Author Archives: onyxgroup

Georgia Peach Commission

The Client:

Onyx collaborated with the Georgia Peach Commission to create a website that helped to raise awareness of the beautiful and delicious Georgia Peach. The goal was to create a site that contained information about the health benefits and history of the peach, in addition to “The Peach Promise,” which allows customers to request Georgia Peaches in their local grocery store.

The Challenge:

The Georgia peach has been a model fruit – with its beautiful color, delicious taste and hardy qualities.  The challenge was to work alongside the Georgia Peach Commission to build a site that brought all of the local growers together to highlight the history, value and sweetness of the Georgia Peach.  Furthermore, the need to promote “The Peach Promise” was a main priority.

The Site:

The Georgia Peach website was developed around a new, simple brand; “Sweet Georgia Peaches.”  This slogan helped to carry the design of the site to be simple yet offer an array of resources to the peach connoisseur.  The site offers a variety of information such as recipes, history, information about the growers and about events happening during the agri-tourism season.

Design:

The colors: What other colors would be appropriate for the colors of the peach.  The peach and the burnt rouge colors along with a splash of green and the complimentary blue were used.

The image: Due the natural beauty of the peach and all of its delights, bold images of the peach were used for the graphics.

Content:

The copy emphasized the benefits of the peach.  Such as its well-rounded nutritional value, the great price and the durability of the fruit.  The content also focused on the history of the peach and the current growers, many of whom have a long history with the peach.

The Results:

The site offers a fresh and crisp design that truly reminds you that the Georgia peach is versatile, delicious and beautiful.  With recipes, nutritional information, news, events and history – the site reaches a broad array of interests and customers.

A Bag’s Life – Case Study

The Client:

Onyx collaborated with Ziffer Stansberry Public Relations to create a brand and website for a statewide project to educate Floridians about reducing, recycling and reusing their retail plastic bags. The goal was to raise awareness of the useful lifecycle of plastic bags.

The Challenge:

The iconic plastic bag has gotten a bad wrap. The majority of people are not aware that they can be recycled through retailers who offer public collection bins outside of their stores. Consequently, the bag is often discarded after arriving home – instead of being dropped off for recycling and thus, given a second chance to be useful.  While some people may reuse plastic bags around the house, they oftentimes don’t realize there are a plethora of other uses for them.

The challenge was to work closely with the client to create a high profile brand and a fun, interactive and educational website that could be used for a statewide educational campaign to attract and inspire people of all ages to recycle and reuse their plastic bags. Key requirements were an easy-to-use locator for plastic bag drop off via zip code with mapping, a mobile app, and Video Contest capabilities through You Tube, a news update feed and social networking.

The Brand:

A Bag’s Life was created to bring the plastic bag to life — giving it an identity and emotional connection. The human-centered approach to design was carried through in the copy on messaging, including the website, where the bag appears to talk in first person, and by creating facial expression imagery on the bag itself.

Design:

The colors: A light blue was chosen to keep a friendly atmosphere with the bag’s personality. An icon on the website was designed to take on a life of its own, smiling when it’s happy, frowning when it’s not. Website copy suggests that individuals should stop up and do their part to address litter and waste rather than blame the bag if it’s not being recycled or reused.

The logo: The bag, with its personality, became the brand. In addition, dotted playful type was used to further bring the brand to life.

The typography: It was essential to be bold with the messaging: “Don’t Treat Me Like Trash” and “Gimme A Second Chance.” There should be no question that plastic bags deserve another life and not be needlessly discarded, when other useful opportunities await it.

Content:

The copy emphasizes the benefits for reducing, recycling and reusing plastic bags. A handy locator tab that is constant on every page allows the user to plug in their zip code and find the nearest recycling drop off site within 10,  25 or 50 miles and then Google maps drives them to the location. A Video Contest for state residents also is designed to get participation from the public and further the emotional connection, so that people could tell their own stories.

The Results:

The design was based on clear marketing objectives and resulted in a strong professional yet human-centered presence for A Bag’s Life.  There was a successful launch on Earth Day at the Capitol in Tallahassee where the brand appeared on buttons, bags and even a pirate ship playground made from recycled plastic “lumber.”   Several high-profile partners, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Retail Association and the Florida Recycling Partnership have joined the effort.

Take Your Child To Work Day

It’s take your child to work day! Meet our youngest “employee,” Nadia’s niece, Juliana.

Every year, “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” helps children across the nation discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life. This national public education program connects what children learn at school with the actual working world and encourages them to dream about the future.

This year, Nadia’s son couldn’t come into the office (he was out sick too many days last week), so she borrowed her niece for the day instead.

We’re happy to have Nadia’s niece helping out around the office today.  She got to go on an exciting trip downtown to celebrate Earth Day and the launch of a project that Onyx collaborated on, A Bag’s Life.  Her new friend, Chris Doolin a local lobbyist, was nice enough to give her a first class tour of the Capitol.  She even learned where the secret snack room for the lobbyists is.  But most importantly she observed a live legislative session.  Talk about a real world education!

After her big day at the Capitol, she got to eat lunch looking over Florida State University’s stadium at the University Center.  They were out of chocolate muffins but she had a good lunch, nonetheless.  She even got to walk on the football field.

After she got into the office, she worked on her science research about how to boil water.  We think this could help some of our office mate’s cooking skills.  So thanks for the tips, Juliana!

To wrap up the day, she spent some time in the conference room learning about blogs and even helped write this one!  Take Juliana’s advice to heart “Onyx is very cool and I learned new words.”



Twitter Unveils Revenue Model

From the start Twitter founders have placed emphasis on building a strong user base, before worrying about how to monetize the site. After the site’s recent exponential growth Twitter is finally unveiling a revenue model. The advertising structure, dubbed Promoted Tweets, will initially be implemented using Twitter’s keyword search function.  Advertisers will have the opportunity to buy key words and link them to their ads. Eventually, Twitter plans to display promoted posts on user Twitter feeds, these will be placed based on relevance to each user’s interests. The question now is how Twitter users will react? Will they have a problem with Twitter integrating paid media into their traditional earned media structure?

http://adage.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/

How to Become a Social Entrepreneur

The concept of corporate social responsibility has become a hot button issue throughout the business world. Many businesses are feeling the pressure to become part of the social responsibility trend. But, what does it really take to be a social entrepreneur? Whether you are considering beginning a social enterprise, or plan to integrate a social mission into an established business, here are some useful tips for achieving success as a social entrepreneur.

http://www.inc.com/

What Will Your Site Look Like On An iPad?

With all the hype surrounding Apple’s iPad release, web developers are beginning to pay attention to how their websites look on the iPad. Want to see what your site will look like on an iPad, but can’t get your hands on the real thing? Never fear, just check out this new iPad Peek tool.

http://mashable.com/

http://ipadpeek.com/

Our Favorite Tweets of the Week Apr5-Apr9

Every week we tweet tons of interesting links, highlighting excellent content that we find relevant and inspiring for designers. We compiled this list of our favorite links we tweeted in the past week, just in case you missed any!

Keep in mind this is only a small selection on the tweets we sent out this week. The best way to keep up to date with us and check out awesome links is by following @OnyxGroup.

We love Lamar’s creative new use for their “between ad signs,” providing a place for Conan:

http://bit.ly/bntTgf

Check out this sneak peek at Twitter’s Redesign:

http://bit.ly/aAYNxw

A Basic Look at Typography in Web Design:

http://bit.ly/aOk9On

Looking for inspiration? These interviews with designers, developers and bloggers offer some excellent insights:

http://bit.ly/bE3BQR

How to Make a Screencast for Your Website:

http://bit.ly/d043nU

10 Steps to a Stronger Professional Network:

http://bit.ly/c5GORh

What Is YOUR Personal Brand?

http://bit.ly/ab9Snv

For some Monday morning inspiration check out these creative white letterpress business cards:

http://bit.ly/99U5I6

In-Store Marketing Gains Importance

A study last year by Nielsen Co.’s Bases unit found in-store marketing is the leading medium for generating awareness of new package goods in the U.S. and five other key developed markets. With the numbers showing an increased impact of in-store displays many companies are placing greater emphasis on creative-packaging. In this Advertising Age article P&G shares some of their new brand-building and packaging design strategy.

http://adage.com/

Our Favorite Tweets of the Week Mar29-Apr2

Every week we tweet tons of interesting links, highlighting excellent content that we find relevant and inspiring for designers. We compiled this list of our favorite links we tweeted in the past week, just in case you missed any!

Keep in mind this is only a small selection on the tweets we sent out this week. The best way to keep up to date with us and check out awesome links is by following @OnyxGroup.

Define Your Personal Leadership Brand in Five Steps:

http://bit.ly/cHCSDB

5 Kinds of Blog Posts That Attract Clients:

http://bit.ly/dlunLy

Inspiration Surrounds You. Get Out There and Experience it!

http://bit.ly/dwqSEK

Happy April Fools’ Day! Top 10 April Fools’ Day Fake News Items for 2010:

http://bit.ly/cipPa5

Essential tips to help reduce e-commerce shopping cart abandonment:

http://bit.ly/b5lzaZ

Are You Prepared for Your Next Defining Moment?

http://bit.ly/9ZrNfJ

Outdoor Ad Industry Finally Gets Its Improved Metrics:

http://bit.ly/cM6udq

IDEO’s Tim Brown on Using Design to Change Behavior:

http://bit.ly/bzXxKR

Looking for creative inspiration? Check out this showcase of watercolor in web design:

http://bit.ly/cXSZJm

Innovators: Become Active Experimenters.

http://bit.ly/bEFSFR

The Fundamentals of Creative Culture for Companies:

http://bit.ly/aFElmx

10 Tips for Effective Creative Brainstorming:

http://bit.ly/doncwd

How Facebook’s transition from ‘Fan’ to ‘Like’ could affect you:

http://bit.ly/dh5r68

4 People You Should Ask For Website Feedback:

http://bit.ly/bVpZyA

Our Favorite Tweets of the Week Mar22-Mar26

Every week we tweet tons of interesting links, highlighting excellent content that we find relevant and inspiring for designers. We compiled this list of our favorite links we tweeted in the past week, just in case you missed any!

Keep in mind this is only a small selection on the tweets we sent out this week. The best way to keep up to date with us and check out awesome links is by following @OnyxGroup.

For some Monday morning inspiration check out these beautiful business card designs:

http://bit.ly/aPPMyy

Welcome to the Attention Age, Now What? Part one of our two part series on this new age in strategic planning:

http://bit.ly/desPMI

Font choice can make or break a design. Here are four techniques to help you successfully combine fonts:

http://bit.ly/bSeh26

Discover the strategy behind this brilliant redesign! Chiquita Banana Brand Refresh:

http://bit.ly/d8ZrvX

Four Steps For Effective Cross-Cultural Website Design:

http://bit.ly/9Mytkx

10 Essential Rules for Brands in Social Media:

http://bit.ly/ayS417

How to avoid creativity burnout:

http://bit.ly/baFgPp

Why location marketing is the new point-of-purchase:

http://bit.ly/aOkkke.

Why @ Is Held in Such High Design Esteem:

http://nyti.ms/96TGSp

Check out this excellent new stop motion commercial for Amazon:

http://bit.ly/cxk4rj