When the time came for CGR to produce web-based Community Indicator Projects, the long-established research organization partnered with Bob Wright Creative to help develop and continuously enhance these powerful web-based tools.
Some Background on CGR
The Center for Governmental Research (CGR) is a municipal research organization founded by George Eastman in 1915 to serve as an independent, non-partisan agency for keeping citizens informed. CGR serves government, nonprofits and business leaders by providing data-driven research and analysis that affects the quality of life in communities both inside and outside New York State.
What is a Community Profile?
A Community Indicator Project, or Community Profile, assesses a range of community issues over time. Comparative performance data is generated on a number of topics, such as economics, education, and health. This data empowers leaders and residents to assess indicators in comparison to other communities, as well as the state and the nation.
Web-based community profiles (link takes you to CGR website) have become essential tools for starting strategic discussion about strengths, challenges and opportunities that affect an entire population. CGR has been in partnership with Bob Wright Creative since 2009 to help develop web-based Community Profiles, and to also help enhance the product at each iteration.
A Web-Based Community Profile for Cayuga and Seneca Counties
To produce the second-generation Cayuga and Seneca Counties Community Profile (click link to open site in new window), CGR specified a website to provide analysis, data and interactive charting capabilities for 70 indicators of community vitality. Comparative data for 4 similar counties, along with the state and the nation, cover topics such as demographics, economy and education.
The website, along with its lead sponsors the United Ways of Cayuga and Seneca Counties, provides leaders with a powerful means for assessing and understanding their communities.
A Solution that Benefits Users of Information and Providers of Information Alike
Bob Wright Creative was again brought in to support the creation of this resource. User interface design and website programming enhancements were provided to maintain alignment with the evolving nature of the data, as well as the evolving needs of the user.
The website’s user interface design delivers improvements to usability and searchability based on user feedback. As for the back-end, developing a Drupal-based content management system delivered a number of benefits to CGR and its sponsors. These benefits include:
Enhanced content management capability, administrative control and site security
Greater flexibility of data presentation through the design and development of dynamic charting capabilities
Easier inclusion of social media functionality
Modular code resulting in cost-effective same-site scalability, as well as cost-effective replication for future Community Profile websites
More efficient and cost-effective enhancements of product features and functionality going forward
With essential information that is always up to date and easily accessed from one central location, service organizations can more easily decide which areas need the most attention. These decisions become actionable by developing approaches to solving issues in a data-driven, quantitative way.
A Platform for Growth
CGR and its sponsors provide community profiles to the benefit of the organizations and populations they serve. Bob Wright Creative’s ongoing role involves user experience enhancement and provision of technology platforms that deliver efficient scalability, ongoing improvement and cost-effective replication. We’re happy to be part of an ongoing website initiative that is helping many, and that is a viable platform for future growth.
We're very excited for our client, The Maplewood, for being selected as a finalist in this year's "Best of the Web" competition, held by the Rochester Business Journal. VisitMaplewood.com is in the Health Care category. Winners will be chosen during a ceremony on March 13.
The Bob Wright Creative team worked with Maplewood administrator Greg Chambery and his team to complete a marketing strategy and re-branding initiative, out of which the new Maplewood website was born.
In creating the website, we knew the importance of producing a centralized information hub to live at the heart of a purposeful inbound marketing effort. The site has a number of features including a virtual tour, multiple blogs, videos, and audio podcasts. The result is a deep, valuable resource for current and prospective residents and their loved ones, advisors, and members of the medical community.
Many thanks to Greg Chambery and The Maplewood for the vision which has driven the site's creation, and congratulations to all of the finalists. We look forward to March 13!
Hey there, everybody. Here's another collection of coolness from the world of creativity.
Re-Imagining the Classics: Star Wars and Harry Potter
The power of illustration. Two artists take their turns bringing a whole new style to two epic fantasies known for their iconic artwork. In both cases I'm struck by the economy of aesthetic that yields something so evocative.
Handwriting Your Email
Very cool product idea from Pilot Pens. Now, if only I had nice handwriting, worthy of digital reproduction…
Content Marketing Institute
Useful article, tips, and case studies on the broad subject of content marketing and its many sub-topics.
Chronicle Books
My girls love "Ivy & Bean". I love this publisher's commitment to creativity and great design.
I ran across an AdAge article recently, thanks to @ThomasJArmitage, that provides interesting insight into how 10 renowned brands improved their marketing agency relationships and how they plan to improve even more in 2012.
This article doesn’t represent some sort of “how to” for me. In fact, Bob Wright Creative is blessed to have wonderful clients that are strong leaders committed to creating excellent work in a positive environment of collaboration. The reason why I resonate with this article is because it re-affirms my belief in the practice of making someone else’s life a little easier.
No matter our organization’s offering, or our role within the organization, when we consider ourselves to essentially be service providers committed to helping others, I believe the output of our endeavor will always be as strong as it can be.
The article also reminds me that as an agency we are clients too. We have vendors such as printers, photographers, web hosts, landlords, accountants, and others. Just as our clients will ask themselves “how can we be more effective in our role with our agencies?” we continually ask a similar question of ourselves: we’re all pulling for the same level of excellence in our collaborations, so what can we do on our part to achieve the desired result in an ideal manner, where everyone involved ends up in a better place?
So, while the season of resolution is still new, I resolve to strengthen my commitment to helping make things a little easier for others, inside the office and out.
Creative Cow Magazine
Boundless tips, tricks, and ideas for media pros in film, broadcast and production.
NHL Winter Classic
Can you tell I'm from the Northeast? The annual outdoor professional hockey event, played this year on January 2, is a case study on the power of emotional branding. Who from our region hasn't played some form of pond hockey as a youngster?
Happy New Year! I just finished reading a recent Inc.com article entitled "Redesigning Your Website in 2012? Ask These 3 Questions First". Author Amy Buckner Chowdhry did a nice job of covering the key big-picture topics to be covered when considering a website redesign. I encourage you to read all three topics, but one that resonated loudly for me is the second one: "What do your website visitors look for?" (sic)
This topic reinforces the importance of understanding the tasks visitors want to accomplish when they visit a website. To go a level deeper, these tasks are informed by the questions visitors ask when considering a purchase. Further, each stage of a visitor's purchasing decision process will involve a unique set of questions. So, websites should keep the entire buying decision process in mind, and assign content that is tailored to answer questions at each stage. As a website owner, being aware of visitors' stage-specific questions opens up an opportunity to create and publish content that provides relevant answers.
When your website redesign is focused on the questions your visitors are asking, then it's focused on task completion, and therefore, what your visitors are looking for. With this level of focus, you are one step closer to a successful website redesign.
I hope you all had a great holiday week. Here are a few things that stood out for me during the celebrations.
Family
A significant part of the "reason for the season", the reason for our work, and what keeps our batteries charged.
Flipboard
Yes, Santa brought the Nelson family an iPad this year. Although perhaps no longer the "App Du-Jour", I found myself addicted to Flipboard for the iPad because it transforms regular ol' Facebook, Twitter and RSS content into a new immersive experience that encourages deep-diving. For me, this reinforces the importance of a well thought-out, beautifully-designed user interface.
Nonesuch
As my family and friends traded gifts of recorded music, I pondered record labels and the value they represent to their artists in this new age. I think Nonesuch is part of a rare breed of labels that understands the power of brand. Nonesuch brings value to its artists by maintaining its own uncompromising brand standards. This is manifested in such ways as cream-of-the-crop artist roster curation, and by designing and producing a beautiful physical product (with several Best Recording Package Grammys to show for it). Nonesuch knows that a label with value is more than a logo on the back of an album -- it's a brand with which artists, music media, promoters, distributors, retailers and consumers alike want to be associated.
The Upcoming New Year
New resolutions and renewed commitment. A chance to bring old chapters to a close and open whole new chapters. To explore new opportunities to bring value. Happy new year everyone!
This week's collection of thought-provoking items from the world of creative communications.
Cowbird
"A public library of human experience." Great concept, with an immersive user interface that's designed to stay out of the way of the story. I'm interested in following the evolution of this project as more sagas are added.
A List Apart Magazine
"Explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices." Bookmarked and referenced by web communicators the world over.
Issuu
A digital publishing platform for easy creation of digital editions. I'm eager to see how mobile development progresses.
SoundCloud
Sound sharing platform for aural communicators. Highly social and mobile friendly. Its bright, friendly user interface invites endless exploration. For podcasters and music geeks alike.
In an industry that takes its direction from myriad advances in technology and aesthetics, it's nice to also know that much of our work is rooted in timeless best practices and simple physics. I was reminded of this when perusing a recent post in Print Magazine's Imprint online community.
Imprint author J.J. Sedelmaier takes us on a tour of 1920s-era design and advertising texts, including Advertising Production Methods, Light and Color in Advertising and Merchandising, and more (all published by McGraw-Hill Company). Here are a few of my favorites, taken from Outdoor Advertising:
The Worthy Suitor Great photography, sharp products. Plus, Steve McQueen checking out an open-wheel race car will always be cool. (via Joe Stocker of Son of the Sun)
Rekordit So much musical art, enveloped in great visual art. Why not get it all on the wall? (via Visual News)
Omni Group: OmniFocus (Desktop app / iPhone app) and OmniOutliner Simple-to-use productivity applications with well-designed user interfaces, packed with power when you need to go deep.
We're very excited for our client, The Maplewood, for being selected as a finalist in this year's "Best of the Web" competition, held by the Rochester Business Journal. 
Happy New Year! I just finished reading a recent Inc.com article entitled "Redesigning Your Website in 2012? Ask These 3 Questions First". Author Amy Buckner Chowdhry did a nice job of covering the key big-picture topics to be covered when considering a website redesign. I encourage you to read all three topics, but one that resonated loudly for me is the second one: "What do your website visitors look for?" (sic)
