If you’re from Edmonton then you should know of Julio’s Barrio on Whyte Avenue. A great place for beers, bulldogs or Mexican food. Especially during the hot summers with their street side patio. We were lucky enough to work with the great people there to create a fun new website we are quite proud of!
Check it out here

Yes, you do need to optimize your website for mobile devices.

Year after year, mobile usage is growing and it is expanding to include new formats (Apple iPad, HP Slate and the much rumored Google Tablet). The way we interact with these devices will mature as the technologies and devices develop. For now, there a few simple things to keep in mind.

First, if you have a website, then you should absolutely invest in establishing the mobile version of that site. The key to creating an effective mobile site is in the strategy. A good mobile site isn’t just a tiny version of your existing site. A good mobile site needs to focus on addressing your core marketing objectives in a way that is in keeping with the brand experience of your website but is also optimized for mobile screens.

There are two rules of thumb that we try to use as a guide in our mobile website strategy here at Overhaul Media. Both focus on the intended audience and the general tendency of most mobile users today. What we have found is that most mobile users typically fall into these two camps:

* I need information quickly. Directions to that meeting, recommendations on a nearby restaurants, where the closest bus/subway stop is, the phone number of that business, etc. These people need information quickly that’s easy to find that’s only a click away, if that. If the information is too difficult to find or executed poorly, they will move onto the next option (a.k.a. your competitor). Don’t lose your chance to grab their business.

* I have some time to waste. I am waiting for my plane, for my appointment, at my bus stop, for my friends to show up, for my meeting/class to start, at the checkout line, etc. These people want light reading that gives them the general idea, not in-depth reading. They want a series of images to look through or maybe even a light quiz or opportunity to interact with your site. Keep the content relevant, interesting, and engaging.

These basic groups also apply to online marketing campaigns. If you have a marketing campaign in your future, keep in mind that mobile users present you with an opportunity that you don’t get with your typical web audience. Mobile users typically have ‘in-between’ time. They aren’t at home or sitting at their desk tuned into the task at hand having to manage the usual distractions. They want a little distraction and they want opportunities to pick-up new information quickly in an engaging way. These people want to click so don’t leave them out of your next campaign strategy.

Okay, here are the final takeaways for you skimmers:

1. Mobile usage is rapidly growing (in case you’ve been under a rock)
2. A mobile site isn’t a tiny version of a website
3. Mobile sites optimize for a mobile screen experience
4. Make use of a mobile users’ ‘in-between time’ – include them in your strategy

This is actually not a brand new project but a slight redevelopment of an older project. We just liked it so much we wanted to share. Look for the first press’d sandwich location in Edmonton City Center this summer!

See the full post @ Panic’s blog

We’re happy to announce we’ll be the primary web design and marketing sponsor for the H.E.A.R.T Society of Edmonton.  They are a local non profit organization working towards awareness of serious issues such as breast cancer that affect society today.

When Overhaul Media started building web sites 8 years ago, most people had 15-17″ monitors and the screen resolution was 800 X 600 pixels. Since this was the most common resolution, you would make this the baseline for your design. Looking back on this now, things were so easy – you designed for one resolution and didn’t really have to worry. As the years have gone by the screens have grown, as has the baseline, now we are designing for around 1,000 pixels wide. The problem today is there are so many different ways a user could view the site, they might be on a 30″ screen, a 13″ laptop, or from their mobile phone. So, the same site that supports the 1,920 pixel-wide resolution will have to deal with the same user that has an iPhone with a 480 pixel width.

We’ll be updating this post with some more notes on how to overcome this and what best practices Overhaul Media uses.

Just got some business cards back for a local Edmonton Mortgage Investment Corporation. We actually have an entire set of printed collateral and website coming to watch out for so stay tuned!

Additional skills we’re looking for:

• PHP and MySQL experience
• Able to utilize jQuery or similar libraries
• Familiarity with plesk/hosting
• Design/IA experience
• Print design experience

Send your resume, compensation expectations and examples of work to info@overhaulmedia.com.

Agencies or contractors outside of North America need not apply.

The guys over at Icon Factory have actually made it. I am not sure if the name “Ollie” s official from Twitter but seems to fit. You can buy it here.

Remember we’re here to help. We can create & deliver custom email campaigns with metrics and all kinds of other bells and whistles. Have a look here