It is with great pleasure that we announce the launch of the City of Ottawa’s Light Rail website!

Many Ottawans felt as though they were left in the dark when it came to the City’s big Light Rail Transit (LRT) plans. Well folks, there is no longer any need to feel mal-informed. Thornley Fallis and 76design in collaboration with the Light Rail Implementation Team have created an “information-sharing mechanism” that arms the citizens of Ottawa with more than sufficient information relating to the project plan.

The communications efforts applied by Thornley Fallis & 76design were strategic and smart; we have received positive results on the site and its search functions, information content, structure and ease-of-use.

The website in particular has proven to be the most crucial piece of the puzzle. The website we’ve created is meant to engage the entire City; to provide all the facts our users require to fully understand the project and to provide them with a platform to communicate their feelings towards the project.

With the integration of various social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube), interested citizens are able to keep up-to-date and connect with the Light Rail Implementation Team with any questions or concerns. Any questions submitted to the team will be answered in a timely fashion; responses will then be posted on the website. The LRT website helps make a difference by providing comfort to Ottawans by reminding them that Light Rail green and it will only improve the City.

Since yesterday’s launch, the LRT project is getting great media play, print and radio; it is noted that there are happy people all around.

As designers during these rapidly changing times it is more important than ever to exercise flexibility and adaptability in the approach we take to our work. With the competitive nature of our business, the ever evolving vehicles of communication and the state of our recovering economy, our clients have become pretty demanding when it comes to us delivering the goods. If we can’t deliver to their expectations, they know someone else is waiting in the wings, hungry and ready to take over. 

I said it before and I’ll continue to say it “one size does not fit all”. Each client we work for and every individual project we work on has unique objectives and goals and therefore we need to make sure that we take a unique approach to each one and that means being flexible. 

A lot of times it’s smooth sailing. Good ideas flow quickly and client “buy-in” happens without a hitch. However, there are those occasions when things become a little more challenging, when it takes more time and effort than normal to deliver “the goods”. It’s during these times that we ask ourselves “what happened?” The reality is a number of things could have happened and the fact of matter is you still need to deliver. Great designers find a way to adapt on the fly, extending themselves further and further with each new challenge that’s thrown their way. In the end it’s a win-win situation, the client gets delivery of a project and the designer has taken the opportunity to grow and work beyond their past limitations. We are fortunate enough at 76design to have on staff a group of great designers that have shown me the true meaning of adaptability and flexibility. I’d like to take this opportunity to say, “thanks guys!”

Being a designer is not always easy. Deadlines can be tight, projects can be challenging, clients can be really demanding. But being adaptable in the face of challenge makes it easier for everyone involved and that’s a good thing.

To further illustrate my point I leave you with a quote from the late great Bruce Lee, one of the greatest martial artists in history, “Be formless, shapeless like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.” 

Sometimes, to keep myself sane during long work days, I tend to doodle and draw — it’s just what I do and have done since a wee lad.
I was going through some old notebooks and found a few characatures of some co-workers I sketched.
More to come …

Conair Consumer Products Inc. (with our assistance) has recently released its newest product with a contest micro-site, driving its line of hair related products to a whole new level.

Conair, Helps You Tame The Beast

For all you lovely ladies out there who can’t seem to take control of that beast we all call “hair”, I introduce to you the Infiniti Nano Silver by Conair. Simply put, it is the #1 most effective hair straightener on the market. The person who thought of adding steam to a hair straightener is an absolute genius. Not only does it make your hair look vibrant and lustrous, removes all frizz and protects it from the humidity, it takes no time at all. Take my words and check out the website to see what other features and benefits this product has to offer, www.conairsteamstraight.com.

Aside from my obsession with this fabulous “life-saver”, you deserve a little S.O.S. too. The “Tame the Beast” website, was a concept conceived by Conair and 76design/Thornley Fallis. It is your gateway to owning one of these magnificent hair straighteners along with other Conair and John Frieda hair related products. The contest closes on December 17th so don’t wait too long, visit the site, watch some videos, enter the contest and most important…don’t forget to tell your friends. The secret needs to be unleashed so go spread the word.

ENJOY!

OK-OK, I hear you loud and clear blogoshpere. It has been 2(+) weeks since the inaugural post for the much celebrated, the much vaunted 76 Top Five, and the response has been boggling to the mind.

Let’s keep this congo line going, I give you…El videos de musica!

**Please note the low turnout this week, I am looking at you southern-end of the office.**

John:

1. Bjork – “Cocoon”
2. Bjork – “Pagan Poetry”
3. Martha and the Muffins – “Echo Beach”
4. Bran Van 3000 – “Astounded”
5. Johnny Cash – “Hurt”

Steve Bennett:

1. Unkle – “Rabbits inYour Headlights”
2. Radiohead – “Just”
3. Tool – “Aenima”
4. Squarepusher – “Come on my Selector”
5. Michael Jackson – “Thriller”

Julie:

1. Radiohead – “Just”
2. Björk – “All is Full of Love”
3. Pet Shop Boys – “Being Boring”
4. Røyksopp – “Remind Me”
5. Men Without Hats – “Safety Dance”

Rob:

1. The White Stripes – “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground”
2. Beck – “Sexx Laws”
3. Radiohead – “Paranoid Android”
4. New Pornographers – “My Slow Descent Into”
5. Tool – “Sober”

Travis:

1. Tool – “Prison Sex”
2. Death Cab for Cutie – “Title and Registration”
3. Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
4. Metallica – “One”
5. Queens of the Stone Age – “Go with the Flow”

Dom:

1. Billy Ocean – “Loverboy”
2. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
3. Radiohead – “Like Spinning Plates”
4. Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.”
5. Røyksopp – “Poor Leno”

I just noticed today for the first time that when I got an email from Facebook to let me know I received a message it actually included the message itself instead of a cryptic link to go read it. I know this is something small, but it was such a pet peeve of mine that the notification emails always forced you to click a link to go back inside Facebook’s walled garden to see the content. It seemed like such an annoyance in the otherwise solid user experience Facebook provides.

On Facebook mobile (an app they developed themselves) I’ve always been able to get the actual message delivered to my phone so I’m glad they finally upgraded their emails to do the same.