Portfolio Site Redesign

it took me long enough, i know. i hadn't updated the content on kateshay.com in over three years. well, until now that is. i've adopted a whole new layout and moved from flash to a sort of portfolio-blog. twitter and facebook have been integrated (you can "like" projects at the detailed view level).

no more static layouts, never-ending loading bars, and re-learning flash every time i want to update. this way i'll get to share projects big and small, link to this here lovely blog, and really just make a more fresh and dynamic UX.

have a look around. i hope you like it.

street dog at the office

i have Maybe do my expenses for me.

LG Teaser Gets Some Action

One of the fans on our FB page grabbed the teaser and put it on YouTube. over 100,000 hits in one day, hey not bad.

can't embed it for some reason, here's the link: Watch the Video

LG Fashion widget

i'm currently launching a campaign for LG fashion and am testing our widget here.

shameless plug in 3...2...1...

Check out the entire app at LG Fashion

Happy Banking Flower

my team and I have been doing some research for a new project and a coworker came across this ad. It's so ridiculous, and it totally makes me chuckle. I'm a pretty simple person.

through thick and thin

i'm currently working on a weight loss product and i've spent countless hours reading blogs on dieting, fat acceptance, and everything in between. it just so happens that i already have a specific blog that i love (Marshmallow!). she's a great writer, is funny, honest, and totally inspiring. but over the last week i've been getting to know (well, virtually at least) so very many other bloggers, and it's totally drawing me in. i've learned so much from them, and see myself in many entries.

no, i don't have any specific point here, but this research is so compelling. and why wouldn't it be? i can relate to almost all of them. and here i am working on a weight loss product! argh. forgive me, bloggers. but i will try my best.

kateshay.com

yes, the day has arrived. after months of research, design, and development, my new portfolio site is up and running. i'm still in QA, but baby, it's go-time.

Behind the Beats

I've been working on a new project for one of my clients and i'm getting pretty excited about it.

number one, it's a slightly recycled idea that was "really great but not for right now" about a year ago. my partner and i were pretty into the concept, but the client ended up buying off on something else at the time. (that 'something else' ended up really awesome, so i'm certainly not sad they went with it). this time around we revamped the idea, made it even cooler, and managed to sell it through. gotta love a respin.

number two, the developer that's building it is totally rad. he's the kind of guy that you hope and pray will work on your stuff because he just gets it. he wants to add his own flare and make things even better. you know, "wouldn't it be cool if..."

number three, i always like it when i have the chance to do some of my own illustration.

anyway, it's going to be a while before i can unveil the new work, but i thought i'd give a little tease. why not, right?

brainstorming amongst the conifers

personally, i'm sick of concepting in a drab room with nothing on the walls (except maybe the tears of creatives past). oh, how melodramatic. but really. how am i expected to be "creative" when i'm surrounded by nothing but white walls and stale air? well my friends, i've found the answer! [drum roll please]

Kapsel is the multi-sensory functional and changeable workspace. You can custom design these bad boys over and over to fit your needs—from look and feel, to touch, sound and smell. Create a "tranquil space to recharge and re-focus employees" and never go brainstarved again.

Conflict Resolution: Who's Winning?

More training today here at the office. Good things, for sure. I wish we had a single subject that we took to the streets for a several-day off-site; but alas, i'll take what i can get.

today's seminar focused on conflict resolution, specifically with clients, but the steps can be applied anywhere in life. the key information i took away from the seminar was the "issue resolution process" — the 5 key steps. while they might seem obvious, we don't always go there when we're faced with a difficult situation. defenses go up, emotions get in the way, and we stop actively listening to the other person. some of us are competitive, others avoid conflict at all cost. we're not all instantly collaborative, which is fine—but are we willing to learn how to be?

one of the reasons some of us can't reach a "winning" resolution is because the client/agency relationship is defunct to begin with. good relationships require understanding (comfort), trust (which takes time), respect (reciprocated), partnership (better work & less stress), and chemistry (the element of fun). If you're missing any of these elements, it's nearly impossble for both parties to be happy with an outcome. one side concedes, another feels victorious. rinse, repeat.

remember: "unless both sides win, no resolution is permanent." and if you can't achieve a better process for dealing with your differences, this partnership ain't gonna work.

well, would you?

Laura Tessinari is a senior partner at O&M and runs the organizational training department. she's been in SF for the past week and will continue to be here for at least one more training session. so far i've been able to participate in 2 of her sessions: "The Power of Full Engagement" (time and energy management) and today's "The Brand Called You!". As it happens, she also came here a year and a half ago and i was able to take her Presentation Skills Seminar, which i found very useful.

In any case, I feel that today's seminar was very applicable to what I'm trying to do this semester with Lotus: create an online presence that effectively communicates my "brand" while also showcasing my work. This all sounds great, of course, but when i really sit back and think about it, what defines my brand? It's harder than you might think to answer this question.

Of course, over the course of the day's events, we worked on answering this question for ourselves by attacking it from many different angles. One of the exercises we did was The Elevator Speech: answering the simple question of "what do you do for a living" in 90 seconds or less while still delivering a clear, thorough description (i.e. you don't just say "i'm an art director"). Laura provided a skeleton for how the Speech should be set up, starting each of our sentences for us. i thought it was an interesting, valuable exercise that everyone could benefit from, and so here i am sharing mine.

You know how some companies have products and services that they want to sell but aren't sure how?

Well what i can do is work with a team to figure out the best way to reach the client's target audience and create an effective piece of communication.

Which means that I help these clients sell their products by reaching the right audience and talking to them in away that they'll want to listen.

Meaning I know how to solve the problem of reaching the right people and then go on to create an inspired piece of communication.

The benefit of which is that people don't hate advertising quite as much, clients feel they've effectively reached the right people and created a lasting relationship with them, and we've all had a little fun.

Would you like to know more?


*edit*
upon reflection i'd definitely like to refine this, but for a first shot in fifteen minutes i don't think it's too terrible.

R.I.P.

For the past two months i've been working on a re-launch campaign for one of our clients. I'm talking the works: banners, emails, t-shirts, tchotckies, tagline, events, etc. Many late nights and weekends. Nothing groundbreaking, mind you, mainly just a lot of time spent. Yesterday, eod, i found out everything has been "put on hold for now" (read: canceled). Insert swift kick in the shins.

This morning a coworker of mine (who was originally working on the project with me, way back in the day) brought me the "it could be worse" factor. He told me that another guy we used to work with hasn't had anything go live in over a year because of focus groups, office politics and who knows what else. And I thought my little project had a sad outcome. I can't imagine having every single project you work on never see the light of day. Ah, advertising.