For years, we wanted to use more than just the few boring fonts that are web standards. Sometimes you need to show creativity to convey your message with typography and Arial, Helvetica or Times just doesn’t cut it. In ancient times (the 90’s) we would create graphics with our typography and insert the image into our web design. In recent years, Flash has been the tool of choice to get our message across uniquely and creatively.

But, both have always had fundamental problems. Images, well, are images and not text. You can’t search or even copy it and search engines can’t see it. Flash is a little better but not much. You have to do a lot of action scripting to get anywhere with search engines, Updating is a pain, using a CMS is a pain, and so on. Not to mention mobile devices are not compatible with Flash. Flash is a desktop solution and always has been. There is no support for touch, multi-touch and gestures on the new devices and it’s a power and memory hog.

Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs has made the best argument for the death of Flash. he has let the world know Apple is moving forward and implementing HTML5 (a web standard) for all of their devices. I totally agree with this decision. No special plugins needed, lower bandwidth and power consumption and you can be as creative if not more than Flash. Also it’s a breeze to update and add CMS systems.

Now back to the font issue. Extensis has been quietly working on a font management system called WebINK that uses CSS to let developers use real fonts on your site! No flash plugins, no images, just straight text! With HTML5 and the new @font-face tag, most browsers support using fonts that are stored on a web server. WebINK handles all the technical code of using web fonts and let’s developers focus on what they’re good at – design.

Extensis has done an great job with the site design and has made it very easy to use.

What a great year 2010 is turning out to be! Last year we opened a satelite office in Atlanta officially and the city has lived up to it’s nickname of “Hotlanta”. FRED. Is heating up this market and we have decided to make it our headquarters! By this summer we will officially be an Atlanta ad agency with an office in South Florida.

We are so excited to make Atlanta our home, it’s a wonderful city! The art and culture are the best south of NYC, green spaces and parks, the best shopping in the south, they do call Buckhead the Beverly Hills of the south. More restaurants than NYC. And trees! I think unless you live in South Florida you may not see that as a big thing.

To say the least we are so happy to be in Atlanta and bring our unique fresh approach to this hot market.

2009 has come and gone. I know a lot of people have had it rough, but there is so much to be thankful and optimistic about.

I have learned that doing what you love and doing it your own way is so rewarding and it reminds me why I loved it in the first place.

I have learned that talent, knowledge and skill are the trifecta of a successful ad agency. If you are missing one of these components, you will find it hard to impossible to stay afloat.

I have learned that I have more friends than I thought.

I have learned that karma is a wonderful thing. Treat people how you want the universe to treat you. Some people learn this one the hard way.

I have learned that if you know your business and love what you do no person or “economy” can bring you down.

I have learned that support from your wife is priceless. Thank you so much honey.

I wish you all a great 2010! May you all have success and happiness!

FRED.

This year has been very interesting. Some great wins, a few disappointments and the support of more people than you can imagine!

We were all taught that advertising was one of the few professions immune to a recession. This time that rule was broken. I have so many friends and colleagues that went down with the ship. We are so thankful for our clients and friends who allowed us to thrive during this rough patch and we see that 2010 will be unbelievable! Many new and exciting projects are being started!

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a fruitful New Year!

FRED.

We love Atlanta and we are very excited to be entering this market. We have done work in Atlanta for years, most notably real estate. Element Atlanta, ATL Lofts and Paces 325 to name a few. We look forward to injecting Atlanta with our unique style and thinking.
Our number in ATL is 404-720-0995, our FTL number is 954-607-6276.

This is a list by Master Designer Ken Musgrave that I had to share. When designers are preparing their portfolios they should keep this list in mind and they should have no problem landing the job. I hope this helps and thanks Ken.

FRED.

Here are my top ten “strengths” that graduating designers–or any designers, for that matter–should bulk up on:

1. Passionate Curiosity: Continually explore and understand. More often this is a key differentiator between those who will make an impact and all the others.

2. Imagination: Bring ideas and opportunities together in ways that were not initially obvious. It can be a powerful and defining capability for a designer.

3. Objectivity & Self Awareness: Assess yourself and your work, and view yourself through the eyes of others with a realistic understanding of your capabilities.

4. Crisp Communication: Build credibility. Often the language of design is very different from the language of business. The ability to effectively communicate across the disciplines is critical for a designer to influence an organization.

5. Effective Storytelling: Fold and translate your ideas into the priorities of your client or organization.

6. Flawless Execution: Get things done. Long gone are the days in which a designer handed work off to a project team to figure out. (It was never a good modus operandi, anyway.) Today, a designer has to work with cross-functional teams to advance designs and shepherd them through to production–every step of the way.

7. Business Acumen: Create value in your markets. Effective designers need to understand how their businesses (or their clients) what role design can play to bring an advantage to their customers.

8. Global Awareness: There are really two aspects of to global awareness: understanding how changes around the world are affecting the customers and markets; and understanding that the talent pool for designers today is global.

9. Context: Bring ideas and designs to the table that are relevant by considering current economic, social and business trends.

10. Talent: Talent is intentionally last on this list. Having a real talent for design is as critical as it has ever been. However, talented designers are far more common than those designers who have real talent complimented with the attributes that are outlined above.

We are excited to work with ProPilates and take their brand to the next level. We will be creating a campaign including rebranding, interactive, interior design and media strategies.

We are addicted to technology. You forget your iPhone at home (unthinkable) and panic sets in. We must be connected at all times.

We are a captive audience of hundreds of millions. Web apps and sites, viral sites, social sites, iPhone apps, online ads, eblasts, blogs, SMS and MMS. We are being reached in massive numbers.

So with all of this technology at our finger tips, why is there a sea of horrible, template based, forgettable interactive out there? Because great interactive that delivers results starts with a creative strategy. What are your goals and how can we acheive them in the most creative and unique way.

This is why FRED. continues to be at the forefront of interactive trends and technology, yet still delivers powerful creative interactive solutions. We know our business and we show the world you know yours.

What a year! The economy is sagging, everyone is downsizing and budgets shrunk. I was never one to just go with the flow and I’m not about to start. We have won 2 new accounts, will be adding team members and the fun is just beginning. One account I can’t elaborate on yet, but when I’m able to make an announcement it will be big. I get to do what I do best, change the perception of an entire industry! I can’t wait! The other account we won is RCTV a telenovela company. They produce the worlds top rated telenovelas and distribute them worldwide. We just recently completed a brochure, DVD cover, posters and banners for a new telenovela and are getting ready to start on their corporate brochure. Fun stuff! Stay tuned, I will keep you posted…

Take a sneek peek at FRED.’s work. While we finish the site you can see some of the award-winning work to come from our agency. Fill out the registration form on the site to be notified when there’s more to see.
www.fredagency.com