We’re pretty fortunate to partner with four great cycling organizations:

The Killjoy Team
World Bicycle Relief
The Dirt Derby
The Bonebell (new site design coming soon)

So when Kevin Heppner asked if we could help design new logos for our favorite team (Joe’s a member), we jumped. Kevin made the new logo a center piece and pulled a 180º from previous designs with a clean kit that’s sure to stand out at the front of the field filled with overdone design and high sponsor counts.

Front and back, yellow and black – and a Stalelife logo that adds a splash of color in a subtle place.

The horizontal logotype is highly visible on a racer's thighs - perfect for the Chicago Cross Cup courses this team will dominate.

Look around Chicago and Austin, you’re sure to see this kit on the dirt and on the streets this year.

When some marketers think about design, it’s almost a “black box” to them. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

In fact, when you design online your first goal is to consider how users might come through your site. What do we want them to do first? Is there something they need to know right away? After all, if consumers are only going to read around 20% of your content, you want to give them the most important information right away.

That’s exactly what we did with BizQuest.com. We simplified their busy page and developed appropriate action-driven content to make it easier for people to complete key tasks. Our design pushes the eye in the right spot (dark blue for the most popular action), and the new header is more pleasant to the eye with a more intuitive taxonomy. Speaking of smart, the buttons that require action are all the same color, we removed the over-use of blue and, lastly, we chose fonts and weights that allow for critical spatial relations.

Success on this project was measured on conversion, and we’re on the upside. While we can’t divulge exact figures, the owner has expressed his pleasure.

New design:

Old design:

If you’re looking to buy or sell a business, please consider our partners, BizQuest. Great people to do business with (and the extra sales will always help prove our viable design even more).

We’ll show you how.

For the second year in a row I will be attending the SXSW conference in Austin Texas. I collected a lot of information last year to help me make the most of what is a massive, sprawling, 10 day conference. I also met some great people last year, some of which I have kept in close contact with. In preparation for the big event this year, through an international collaboration with Nonimage and Armadillo Studios we have launched a definitive guide to absolutely everything related to the SXSW festival in Austin Texas.

We are pleased to announce the launch of SXSWisEASY.com.

Designed with simplicity in mind, SXSWisEASY provides straight up information for everything related to SXSW. It covers everything from essential elements of Austin TX to the Best Interactive Parties all they way to a list of the Social Do’s and Don’t of the Film Festival.

Essentially, everything you could possible need to know to prepare you for SXSW in one easy to read spot.

As a group we have also provided a break down of the best parties and best interactive sessions at the festival. Including our own take on why it’ll be worth sitting in on the session. A guideline to help you make the most of your time down there.

So please spread the word of SXSWisEASY, send it to anyone you know heading to Austin. Even start following the SXSWisEASY Twitter account for the latest updates and information.

A big thank you goes to our friends Andy and Connor for being great to work with. Thanks again guys.

You know those guys, don’t you? The ones always posting the first scoop on what happened at ABC&D agency?

Well that’s Adomatica, a staple in the Austin (and national ad scene). He’s never ripped us before, but I felt obliged to stand up for our fellow ad men and women and give him a bit of the business.

Or he’s a good friend and super-smart online marketer who writes a snarky and helpful blog in his spare time. Grab the Adomatica RSS feed, it’s worth your attention. Unlike the GSD&M / McGarrah Jesse Austin Addy Awards.

Special image thanks to The Foto Booth – a great group to hire for your events.

Around 240,000 people will benefit from the most recent Annual Appeal from World Bicycle Relief. If you don’t know them, WBR is a smart and well-run non-profit that provides sustainable transportation to help people go farther, carry more and cut their travel time considerably.

You can see our full case study here.

A lot of hard work and strategy went into this endeavor – a true team effort between Stalelife and the Communications and Development groups at WBR. Our approach was integrated with old and new tactics, and the results will make us stronger for years to come.

In the end, we surpassed initial goals by 25%, raised the total donation amount and nearly doubled the amount of advocates on the WBR lists. But most important, we helped the group that helps so many. And that feels good.