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Recent Work: How to grasp a number like one billion

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

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You could come up with any number of measurements to illustrate one billion, but none of them will make it easier to grasp. For example, I've lived a little more than one billion seconds, and the number still means nothing. So, never mind a lifetime, just try recounting a day's seconds, that vast but fleeting space and time that fill every present moment of your life. It doesn't take all that long to realize you're better off focusing on the seconds coming at you instead of accounting for the ones that have passed.

Where VDAY is concerned, one billion is 14 percent of the world's population, more specifically, one third of its women. That's the number of women on the planet who will be victims of violence, in particular sexual violence. And it's the number of people VDAY is calling upon to end that violence on February 14, 2013 – an unprecedented uprising, answering violence with dance, using the power of expression to counter the tyranny of brutality.

If anything, the inability to grasp a number that size emphasizes just how ambitious a goal this is.

We've been lucky to work with VDAY for the past eight years. They teach us over and over that nothing is too audacious. They inspire us by using art to turn pain into strength. They give us a chance to splash a little color all over the world.

This 2012 annual report, The Path to One Billion, follows VDAY's path and shows what a couple of people willing to challenge themselves can do. It can be viewed online and in print if you ask them nicely. (And by nicely, I mean I think you should support their work. You can do that here.)

View The Path To One Billion »

Recent Work: County Players website design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:18:51 GMT

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Categories: Web Design

Let's put on a show.

For thousands of years that sentence has been the siren song that left countless theater widows weeping – or cursing – into their hands. County Players in Wappingers Falls, NY, says it four times a year, and when they do a faithful group of volunteers, from their board of directors to the ticket sellers, mark time out of their calendars to bring those shows to life.

When we looked at redesigning their website, we asked County Players what they needed most. Volunteers, they answered.

If you're not familiar with putting a show, four of them in one year might not sound like much work. Believe me, it is. What it isn't is much in the way of website content. That matters because County also said they wanted a website that gives their audience a reason to come back on a regular basis.

Why do you visit the sites you visit every day? Do they make you laugh? Think? Do they titillate? Are they about your passions? Obsessions? Regardless, I'm willing to bet if you visit them daily they produce regular content.

Recent Work: V-Day annual report 2011

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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Categories: Print Design, Web Design

Gloss. An explosion of color. A famous playwright, a cast of A-listers, a world of real women. Profiles of Haiti, Congo, a touring show of talented and passionate girls, the Tony Awards, the Ted Conferences, a movement that's touched 140 countries, and what to do with $80 million. V-Day's is not your typical, boring annual report, because V-Day is art become power.

So how do you represent that power and the magic behind it in print? You lose yourself in each and every project. You study the video and the images and grasp just what was accomplished. You find the spirit behind each and let that dictate how your pages come to life. You let their identity determine theme, and then develop it in ways that can surprise even their most ardent supporters. And you push color as far as your printer can take it because V-Day loves color.

Red Line Diner, Fishkill, New York

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:08:14 GMT

Red Line Diner, Fishkill, New York

We designed Red Line's sign (and logo) to draw attention from the two intersecting highways
at their location, modernizing classic American diner and car themes to evoke fun and
nostalgia while still feeling contemporary.

Drake Creative Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:40:41 GMT

What do you want in your website design?

Keep these few things in mind. Your website is

Your first impression
Your identity
What you can do for me
How well you can do it

And if I'm your user, I'll make those judgments in a little over one second. Talk about an elevator speech.

Drake Creative specializes in identity. We design and build websites that make your identity clear, that present what you do directly, that emphasize your professionalism and good taste.

We also build websites that you can easily run yourself. And while we will build custom sites from scratch, we also find that most projects can be built more economically on open source platforms with great, big support communities that keep those platforms up to date and secure. Some of our favorites are Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal. We have experience in others as well.

If you would like more information, please feel free to call, email or contact us through the form on this page.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Recent Work: Maplebrook capital campaign phase one

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

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Category: Print, Content Development

We always like seeing our clients hit their goals. In this case that goal was $1.5 million to improve the lives of students with learning differences.

Maplebrook is a school for students who find it difficult to thrive in traditional settings because they are slow learners or display learning differences, and their goal is to help these students and their families achieve the greatest level of independence possible. It's a noble mission. All we had to do was show how they do that on paper, show how meaningful a contribution can be when it results in a legacy that helps families for generations.

You learn a lot about human dignity and respect in a setting like Maplebrook. We wanted to convey that through the campaign, to create a feeling of hope, to deliver their vision for the future. And even though it's our work on those pages, we're thrilled they can close this book for good.

And now, on to phase two.

Drake Creative Logo Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:28:29 GMT

Click on a logo to enlarge. Use arrows to scroll through the gallery.
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Recent Work: Red Line sign and logo design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:07:45 GMT

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Category: Logo, Identity, Environmental Graphic Design

Alex and I share a trait with our dogs: we'll offer you unconditional love if you'll feed us. Maybe that's why we keep getting fun diners to design.

The new Red Line Diner is perfectly located at the busy intersection of two highways in Fishkill, New York. We wanted to create a fun and sexy beacon that would bring a good portion of that traffic into the restaurant. Given that all of the traffic would get there by car, we played with cars as our theme.

Using a tachometer was a no brainer. It says heat. It says speed. It says performance. It says fun. All characteristics you want when you walk through any diner's doors. And whether it's the location, the Vanikiotis' reputation for excellent restaurants, or that sexy red sign, they've been packed since they opened.

Concavage Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:41:43 GMT

Concavage

Simple website for a regional marine construction company that gives the user quick access to information about area of coverage and scope of work.

Flashionista Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:40:51 GMT

Flashionista

Redesigned fashion blog and integrated shopping cart

Mary writes a funny, sassy, fashion blog for women with first hand, hot-flash experience, and with her keen fashion sense, decided to integrate her own product line into her website.

Global Transol Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:40:25 GMT

Global Transol

The design for this website focused on the scope, professionalism and accessibility of this freight forwarding company as means of differentiating the client from what can be a confusing and cluttered field of competitors.

Half Moon Theatre

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:39:38 GMT

Half Moon Theater

Theater is about experience and we wanted this website to convey a professional, focused sense of drama and whimsey, while pushing the obvious goal of ticket sales in a humorous way.

Barnabys Steakhouse Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:38:30 GMT

Barnaby's Steakhouse

A steakhouse doesn't require a lot of copy. Steak isn't complicated. It's bold. It's mouthwatering. It's best consumed in the right setting.

Mediation Center of Dutchess County Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:37:18 GMT

Mediation Center of Dutchess County

The Dutchess Mediation Center is all about fostering communication. Their website needed to not only quickly and easily communicate their services, and the exceptional professionalism, but also facilitate communications with their large team of volunteers.

CENTER for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:29:34 GMT

CENTER for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck

One of Dutchess County's busiest performing venues, the CENTER loads new major productions every four weeks, along with hosting traveling shows and performers on a weekly basis. Their visitors needed to be able to sort quickly and easily through a large volume of shows to find what interests them categorically, achieved dynamically so that the site can be easily maintained by a small staff.

Marshall & Sterling Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:28:58 GMT

Marshall & Sterling

Complete website reorganization and redesign for one of the largest privately held insurance agencies in the country. Resulted in a substantial increase in user traffic and buyer inquiry, while enabling Marshall & Sterling to manage their content nimbly.

Striking a Balance Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:27:45 GMT

Striking a Balance

The Dyson Foundation partnered with the Marist Poll on the first-ever statewide survey (New York) on local government consolidation, broken down into nine separate districts. The website, built on a four-week turnaround, uses a CCK to categorize information dynamically according to subject matter and presents a massive amount of information in ways that are easy to navigate.

VDay Annual Report Online Flipbook

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:27:10 GMT

VDay Annual Report

2011 Annual Report designed for both print and online as a flipbook with multimedia interactivity. Functions on iOS devices as well. You can visit the live site here.

Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:25:20 GMT

Pattern for Progress

This multi-layered site serves two primary purposes. The first is introducing Pattern, presenting its mission, and providing access to the findings from its work. The second is a regional resource, a news tracker that dynamically collects and categorizes news content from multiple sources regarding local government efficiency in Hudson Valley.

Walkway over the Hudson Website Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:57:26 GMT

Walkway over the Hudson

Walkway Over the Hudson, a world-class destination, is about realized ambitions, natural beauty, our physical selves, and connecting with others. The website needed to show that, while making the Walkway itself easily accessible. An added benefit of the project was getting to work closely with the great Woody Pirtle.

Drake Creative Website Design Portfolio

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:15:02 GMT


Walkway Over the Hudson	Pattern For Progress	VDAY Annual Report

Striking a Balance	Marshall & Sterling	Dyson Foundation

CENTER for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck	Dutchess Mediation Center	Barnaby's Steakhouse

Blue Flower Arts	Internet Archive	Old Salem Farm

Bank of Millbrook	Half Moon Theater	Global Transol

Flashionista	Leslie Land	Solid State Cooling

Bob Mott	Long Lost Blues	Palace Diner

Concavage Marine Construction	Pearl Abraham American Taliban

Red Line Diner Logo Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:51:34 GMT

Red Line

Global Transol Logo Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:26:39 GMT

Global Transol

Global Transol Web Front Page Design

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:31:35 GMT

In this design, the navigation would be top right. The Services link there shows the design for a dropdown menu style. The Services script at the bottom of the page would be animated. When clicked, each section would open. These could include text, image and link to the specific services page. We can discuss at your convenience.

Aurora Borealis for Almost, Maine

dean@drakreate.com (Dean Temple) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:43:13 GMT

Aurora Borealis Design for Almost, Maine

Half Moon Theatre, Poughkeepsie, New York

We wanted to avoid random light sequences as a means of producing an aurora effect, and instead develop purposeful aurorae that matched each story thematically in movement, mood and color. We used video clips from sources ranging from the Paris Opera Ballet to Charlie Chaplin, and broke them down to fundamental elements of motion and color. Here are four of the nine sequences, as well as the accompanying titles.