We’ve designed and built countless websites over the past 11+ years. Many of them are branded online experiences that serve to differentiate a product or service. They have beautiful design, reflect the brand and values of an organization, have strong user interfaces, and are a great responsive experience online.

But what happens once the site is launched? (Besides high fives, of course.)

For many of our clients, the next step is a plan to maintain their web presence. To double down on the investment and ensure success, we need to think beyond marketing and hammer out a sales strategy. The website should be a key tactic in customer acquisition and retention.

We’ve had a great year thanks to our awesome clients and creative, up-for-anything staff. Through 365 days of challenging — and rewarding — work, we’ve racked up big numbers and gone through so much coffee. So, so much coffee.

When we started our agency, content marketing wasn’t really part of the plan — in fact, we’re not sure the term had been invented yet. But as our agency has grown, so have our practices. These days, we’re positively evangelical about content marketing and the power it has to build relationships and boost business.

Every piece of content marketing works symbiotically with the rest to create one specific thing: Action. Blog content feeds social media, which drives users back to the website, which keeps them engaged with calls to action, which spurs a free download or newsletter signup — and all of that, if done correctly, builds awareness and spurs purchases.

Firebird Raceway is a Treasure Valley institution. But its website was downright institutional: A static HTML site that had to be updated daily by a programmer. It was a situation that wasn’t cutting it for our clients, or for today’s ever-churning racing world.

Since 1968, Firebird Raceway has been offering high-speed thrills to Treasure Valley racing fans. Founded by Bill and Ellanor New, the raceway is now owned and operated by the second generation of “The New Crew.” Their revamped website had to build on what they call the “Firebird experience”: affordable, action-packed fun for everyone from the youngest fans to old racing hands.

We're very proud of the bottle designs for Cinder -- and now have some professional photos to share (photography by Welsh Studios). The minimal design and silkscreened application were two creative solutions to standing out at point of purchase (and support the sophisticated nature of the brand). We're very excited by the final results.View the photos on the Press/Media section of the Cinder website.

I was flattered when Russ Stoddard (my former boss at Oliver Russell) sent The Cabin my way for help with a website redesign. During my tenure at Oliver Russell, I had the fine experience of helping to rename/rebrand The Cabin (formerly known as the "Log Cabin Literary Center"). I was very pleased to cross paths again with the folks from The Cabin -- they are a great group.The result of a few months of work has recently gone live at: TheCabinIdaho.org. The site is a valuable tool in support of the mission of the program and the core brand message, "Words Work Wonders." The goals we outlined early on were to: create a unique and ownable online destination, build an intuitive navigation, allow for easy-to-find tasks, and use the homepage as an ever-changing place to communicate what is going on.

We're proud to report that the WolfWare TableWare website launched on the first of this week. We looked to the logo we designed and artist's work for inspiration. The site needed to look artistic, sophisticated, and "high-end." The design is simple, user-friendly, and allows the artwork to take the main stage.There are many plans for the site longer term -- from a blog to e-commerce functionality. Stay tuned at WolfWareTableWare.com.

Working with start-ups is a very rewarding opportuniy -- it's an honor to be involved at the ground floor (especially with a groundbreaking new, green technology). Boise-based M2E Power, leverages science based on the "Faraday Principle" to turn kinetic energy into power (to charge batteries and eventually mobile devices).After learning more about the physics associated with the technology, Carew Co. crafted a unique visual language for use in all marketing materials. These graphic elements support the scientific nature and specific applications of the technology, and create brand consistency. After defining a visual language, it was time to design the M2E Power web presence. The new website is the first application of the company look and feel.

It was a flattering experience when fine artist and illustrator Elizabeth Wolf asked for help with a new business idea. I've always been a huge fan of her illustration work ("Zooman and the Sign" is one of my favorites).Liz has taken her artwork to a new canvas -- tableware. Every piece is custom, hand-painted, one-of-a-kind tableware. Not only are they custom -- each piece is customized. Liz works with her customers to create artwork that meets their vision.

When winemaker Melanie Krause called me to help out with Cinder, I almost fell out of my chair. Working on a wine brand is every graphic designer's dream job.The name "Cinder" hints at the volcanic soil of the Snake River Valley AVA where vineyards are located (learn more on the "Wines" page of the website). After discussing the vision and researching other Idaho wine brands, it was clear that simplicity and would be a differentiator on the shelves. The wine is still being produced, so we'll unveil the bottle labels when the time is right (sometime in early 2008).