Our Services
Every problem is unique, and our team is uniquely suited to solve challenges of combining art and technology online. We’ve spent decades working with both marketing and IT firms, and we’ll go out on a limb to find a solution that turns your problem into a successful opportunity.
Full Service Interactive Design
Your website will only succeed with a clear plan and measurement of success.
We can help you discover high level creative ideas and define strategic direction for an interactive component to a project. We’ve created detailed technical architectures that work, and we’ve just helped to write the RFP. We like to ask lots of questions and document the consensus. We’ll work well with your advertising agency, or we can help find the right partners to make your business problem a business success.
We want to create stunning tools that work for people.
Social Networking Apps
We’ve been big believers in bringing people together with technology since our days running BBS’s in the 80’s. Today, it’s widget and social networking apps for sites like Facebook, MySpace and now Google’s OpenSocial.
Articles & Examples…
A First Look at OpenSocial -by Andrew Embler, Director of Technology
November 10, 2007
Distributed eCommerce Widget
September 15, 2007
Media Player Chatroom Widget
March 15, 2007
Middleware Development
Our interests lie in using our engineering knowledge to achieve an immediate visual effect. We’ve been hacking at browsers since the early days. We were inspired by jodi.org, we read slash dot, we’re on top of the libraries, we know about AJAX this and the latest ‘casting’ that, we’re on the mailing lists, we’re networking with production programmers, and we’re running open source projects for this stuff.
Our development methodology revolves around open communication and frequent rollouts. We typically setup a development and a content stage, allowing for daily improvements as the final site is actually built out for launch. We believe in the Agile Development model, which can easily integrate with many other development methodologies. At Concrete the Studio our developers work together in Portland Oregon, in a focused and creative environment that helps us provide the best quality of workmanship.
We make applications that grow gracefully under pressure, keeping in mind that they are going to be owned by people, not ‘users’.
Flash Applications
We’ve been working with Flash since version 3, and we’re uniquely well suited to handle the delicate balance of art and engineering that is modern Flash scripting. We build Flash as applications, making our projects as flexible as performance allows. We’ve worked with video in Flash, we’ve worked with “other people’s code”, we’ve done ActionScript 2 & 3 - we know the tricks you need to make Flash behave.
We can make a Flash project actually stick to budget and still be impressive when it’s done. We know how to incorporate Flash into your site seamlessly, providing the functionality you need without the distraction you don’t.
Some interesting projects with Flash involved…
Kettle Foods Night Time Sky
Lemonade.Com - Facebook widgets and UI.
enhancedBooks - slideshow and content viewer
Hi, My Name Is Martha
Color of My Sound
the Wyatt - Slideshow and Flash Floor Plan
6pickr- a Flickr powered project.
MySpace music/video/chat widget
concrete5 Customization
concrete5 is our core tool box. We’ve built this framework out of decades of experience, and years of active development. Think of concrete5 as our hammer, saw, and wood when we show up at a build site. Our staff and associates can provide as much, or as little support as needed to your technical, creative, and management teams.
We’ll provide the ongoing help you need to put you in control of your website.
