DesignHammer News Releases

DesignHammer Releases Update for Carolina Theatre iPhone App

Stephen Pashby — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Durham, NC (October 6th, 2011) — DesignHammer is pleased to announce the release of version 2.0 of the iPhone app for the Carolina Theatre, a Durham historical and cultural landmark. The latest version of the mobile application boasts an improved user interface along with new features. The iPhone app was first released in March 2011 and has maintained a steady rate of downloads over the last six months.

The Carolina Theatre iPhone app pulls content directly from the Carolina Theatre’s website, built by DesignHammer using the Drupal, an open source content management system. “We are excited to further connect with our loyal patrons with this significant update to the Carolina Theatre iPhone App." says Aaron Bare, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Carolina Theatre.

The latest Carolina Theatre app features a more intuitive and visually pleasing interface while maintaining the distinctive style and branding of the Theatre’s website. According to Jay Roberts, DesignHammer’s lead iOS developer, "The new version can take you to the Ticketmaster page for each event to buy tickets and brings Carolina Theatre's new blog directly into the app. The update also brings a host of other bug and UI fixes, making this the best and most stable version of the app yet." In addition, iPhone users upgrading to iOS 5 on October 12th need not worry; the Carolina Theatre app is already fully compatible with the latest mobile operating system.

The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization hired by the City of Durham to operate the Carolina Theatre. The professional staff, along with more than 300 volunteers, executes a comprehensive performing arts program including live performances in music, dance, theater, and educational programming, as well as a nationally-respected film program that includes the county’s only first-run independent cinema, which operates 364 days a year, as well as four dynamic festivals – the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the Retrofantasma and Retrofantasma Classics horror series, the Nevermore Film Festival and the Escapism Film Festival.

The Carolina Theatre first turned to DesignHammer for web development services in 2008, and since then the two have worked closely together. DesignHammer has designed and developed the Theatre’s main website, as well as sub-sites for the Theatre’s numerous film festivals. DesignHammer also has sponsored several shows at the Theatre over the past few seasons.

DesignHammer Sponsors BarCampRDU 2011

David Minton — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:49:46 +0000

Durham, NC — DesignHammer will continue its sponsorship of the Raleigh-Durham BarCamp for 2011. This marks the sixth year for BarCampRDU and the third consecutive year of sponsorship by DesignHammer.

BarCampRDU is a “un-conference” where attendees of the event can watch as well as engage as educators with their peers. The event is open to the public and driven entirely by content created by those attending the event making for a unique, entertaining and educational experience.

BarCamps have developed worldwide, bringing together professionals from various industries to share their knowledge with peers. Other industries that have taken advantage of the BarCamp format include Real Estate, Marketing, Healthcare, and Education. There are also more topic specific conferences within the technology field that cover cloud computing, design, privacy, and UX sessions throughout the day for those interested in a highly focused event.

In addition to sponsoring the event, DesignHammer’s staff will be in attendance to pitch their own presentations and contribute. According to DesignHammer Account Manager Stephen Pashby “This will be my first BarCamp. I am looking forward to becoming further involved with our thriving local tech community.”

DesignHammer Partner David Minton, who has attended BarCampRDU four times added “I have had a great experience at BarCampRDU, connecting with fellow members of the tech community, learning from others through the wide variety topics covered each year, as well as getting to share some of what I know through leading sessions myself.”

For those that cannot attend, the BarCamp sessions are covered by live bloggers and can be followed as it happens by searching for the BarCampRDU tag as well as following along with #BarCampRDU on Twitter.

The event will be held at the RedHat offices in Raleigh Saturday October 15th from 8:00-5:30pm. Tickets are available free of charge through Eventbrite, though attendance is limited to 200. For more information, visit the BarCampRDU website.

DesignHammer Migrates Carolina Theatre Film Festivals Website to Drupal

Claire Carson — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:03:28 +0000

Durham, NC (August 19th, 2011) — DesignHammer, Durham’s award-winning web design and development firm, released a new web-based content management system to host content for the Carolina Theatre’s annual film festival series. The Theatre, a Durham historic and cultural landmark since 1926, hosts four film festivals per year, in addition to daily scheduled film screenings, as well as critically-acclaimed live performances.

The new festival website system proved essential in averting a crisis during the recent NCGL film festival. Trouble struck on August 12th when a pickup truck collided with a nearby transformer pole, plunging the Theatre’s screens into darkness in the middle of several films. According to Aaron Bare, Director of Marketing and Communication at the theatre, “the outage lasted for a couple of hours and we had to send people home, but thanks to our new Drupal site and content management system, we were able to push information out cleanly, easily, and quickly.” The interrupted films were successfully rescheduled online, showing the value of an easily updated website.

Currently in version 7, Drupal is a free and open source content management system (CMS) and content management framework (CMF) written in PHP with over 10,000 community-contributed modules to extend its functionality. The popular CMS is used across a full spectrum of applications, from small business and non-profit websites, to internationally recognized organizations such as the White House, and The Economist online. DesignHammer hosts Drupal on LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) servers. “A feature-rich, yet robust and scalable framework without licensing fees makes Drupal easy to recommend to our clients,” said Design Hammer Managing Partner David Minton. DesignHammer provides Drupal development to companies and organizations nationwide and has launched numerous cutting-edge Drupal websites.

Prior to the redesign of the film festival web pages, the Carolina Theatre used static websites to publicize each event. The previous websites, independent of the Theatre’s main site, required assistance from volunteers and firms like DesignHammer to update each site’s content annually. The Theatre sought a new setup that would be easier to manage and revise.

Currently only content for the NCGL film festival is hosted by the new Drupal system; the remaining three festivals will be migrated as new content becomes available. Once the new content management system is completed, Theatre staff will be able to update each festival’s site content at will after DesignHammer moves the sites into Drupal. The improved sites feature a responsive website theme that creates both desktop and mobile web editions of the site without requiring two separately developed versions. DesignHammer Partner and Lead Designer Frank Yonnetti stated, “Another significant change is how the film schedule is presented. The new grid layout uses Drupal Views to display each film in its own node-block and organize the films by showing time.”

The Carolina Theatre has employed DesignHammer for website development services since 2008, including a complete redesign of the organization’s main website in 2010, and an iPhone app earlier in 2011.

DesignHammer Expands Web Analytics and SEO Services with Google Analytics Individual Qualification

Stephen Pashby — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:22:56 +0000

DURHAM, NC (May 18,2011) — DesignHammer Account Manager Stephen Pashby joined a select group of web analysis professionals by earning a Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) today. The Google Analytics Individual Qualification provides a proof of proficiency in Google Analytics that is earned by passing Google’s own Google Analytics IQ test.

Google Analytics is a free, enterprise-class web analytics solution provided by Google. Properly configured and analyzed, Google Analytics delivers rich insights into website traffic and marketing effectiveness. With the data gleaned from Google Analytics, any organization is able to write better-targeted ads, strengthen their marketing initiatives and create higher converting websites.

Stephen Pashby has provided Analytics analysis for DesignHammer clients since he joined the DesignHammer team in February 2011. According to Stephen, “Analytics simple and intuitive user interface bely its extensive capabilities. Properly deployed, Google Analytics delivers a wealth of actionable information describing how an organization’s website is achieves business goals. It also allows us to demonstrate the ROI that comes from quality the quality web design and development we provide at DesignHammer.” DesignHammer actively uses Google Analytics as part of their extensive web data analysis capacity and SEO efforts.

Working with the White House and Local Business

Stephen Pashby — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:04:43 +0000

DURHAM, NC (April 29, 2011) — DesignHammer Managing Partner David Minton and Account Manager Stephen Pashby participated in a session of the White House Roundtables: 100 Strategies for Winning the Future on April 23rd at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The theme of the session was “The Next Generation of Entrepreneurs,” and focused on the challenges that young entrepreneurs face in the current economic climate.

David Minton was appreciative for the opportunity to participate in the event. He added “I find it encouraging that the White House is taking a grassroots approach to addressing our nation’s economic woes, and soliciting feedback and suggestions from entrepreneurs and small businesses like DesignHammer.”

In addition to fostering discussion among present and future entrepreneurs, the roundtable was organized to provide feedback to the White House on what can be done to support entrepreneurship in today’s economy. Topics discussed included tangible obstacles to entrepreneurship, solutions to these obstacles, and opportunities for the White House to help entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles. The roundtable was attended by a variety of current and future entrepreneurs.

On attending Stephen Pashby said, “Participating in this business roundtable was an excellent opportunity to become more closely involved in our local business community. The roundtable also presented a chance to offer feedback to the White House the current business climate and propose solutions. David and I were pleased to share best practices with up and coming entrepreneurs.”

Through May 31st, Administration officials will be participating in 100 Roundtables with Americans all across the country. Hosted by members of communities around the country, these roundtables allow Americans to discuss issues that are relevant to their communities. Feedback from the roundtables will be shared with the White House and will be compiled in an e-book, creating a database of workable, scalable models of success that young leaders can replicate in their own communities, and that the President’s Team can highlight.

DesignHammer was invited to participate in the White House Roundtable via the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. DesignHammer has been an active member of the Chamber for over ten years.

DesignHammer Supports Local Food Bank

admin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:46:20 +0000

Durham, NC (April 25, 2011) — Durham’s award winning web design agency DesignHammer completed its first employee food drive of 2011 for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC) on April 22, 2011. DesignHammer employees donated 225 lbs. of food to feed the hungry in central and eastern North Carolina.

This was DesignHammer’s third food drive for the Durham branch of FBCENC, which serves Chatham, Durham, Granville, Orange, Person, and Vance counties. DesignHammer held its first food drive with FBCENC in 2009. The 225 pounds of food collected during the latest food drive nearly doubled the company’s previous best result of 127 pounds. Managing Partner David Minton hopes to do even better during the next food drive, scheduled to run through the summer.

Production Designer Paul Bredenberg, who championed the latest food drive, said, “I think our food drive efforts are an excellent way to give back to the community. It requires very little effort to pick up a few cans during a visit to the grocery store, and when a group of people get together to contribute, such as with DesignHammer’s food drive, the amount of food that finds it's way onto the tables of needy families adds up relatively quickly.”

Established in 1980, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit organization that has provided food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina for over 30 years. The Food Bank serves a network of more than 800 partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and programs for children and adults through warehouses in Durham, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, the Sandhills (Southern Pines) and Wilmington. In fiscal year 2009–2010, the Food Bank distributed more than 41.5 million pounds of food and non-food essentials through these agencies.

DesignHammer Developers Present Drupal 7 at the 2011 NCTech4Good Conference

Stephen Pashby — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:46:20 +0000

Durham, NC (April 11, 2011) — Jay Roberts and Kosta Harlan, Drupal Developers at DesignHammer, will be presenting at the 2011 NCTech4Good Conference. NCTech4Good Conference is an annual daylong event that offers information and networking opportunities for staff, consultants, and volunteers for North Carolina nonprofits and similar organizations. The conference will take place April 15, 2011 at the William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC.

Both Jay and Kosta will be presenting on Drupal 7, an open-source content management system with an active, worldwide development community. This open development model creates a free, flexible, robust, and constantly improving CMS solution for websites large and small. Drupal 7 is the latest version, release earlier this year.

Jay will be presenting “A Tour of Drupal 7.” Regarding the exciting new advances over Drupal 6, Jay says, "Drupal 7 provides many opportunities for site developers. If you haven't looked into it, now is the time." This will be a beginner level overview of what Drupal 7 is and how it can be used to meet the needs of modern non-profit organizations. The session will cover the role of Drupal as a website content management system and also how it can be customized to handle tasks such as providing updates to constituents, getting feedback, promoting collaboration, and accepting donations.

Later in the day, Kosta will be presenting “How to Upgrade a Drupal 6 Site to a Drupal 7 Site.” This will be a beginner to intermediate level discussion of the best practices for upgrading a website from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7, a review of some automated tools available to help with the upgrade path, as well as identifying potential pitfalls to watch out for while upgrading. On his hopes for his presentations Kosta says, "I think the sessions on Drupal will be useful to attendees as Drupal 7 is a great platform for non-profit organizations to use in promoting their message and work."

The 2011 NCTech4Good Conference sessions include case studies, workshops, and panel discussions. Topics focus on practical information at different levels of expertise to help organizations solve everyday problems and meet their goals. Participants learn from leaders in the field and from each other, while also strengthening the NCTech4Good network. Kosta is excited to be attending, "I'm looking forward to learning about how non-profits are using technology to further their goals, and I'm particularly interested to participate in the discussions about mobile development."

Early conference registration closed on Friday April 8th. Late registration is available onsite, the day of the conference, for $125.00. On Sturday, The NCTech4Good will host an Unconference, providing an opportunity to learn even more, in a less structured atmosphere than the traditional conference. The fee for the Unconference is $10.00.

The first NCTech4Good Conference brought together, from across the state, more than 100 representatives of the nonprofit and technology communities to identify and address the relevant needs of nonprofit organizations in North Carolina.

DesignHammer Creates iPhone Application for the Carolina Theatre

Stephen Pashby — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:27:24 +0000

Durham, NC (March 25, 2011) — Durham’s award winning web design agency, DesignHammer, is adding a new service to their roster and making a fun iPhone app for Durham’s Carolina Theatre. The 10 year old agency has been expanding services greatly recently and iPhone application development is the newest in offerings for the increasingly mobile world.

The Carolina Theatre iPhone App, available for free at the Apple iTunes store, includes features that will help the local audience engage better with the theatre and become more aware of the diverse entertainment programs that is offered. The application’s features include:

Updated information on the evolving schedule at the theatre - information of schedule changes and additions to entertainment
Social media sharing through the users preferred social network. Other features include
Access to personalized directions to theatre,
Seating chart, and
Easy access to purchase tickets.

Bob Nocek, President and CEO of the Carolina Theatre, believes, "This app will connect with fans on a deeper level and we hope make them more frequent customers. In a time when it's harder to reach people through traditional media this tool provides a direct link with our audience."

DesignHammer and the Carolina Theatre of Durham Inc have worked closely together since the creation of the theatre’s new site began in early 2009. The mobile application maintains the branding and functionality of the new website while making the theatre even more accessible and engaging to the mobile audience.

"The app is truly the best way to stay up-to-date with what's happening at the Carolina Theatre. It also makes it easy to share your plans with your friends." DesignHammer Developer, Jay Roberts, shares Nocek’s excitement about the new app.

Application development is the newest service offered by DesignHammer. The agency offers services in Web Design, SEO, Email Marketing, Hosting, and Maintenance along with Website, Drupal and iPhone app development.

David Minton Honored with Business Leader Magazine's Top Catalyst Entrepreneurs Award

Stephen Pashby — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:18:12 +0000

Durham, NC (March 04, 2011) — David Minton, Managing Partner of DesignHammer, has been honored by Business Leader Media as one of the 2011 Top Catalyst Entrepreneur sof the Triangle. The Top Catalyst Entrepreneur Award is given to dynamic and outstanding business professionals who greatly contribute to the growth of their communities.

The 2011 Top Catalyst Entrepreneur Award for David is the first time he has been honored by Business Leader Media in this category and marks the fourth award for the company. Upon learning of the award, David stated, “I am honored to be a part of this exemplary group of local business leaders. Without the exceptional staff, and dedication on the part of my business partners, DesignHammer would not have provided me a platform to be so recognized.”

Other notable Top Catalyst Entrepreneurs for 2011 include Dr. Jim Goodnight, Chief Executive Officer of SAS, Chaz Felix, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bronto Software, and Danny Rosin, Co-owner and Acting Vice-President of Brand Fuel Promotions.

As Managing Partner, he oversees the business aspects of the company, including sales, finance, and operations. David also consults with clients on usability, accessibility, search engine optimization, and social media.

The 2011 awards dinner took place last night in Raleigh and honored approximately 46 of the Research Triangle’s most dynamic entrepreneurs from a variety of industries. Profiles of all of the winners are available in the Triangle edition of the Business Leader Magazine.

Business Leader Media has grown as a source for local business news since 1989 and provides local editions of Business Leader Magazine for various regions of North Carolina. The publication regularly honors leaders in the community throughout the year with awards such as Top CFO, Women Extraordinaire, and Top 100 NC Small Business Awards. In total, the company presents 10 regular awards events each year for the Triangle business community.

DesignHammer Drupal Developer Participates in DrupalCon Chicago

Stephen Pashby — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:54:30 +0000

Durham, NC – Kosta Harlan, Developer at DesignHammer, will be attending DrupalCon Chicago, the world’s premiere Drupal conference. DrupalCon Chicago will be an international event that brings together people who use, develop, design, and support the Drupal platform. The conference will take place March 7–10, 2011 at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Chicago, IL.

"I'm looking forward to learning about Drupal 7 from other Drupal developers and site builders,” said Kosta. “This conference is bringing together thousands of people from around the world, and it's a unique opportunity for me to learn from and engage with many talented people."

Drupal is an open-source content management system with an active, worldwide development community. This open development model creates a free, flexible, robust, and constantly improving CMS solution for websites large and small.

“Drupal is a great solution for building complex websites. We've been using it on a large number of our projects at DesignHammer, and it's what I spend most of my time working on. The Drupal community is very active, creative, and helpful, which is what makes the platform great."

The first DrupalCon was held in 2005 in Antwerp, Belgium. Attendance has grown from 25 at the first DrupalCon to 3,000 at DrupalCon San Francisco in 2010. Attendees to DrupalCon San Francisco represented 20 different countries. DrupalCon is not just attended by developers—designers, themers, project managers, and corporate leaders will also participate. Projections for DrupalCon Chicago are upwards of 4,000 people.