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The Imagination Factory > News & Articles > web design

Site Launch: Kentwood Office Chicago

September 18th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

Looking to further distinguish themselves in Chicago’s very competitive market, existing client Kentwood Office Furniture, asked the Imagination Factory to spawn a similar, but different, site for the Chicago market.

It needed to continue the main Kentwood branding, but needed to establish its own unique presence in both that geographic market but in search as well.

And because it was splintering off the main site, it needed to do as little as possible to mess with the existing search positioning garnered over the years. With new great design and judcious use of 301 redirects, we were able to do just that.

Learn more at Kentwood Office Chicago

Site Launch: CTMAX ERASE

August 16th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_CTMXERASE_sm Long-time client (since 1996) in Connecticut, CTMAX, branched out their services a few years ago to include non-invasive facial aesthetic enhancement/refinement.

Recently, they purchased a new and very advanced, pico-second laser as well as state-of-the-art skin cooling system for their practice. This pico laser/cryo cooler combination is very good at reducing fine lines, treating acne scars and removing blemishes and age spots. Its also extremely good at removing tattoos, even those with difficult colours, more quickly and less painfully than other methods generally in use.

For them it meant the need to announce the capability as there are only three of these lasers in Connecticut and embrace a market not typical from them. For us, this meant another logo and another sister website as a method to further brand and distinguish their services in the area.

Learn more about this technology and how they use it to erase the past at CTMAX erase

Site Launch: The Q Smokehouse

July 31st, 2015 by Ted Bailey

A man with a unique concept and a clear plan, David, came to the Imagination Factory while his new restaurant/smokehouse was still on the drawing board.

The owners of the Q SmokeHouse, asked us for help in designing a new logo and a website that would serve both short term and long-term goals. First, while they were breaking ground and building the restaurant, they wanted the site to generate interest of both future employees and patrons. Then, once operational, the site needed to easily expand to allow them to take online orders.

During site training, one of their newest key chefs, said that seeing the site’s quality and professionalism is what impressed on him that the owners were serious about doing things ‘right’ and helped make the decision to seek them out. We couldn’t agree more.

Visit the Q SmokeHouse.

Site Re-vamp: Borgman Ford

July 25th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

In addition to their main new/used auto, truck and commercial vehicle site, Borgman has numerous mini-sites which we maintain on their behalf. Each mini-site focuses on a specific model or group of models, so given the numbers of Fords and Mazdas out there, you can begin to get an idea of just how numerous we’re talking.

Although designed some time ago to be mobile friendly, by your friendly neighborhood web-slingers at the Imagination Factory, changes at the various search engines dictated that we revamp ALL the sites to be even more mobile responsive.

Fortunately, when we originally designed the original structure, we had done so using a multi-site concept which deploys a single CMS engine as the back-side foundation and then allowed us to spawn each mini-site as a child of the master. This allows us to use a common master design and codeset, then easily tweak each child to be unique sites on their own even w/ their own domain name. It also reduces re-design, maintenance and update time considerably.

There are so many mini-sites, we couldn’t begin to list them all, but head over to Borgman Ford Commercial Vehicles Used Cars Grand Rapids or Grand Rapids Ford Escape and you’ll get the idea.

Site Launch: Bamboo Studio

June 29th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_BBS_sm Bamboo Studio is a fusion of paint party and asian cafe, bringing you the fun of learning to paint while sipping on Grand Rapids’ best bubble tea.

Cafe Boba came to the Imagination Factory to help them put together a site to 1) help explain the concept and 2) allow people to sign up online for paint parties, classes, and asian fusion meal/paint packages.

So we fused a gallery, a visual event calendar, and online ecommerce together to meet their needs – then made the whole thing mobile responsive.

Come visit the NEW Bamboo Studio and schedule your next paint party.

Web Tips Learned from a Cab Ride

June 9th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

What could a simple cab ride have to do with having a better website?

Actually a lot! I’m going to share five lessons you can learn in just the ride from any airport to a downtown hotel in any larger metropolitan area.

Now bear in mind that this illustrates only the initial customer interaction with your website. There is even more to consider when thinking about the customer’s different needs during the entire journey with you during their lifecycle which I hope to address in a later post soon.

OK… You’ve landed at the airport, gathered all of your luggage, and headed curbside to grab a cab.
Read the rest of this entry »

Site Launch: ITC-RV & ITC-Marine

May 1st, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_ITCMAR_sm ITC Incorporated is a dynamic, evolving company that has grown its LED capabilities with collections of lighting products for several industries including Marine, Cruise, RV, Healthcare, Retail, and Commercial Interiors.

This manufacturer came to the Imagination Factory seeking a web solution for its multiple companies. We designed a cohesive design for each manufacturing division and a plan to develop the content and launch multiple sites over several months.

With sites for the parent company, elio® and cruise® having launched late 2014 and early 2015, the fourth and fifth to launch were for the recreational vehicle (RV) division and the marine division.

IFIblog_ITCRV_sm These sites provide more information on each brand’s product line, offer specs as well as access to various online etail channels from where they may be purchased. All five are now tied together in the back by a common administrative structure making it easier to manage multiple sites.

Come visit the NEW ITC-RV and the ITC-Marine sites.

Site Launch: Premier Roofing and Exteriors

March 27th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

IFIblog_PREM_sm This family-owned West Michigan roofing company has built a superb reputation for high-quality repair and installation work that withstands West Michigan’s roughest weather. When it came time to renovate their website, they came to the experts at the Imagination Factory.

Just as they know the best products and installation methods to stand up to the harsh extremes of West Michigan’s climate, they knew they could count on the team at IFI to know how to present their story in an all important mobile-responsive cyber environment.

Visit Premier’s new site, today.

Ecommerce: Batter’s Up

March 15th, 2015 by Ted Bailey

ballsuites_2015 So spring has been a bit slow in arriving to the midwest AGAIN this year, but that hasn’t stopped the minor league baseball clubs from their need to prepare for a whole new season of fans.

And its time for the Imagination Factory to come to bat. We have developed a fairly simple online menu system that accommodates each clubs unique offerings, calculates prices real-time as the fans select items, accounts for their unique tax structures and collects / emails the pertinent order information to the club’s catering team.

We have a few new clubs this season and a few of the old ones are are sporting nifty new logos and/or even new major league affiliations.