LIPPINCOTT MERCER | www.snl.com
SNL Financial is a sector-focused financial information source. Used by investment banks, ratings agencies, government agencies, law firms and media such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, SNL’s website revamp needed to reflect the critical intelligence of the company’s offerings, while explaining its services to attract prospects.

“The previous site did not make it obvious what SNL Financial offered, and did not position it as a leader in business information,” says designer Jenifer Lehker. “The new design puts SNL Financial’s value proposition front and center.” With the feel of a newspaper, the site uses bold headlines to highlight impressive information—including the praise of important clients—to demonstrate SNL’s leadership. Some of the design inspiration came from day-trading computers used by the very people who utilize SNL Financial information, resulting in the site’s clean, straightforward, modular feel—as well as its focus on a strong message. “The dramatic change in impact, structure and professionalism,” Lehker says, is what pleases her most about the new site design. “SNL is in the business of delivering critical industry information and competes against some big players,” she says. “The new design positions them as the premier multisector-focused information firm.”
Romy Ashby

LIPPINCOTT MERCER | www.247realmedia.com
“The spark was in the numerology,” says creative director Brendán Murphy. Googling the numbers in the 24/7 Real Media name unearthed a wealth of raw material, more than enough, Murphy says, “to create a compelling billboard to highlight 24/7’s capabilities.”

24/7 Real Media wanted to create an online experience to reflect those capabilities. Murphy’s team set about conceiving, designing and producing a website in a Jerry-Seinfeld-meets-Cliff-Clavin style. Proffering a daily barrage of curious factoids, the site protrays the “Science of Digital Marketing” as a seedpod bursting with wit, aimed at a sophisticated, global clientele of advertisers, media planners and online publishers. Its user-oriented navigation accompanies a fresh, bold graphical interface. To identify and define a client’s positioning and character, Murphy’s design team regularly employs a rigorous process—defining brand-image attributes and key message themes, streamlining company product architecture, creating a new marketing communication platform and producing guidelines to support brand-activation and ongoing brand-building efforts—a process that sounds in its description rather Seinfeldian itself. The unique linking of content and humor to strategy and client product solutions, Murphy says, gives the site its distinction.
Romy Ashby

ADDISON | www.aes.com/aes/AES_movie.html
Creating a video to relaunch the brand of AES, one of the world’s largest generators and distributors of electric power, posed a challenge for New York design firm Addison—especially when the project was due in less than a month. “This piece is a testament to the trust that our client, AES, placed in us,” says Addison senior VP David R. Kohler.

Kohler, also creative director on the project, describes the intricate video as a key ingredient in the relaunch, because it would establish most people’s first impression of the brand. “Employee buy-in was critical,” he notes. “Most global corporations present themselves as an American company abroad. For AES we created a brand that showcases the people the company serves around the world.” That meant assembling a vast image library to capture each culture where the company operates. Another challenge was selecting and mixing the music, a request that preceded the deadline by just three days. For the closing, the designers painstakingly animated the company logo frame by frame, and used typography in various languages spelling out the company’s tagline to slow the pace of the movie and build anticipation.
Tom Biederbeck

RULE29 | www.oneilprint.com
O’Neil Printing is Rule29’s longest-running client relationship, “and one of our favorites,” says Justin Ahrens, the design firm’s principal and creative director. “For us, it’s a match made in heaven. We helped them rebrand in 2000 and have been part of their team ever since.”

This updated website was a relaunch of O’Neil’s original site, which Rule29 did three years ago. A key goal was incorporating a content-management system so the client could control the posting of news, PR and job openings. “When Rule29 presented us with the proposal for updating our site, we listened,” says Tony Narducci, general manager at the printer, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2008. He adds, “We always know that Rule29 will give us something beyond our expectations.” Beyond the CMS, Rule29 sought to build a site that was a solid brand extension and aesthetically powerful. “I think we got there,” says Ahrens.
Tom Biederbeck

HZDG | www.view14.com
“It’s really all about experiencing the building,” says senior art director Jefferson Liu, speaking of the ultramodern structure that’s set the D.C. condo market abuzz. Appealing to what Liu describes as “an urban audience of people whose place of residence serves as a fashion statement,” the website for View14 would have to support that vision perfectly—because the building itself did not yet exist.

“All of the design, Flash and functionality were meant to convey the essence of View14, inside and out,” says Liu. “We wanted to take the visitor on a journey through the building’s spaces—from the exterior, into the lobby and garden, and on into the units and their views of the city.” The site is infused with a modern feel, with photography and 3D illustration at center stage. “The Flash interaction and motion graphics were designed with a fluid schematic in mind,” explains senior art director John Whitlock. The almost organic transitions from section to section enhance an overall Zen motif. This project, with its combination of architecture, interior design and graphic design was a joy, says Liu: “With the in-house talent here at HZDG, we knew this was an opportunity to create something really special.”
Romy Ashby