’s niche) were showcased as important elements supporting the latest and greatest in broadcasting and technology. Digital Production BuZZ, NAB’s team who provided live radio coverage, interviews and podcasts, saw their show producer Cirina Catania win an Inky Award for her work getting the event’s information and breaking news out to the masses.

For more information on NAB 2009, click here

We’ve once again been inspired here at Skybox Creative by the power of WordPress. Sure, it’s a great blog tool and publishing platform, but can also be converted in a fully functional eCommerce website. We have just launched one very user-friendly eCommerce website for SKIN1 by Dr. Gram.

Launched today, SKIN1’s eStore offers customers the ability to select products and shipping options, checkout, and then securely complete the transaction using PayPal. This eases the workload and financial burden for the client by eliminating the need for a merchant account, payment gateway and SSL certificate. Simply sign up for a PayPal business account and start accepting payments the same day. The payment processing page is customized with your business name so customers feel safe and secure through the entire process.

Check it out! http://www.drgram.com/estore

On the front end of the site, you can add and remove items from the shopping cart with all the functionality of a custom-built eCommerce. On the back end of the site, the client has the ability to track inventory and sales, as well as the potential to upload new products and descriptions.

This new way of creating eCommerce for sales driven sites benefits both the retailer and the customer, making it all a little easier for us (in this case, to achieve healthier skin).

Skybox Gets Even More Creative with New Account Manager

At Skybox Creative, we love providing the best in web design + branding without ever compromising client care and support. With that in mind, Skybox welcomes to the team Carly Bartkiewicz; account manager and latest addition to an already impressive pool of design field professionals. She’ll be hitting the ground running Рensuring your design, branding, eCommerce, search engine optimization, print and related needs are given their necessary attention to detail and some TLC, too.

Leadership, editing and project management fall directly under Carly’s wide-ranging and knowledgeable skill set. She comes to Skybox from Wheelhouse Media in North County, where she was the managing editor of Carlsbad Magazine, Encinitas Magazine and several contract-publishing projects. Outside of the office-world, Carly enjoys long walks on the beach and puppies. Seriously? Well, no, and although that may be partially true, you will more likely see her out on the soccer field or debating the latest March Madness upset. (She’s a Syracuse University journalism graduate, a central New York college known in part for both their basketball program and top-notch communications school).

Carly is here for our clients, community, friends and fans, so feel free to pick her brain or ask for some web design and branding solutions by emailing carly@skyboxcreative.com.