Our client of the month for April, 2008 is Marshland Communities. Their new website was launched in February of this year, and has been very well received amongst users and administrators. Marshland Communities partners with community association leaders to help them achieve their goals of creating a more “neighborly” environment, while enhancing and maintaining its assets. The overall design of the website utilizes the raw earth-tones and textures associated with the Lowcountry’s unique environmental features. The site functions as a tool for both residents and community leaders to access policy information, answer questions, and even pay regime fees. You san visit the site at www.marshlandcommunities.com to learn more about the 40-plus neighborhoods they support and manage. If you are already a Marshland Communities resident, take a moment to explore the various features or simply admire the spectacular design.

Hightower Construction Co., Inc. is celebrating 50 years of business - and 2008 promises to be their best year yet. In addition to their completion of the Bee Street Lofts project near Lockwood Drive in Charleston, they plan to continue their history of commercial, industrial, and restorative work throughout the region. President Jimmy Hightower was recently quoted by the Charleston Regional Business Journal as saying “We will continue to focus on [local] growth and being part of an evolving community.”

Brainstorm launched Hightower’s new website in October of 2007. The site offers sleek, contemporary design, complimented by a rotating Flash gallery of images featuring some of Hightower’s most familiar projects. A visit to the “projects” page allows the viewer to select from on of four categories of construction, each with its own gallery of images.

For more information on Hightower Construction Company, visit their website at www.hightowerconstruction.com.

Nic Lauretano was born and raised on Pawleys Island. His interest in design originated from his early interest in skateboard and surfboard graphics. After attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, Nic worked in videogame package and logo design. During his time in New York, he also worked extensively with Spike TV. Upon returning to South Carolina, Nic took the position of Creative Principal with Domain magazine. This experience gave him tremendous local exposure and opened the door to a future with Brainstorm Design.

Following the successful launch of the Charleston Young Professionals website, Brainstorm began work on the main website re-design for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce (of which the aforementioned is a subsidiary organization.) The design by was approved in late December, and site development is now well underway. The Brainstorm team hopes to announce the site’s launch in the coming month.

And speaking of new site launches, Brainstorm is currently working on it’s largest project to-date. Sod Solutions, a regionally based turf-development and licensing company, needed a website that would not only advertise its products, but serve as an online tool for hundreds of licensed growers and consumers worldwide. The website is set to be unveiled at their 2008 grower’s conference on February 4^th, in Orlando, Florida. In addition to the core website, Brainstorm and Sod Solutions have teamed up to provide satellite-sites for each interested licensee. These sites utilize much of the same content as the Sod Solutions website, but will be customized to the individual business. This has truly been a joint effort between two incredibly hardworking companies.

Finally, congratulations are definitely in order to Designer Bob Galmarini and the entire Brainstorm Team. Of eight total entries, Brainstorm won four awards at the Advertising Federation of Charleston’s annual “Addy” awards. Hightower Boatworks, La Dolce Vita, and the Cooper River Bridge Run were among the winning sites, as well as Brainstorm’s own website! No word yet on whether these sites won gold, silver, or bronze level awards, but look for us at the March 15^th ceremony where all will be revealed. Silver and gold-level winners move up to the statewide competition, and subsequently to the national level. Let’s all keep our fingers and toes crossed that Charleston’s premier web-design company gets the national recognition it so deserves.

This month we would like to recognize La Dolce Vita Agency as our Client of the Month. This exclusive domestic referral agency is the brainchild of Charleston resident, Jessica Chaconas. She saw the need for a business that would act as both a staffing agency and a recruiter of high-end domestic services. In her own words, “Our emphasis is directed exclusively towards creating the ideal environment for both client and candidate alike, and it is this thoughtful consideration that makes our agency distinct.” For more information on this unique business, visit www.ldvagency.com.

What is “Web 2.0” anyway? Those of us working in a technology-based industry likely hear this phrase thrown about, much the same way educators discuss the pedagogical implications on the postmodern era, and public administrators ponder the bureaucratic model’s inability to stand up to performance measurement criteria. In reality, it’s just a nifty way to refer to this, the second generation of web-based communities and interactive services.

Web 2.0 is the concept that people should be interacting with technology at every opportunity, rather than technology acting in the capacity of a passive tool or resource. While the debate as to how this concept should be defined continues, there seem to be several recurrent themes among analysts: Web 2.0 equates to more creativity, increased collaboration, constant interactivity, and more online-networking than has heretofore been seen.

In closing, I can only direct you to conduct further research while creating the potential for additional confusion. A good place to start might be a visit to the following link on YouTube, which offers a “Video Response to Web 2.0”…which, conversely is so Web 2.0.

Brainstorm Web Design is very excited to launch our blog. In this blog we will discuss design, internet technology, announce our website launches, announce new clients and basically talk about whatever else we find interesting.