Sod Solutions’ company Web site won a major agricultural award at the 20th Annual Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) award ceremony and conference. The event took place last May in Puerto Rico. Sodsolutions.com beat out other peer organizations in the horticultural industry to take home first place in the category “Electronic Publishing: Overall Company Web Design”.

Sod Solutions, Inc. is a World leader in development of improved turf grass varieties, with growers worldwide. Based out of Awendaw, South Carolina, they have been a client of Brainstorm’s since development started on their current website in August of 2007. Featuring over 800 pages, sodsolutions.com is one of the deepest and most detailed online sources for information on turf grass on the Internet today and is the flagship for a unique content management and sharing program. That program allows interested turf producers to get their own Web site through Sod Solutions and have access to updated content, photos and information.

Catching up to the rest of the world, Brainstorm Design now has a twitter account, and we hope to use it regularly. That’s the plan, at lease. We encourage everyone to follow our work via Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Brainstorm_Chas and we will do the same for you.

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.