Today we celebrate the 40th anniversary a man walking on the moon. Much debate has been made about the validity of the of the Apollo moon program, both in practicality and reality. The fact remains that landing on the Moon has changed the world in many ways. But What if we did this today How would mankind participate in a lunar mission in today’s environment. NASA has an answer for this question, That answer is wechoosethemoon.org. This website an excellent tool to promote NASA and celebrate the moon landing. But it did not stop there, they rolled the back the clocks and let the story roll out in “real time” with four twitter accounts you could follow, and “live” video and mission updates. The site is now a sort on Virtual museum to both the steps that where taken 40 years ago, and to our own society’s grow in connection and technology.  From black and white grainy images broadcast over 3 networks, to live video streamed all over the world on the internet, and instant reporting via twitter, we have come a long way. Here is to the 1st tweet on the moon.

Hi-Hi… My name is Sebrina and I am about 2 months new to the OrangeRoc family and I am the administrative/ accounting person. Being in the “Administrative field” for going on about 7 years now, I’m use to the ‘normal’ flow of an office. Doing reports, small business accounting, proposals, answering phones, files, and the duties go on and on. I will have to say that working with creative folks has been an exciting change of pace, I myself being “creative”, absolutely LOVE it!! I love that everyone here works as a team and it really is like having a second family. I will admit that I wasn’t use to having to go outside of my little administrative box in past jobs but I’m always willing to expand and help out fellow employees.

My Mission: To help assemble the gift bags for the INPEACE retreat

My Tools: Scissors, Twine, Conference Table, and Pandora.

Time Frame to Complete This Mission: 2 – 3 hours (So we thought)

Here is how the mission was executed… I came into work like any other ‘normal’ day, when I was approached by Kristen. She had the hugest smile ever and in her happy voice she explains that Melinda said it would be okay for her to ask my help in putting together some bags for INPEACE. Since I’m always so happy to help, I agree (Lesson 1: Always ask details before you agree to anything). So Kristen gathers a towel, a bags, a lanyard and explains that all’s I have to do is roll the towel nicely and place it into the bag, then attach the lanyard “just like so.” Remember that I said I too was a creative person? Well I forgot to mention that I am also meticulous at times, so my big mouth suggests that we tie the towels with a cute little ribbon or something so that it doesn’t unroll in the bag. GREAT IDEA!!!! (Lesson 2: Sometimes even great ideas can end up being not so great ideas). So I was all excited to start, had everything ready to go, and then I find out that I had not just a few bgs to get done… but 75 bags to get done… Yes, that meant I had to fold, roll, and tie 75 green towels, and then put them into 75 green bags, and then attach 75 lanyards to the 75 green bags holding the 75 green rolled and tied towels.

It really was a great feeling in the end, to know that I had helped out in some way, and I heard that the Client was happy with the completed product. Not only that, but now I can add Professional towel roller to my resume. I really had fun and am always willing and ready to help out the OrangeRoc team. Would I do it again? Hmmmm… Absolutely and without a second thought to it, though I might ask more questions before jumping head first into another project.

For all of you that had ever wondered “exactly what does 75 folded, rolled, and tied green beach towels would look like?” You can stop wondering, I know I have.

Enjoy!!

Sebrina

Close up

The INPEACE tower of towels

Just a few of the bags...

Hi, I’m the intern (“aka the teenager”) here at OrangeRoc for this summer! A long way from home (Georgia) but eager to learn, I’ve had quite the adventure so far. I already feel like part of the team even in such a short amount of time. I’ve not only bonded with my fellow roc’ers they’ve all helped me learn not only design lessons but life lessons. Cheesy maybe, but true. Here’s some of the things I’ve learned that I would like to share:

#1 When answering phone don’t say “Yeah, who’s this?…Hey Mel how do I put this on hold? (yelling across the office while phone still up to ear)…Yeah hold on a sec”. Oops. There is more to phone etiquette than I thought.
#2 Spell Check Names of event locations and okina’s so you don’t have to reprint for extra cost the day before the client picks up. Big oops.
#3 When giving boss cell phone number so she can take you and boyfriend on beautiful 35ft sail boat, feed you, show the best view of fireworks in Honolulu, and share a holiday with her family, DON’T forget a digit so she won’t have to try 18 numbers before she can reach you.
#4 501C3= Non Profit
#5 Push yourself in a way that works for you, challenges make life (and jobs) interesting
#6 When creating a logo for a client you don’t get 3 months like in school, you get until 5PM.
#7 ORGANIZATAION=NO STRESS (or a little less anyway)
#8 Learn from life experiences, give back to the community. (OrangeRoc is excellent at this and it’s truly inspiring (Check out Missing Children – Hawaii)
#9 Don’t lose wallet while getting Mexican so OrangeRoc doesn’t have to call 13 banks in Honolulu area to get you paid. Make copies of everything.
#10 OrangeRoc is fortunately the type of company where even an intern can work on “real” client jobs (with supervision), I’ve learned to say, shout, or sketch my opinion on a design. Be honest and confident!
#11 Everything is possible

I could go on. I have to say this experience is one of the best I’ve ever had…and it’s in Hawaii. I’m so grateful to OrangeRoc for this chance to spread my wings.

In the age of the internet you really can’t be in business without some sort of a website. So what do you do once you’ve created a site for your company? Sit back and consider it locked in code, never to be changed, altered or refreshed? At OrangeRoc we consider websites as living and breathing entities. They, like all living things, evolve. They should never be considered static and finished. As your business or organization changes so should your website. Even if you are in an industry or with a company that sees little change, it is always a good idea to update your site with new information whether it’s a blog posting, news article or press release. We, as designers, are very concerned not only with the content and functionality of a website but also in the look and feel. Graphic design and web design trends are constantly changing to match and react to the world we live in. Tends come and go but good design will always remain relevant. At OrangeRoc we never really consider a website finished. There are always tweaks that can be done, updates that can be made and enhancements to add when new technology offers a better solution to a client’s web needs. We recommend to each of our web clients that they retain our services on a limited basis after their site is complete for monthly updates.

One example of an ever evolving site is the one we created for Friends of the Missing Child Center-Hawaii. The site was “finished” (and we use that term loosely) about two months ago, but because it is a site that is constantly updated with new information about events and children who have gone missing and who have been found, we are making updates and adjustments to both the content and the design on a monthly basis. Four key updates we made were:

1. We tightened the vertical spacing of the text to minimize scrolling.

2. We changed page header graphics, making them cleaner and less busy.

3. We added a place to register from the home page instead of making people click on the “Contact Us” page.

4. We added a listing of missing children on the site itself, eliminating the need to link to an another site for the same list.

The changes were made mostly for functionality, but in the end, they added to a better look as well. Another great example of “form following function.”

Like an artist who never considers his painting finished, we sort of look at websites the same way and so should you.Take a look at your own website and think about what you would do to change it to make the look or functionality better. Look at your competition and see what they are doing. Realize that your search rankings on google are impacted by good SEO practices and those are some things that can be easily tweaked in HTML text.

Once you’ve decided that you need a refresh for your website give OrangeRoc a call and we’ll get to work evolving your internet presence. But watch out because one you get us started….