Blog

Together with BET Foundation, Fusebox is delighted to announce the launch of the redesigned BET Foundation Web site, the result of several months of close collaboration between these two organizations.

Fusebox’s design team created a fresh, light look and feel for the new Web site, incorporating appealing imagery reflective of the BET Foundation’s health focus and target audience. Our writers revised the site copy to establish a consistent tone and style and enhanced on-screen legibility. To help site visitors quickly locate the information they need, we reorganized all site content and introduced a new navigation scheme.

Our development team implemented the site in Drupal CMS to enable BET Foundation’s busy staff members to quickly update content with minimal training and no prior technical experience. The new site also features online registration and evaluation, complete with user management capabilities to allow BET’s staff to quickly and easily administer programs and events.

Fusebox and More Art are pleased to announce the launch of More Art’s new iPad and mobile device compatible Web site. A New York-based nonprofit organization, More Art is dedicated to forging links between contemporary art, artists, and the community at large.

A member of More Art’s executive board, Fusebox Partner and Executive Creative Director Laura Michaels has helped facilitate a close and productive working relationship between the two organizations. The Web site redesign is a natural extension of the collaboration between More Art and Fusebox.

More Art owes so much to the talent of Laura Michaels and her creative team at Fusebox for the exciting makeover they’ve given our Web site. Previously cumbersome and difficult to navigate, the new site presents our achievements and mission in a fresh, user-friendly light. Laura and her team have a natural feel for design and the innate ability to understand their clients’ needs and goals. “Visually-riveting, forward-thinking, sophisticated and cool” – that’s how we describe the new site Fusebox has designed for More Art. – Michaela Martegani, More Art Founder & Director

To ensure that the art serves as the focal point of the site, Fusebox’s design team created a contemporary, minimalist look and feel. The new site structure addresses More Art’s three main audiences – artists, supporters, and organization members. Through the use of social media applications, including a blog and both Facebook and Twitter integration, the site also looks to establish stronger connections with a broader audience.

E-commerce functionality has been incorporated to enable More Art to receive online donations and allow users to purchase “Multiples” – limited edition art objects created by renowned artists for the exclusive benefit of More Art. Fusebox’s development team opted to implement the site in WordPress to allow More Art’s small staff to quickly and efficiently update site content.

The site adheres to HTML 5 standards to eliminate the need for proprietary plugins and to facilitate the viewing of all site content, including animations, on iPad and mobile devices.

The buzz around our office this week has been all about the debut of The Essential Guide to 3D in Flash, a book written with the help of one of our senior Flash Developer, Peter Kapelyan. The book teaches ActionScript developers and designers the core Flash 3D concepts using the Away3D engine as a primary tool. It hit the shelves of Barnes & Noble yesterday and is available online at Amazon.com

Peter has been working in Flash and 3D for over 14 years. In addition to his role at Fusebox, he is part of the 10-person team behind Away3D, an open source 3D Flash engine. Away3D enables users to produce complex, professional quality 3D models in Flash. It holds a wide variety of potential applications, and has been used successfully to create 3D games, architecture floorplans, [need another example], examples of which can be viewed at Away3D.

Peter contributed his expertise in 3D modeling throughout the book, and specifically to the chapter called “Optimization Tips & Tricks.” When asked about the project he explained that, “For about two years, the team talked about writing a book. Then Richard Olsson showed up about a year ago offering to write it, and the idea started to become a reality. We all pitched in, we’re really excited about it.”

We’ve got a few copies already en route to our office, you can get hold of one at Amazon.com

Fusebox has long been an advocate of Flash’s 3-D capabilities and have recently done some showcase work for JPMorgan Chase utilizing Google’s KML language overlaid with a interactive 3-D Globe to let the user experience their global presence.

If you have projects that require Flash 3D for gaming or application development you need to work with us. Please contact Laura Michaels for business development inquiries.

After Apple’s recent iPad launch, the act of browsing and consuming content has made a small — but radical — change.

In fact, over 300,000 units (sold day one) are now in the excited hands of a highly influential group of users… and they’re headed straight for you.

Is your Web site ready for a new kind of visitor?

It might seem like a small change, but the move from ”mouse to fingers“ means your interactivity and user experience will need to take a big leap forward.

We are at the beginning of a movement, literally, no longer will you be pointing and clicking your way through the web,  you will be touching, pinching and swooshing — more poetry and dance than hammers and saws.

Fusebox wants to make sure you’re providing the kind of experience your users and customers need — and we’ll help you do it, from comprehensive site analysis, to key site modifications.

We offer:

• Custom CSS specifically designed for the iPad
• .jpg file replacement for all your flash content
• Redevelopment of your flash content in HTML 5
• Redevelopment of your video assets to HTML 5
• Form modification for iPad keyboard users
• Form modification for iPad capitalization protocols
• Overall usability tweaks to prep your site for the touch devices

Is your site ready? We can help.

Get in touch today! or call 212-929-7644

Read John Doerr’s account of why the iPad is the next big thing.

Tuesday night, my loft served as the venue for a small, private dinner party to benefit More Art, a not-for-profit organization that connects groundbreaking artists with local communities by bringing dynamic works to the public. Hosted by artist Marina Abramovic, whose highly anticipated retrospective at MOMA opens 3/14—a must see, the event was the first in a series of private fundraisers that reflect More ART’s desire to create intimate art experiences as a means of promoting creative efforts.

Marina Abramovic, Laura Michaels

Guests (who consisted of curators, collectors, writers and artists) were asked to wear white lab coats and feasted on a sumptuous menu of food (pork, specifically, and fish for the vegetarians) and wines prepared by Chef and Artist Keil Borrman who is pictured in the painting behind the cutting board in a pretty compromising position (LOL). The painting served as the menu and Keil would appear as each course was served to talk about energy transformation as it related to each course, which was the theme for the evening.

Marina Abramovic hosts a benefit dinner for More Art

Before dessert, Marina had us drink 24 carat gold water from beautiful glassware and meditate for 3 minutes, which was a wonderful experience.

Guests at the More Art benefit dinner

Everyone received a special, pre-edition copy of Marina Abramovic’s Energy Blanket. Made in collaboration with More Art, the Energy Blanket is a unique art object that depicts the artist’s body and energy lines, and contains magnets carefully situated to improve circulation. It is designed to instill a profound feeling of wellness, and judging from how well I slept last night, it succeeds in doing just that. It will be available for sale at the MOMA next month.

2010 promises to be an exciting year for More ART. Upcoming projects include collaborations by Kimsooja with the Hudson Guild Senior Center, Paul Pfeiffer with Liberty HS, Andrea Galvani with NYC welders, and Joan Jonas with Clinton MS. Plus, the new moreart.org web site will be launching in the next few weeks – as I write this, the designers and developers at Fusebox are hard at work on its redesign!

Like everyone we speak to, we are deeply saddened by the destruction and loss of life caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti. We, too, have read the stories, donated and prayed. And like everyone we speak to, we’ve wished we could do more.

So, when our friends at BET Networks called us this week asking us to donate our services in support of the SOS Help for Haiti Telethon, we were delighted to help. We designed, built and are hosting a web site where, for $30, visitors can purchase the specially designed t-shirt below, the proceeds from which will go directly to four Haitian relief organizations.

While we can’t undo what has happened in Haiti, if the telethon provides even just a little a bit of hope to the Haitian people, then we’ll consider it a success.

The SOS Help for Haiti Telethon airs tonight at 8/7C PM on BET, MTV and VHI. Proceeds will benefit Yele Haiti, CARE, Project Medishare and Children’s Safe Drinking Water.

We have two job openings; one is for an intern and the other a junior designer. If you’re just beginning your career in Web design and are looking to gain some hands-on experience, grab the intern position. If you have already have some experience in Web design and are looking for a new challenge that will let you take your skills further, then the junior designer position maybe be just what you’re looking for.