BlackOut recently had the pleasure of working with pioneers in the field of kelp processing, Cambrian Biotechnologies.

BlackOut provided web design and search marketing services for Cambrian, creating a site at www.cambrianproducts.com that demonstrates the uses and benefits of Cambrian’s Ecklonia maxima kelp-based products. We also developed the Cambrian blog that allows readers to keep up to date with the innovative work being done by Cambrian on a daily basis.

Cambrian manufactures products in three divisions - Agriculture, Health and Beauty and Pet Products - utilizing a unique process that preserves the vitamin and mineral components of the kelp. The products are all natural and organic.

See the results of BlackOut’s work at www.cambrianproducts.com.

BlackOut recently designed and launched three websites, a blog and a wiki for the Insitutue for Public Policy and Economic Development, helping to bring online the Institute’s reputation as the most comprehensive resource for housing information in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The project included an Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development portal page with information on the goals and history of the organization. From the portal page, users can find more detailed housing information by following links to the Lackawanna County Housing Coalition site or the Luzerne County Housing Partnership site.

Each county-specific site features a wealth of information on buying, selling, building or refinancing a home, as well as resources for contractors and developers.

BlackOut allowed the Institute to further extend the reach of its message with a wiki and a blog to open a dialogue with homeowners and potential homeowners in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Electric City Roasting Company owner Mary Tellie is one of the nation’s most respected names in coffee roasting and BlackOut Design recently gave her site a facelift that makes her online presence as distinctive and bold as her coffees.

BlackOut’s design incorporates information about Tellie and her background in coffee; details of Electric City Roasting Company’s dedication to Fair and Direct Trade practices as well as special projects that provide immediate assistance to rural coffee farmers; and educational materials helping any reader to understand the components that go into a great cup of coffee.

Check out the site at www.electriccityroasting.com and be sure to try some of Mary’s world-class coffees.

BlackOut Design’s portfolio of services doesn’t end with web design and search marketing; we recently provided design services for Modern Gas that included high quality, professional business cards.

For more information about our services and how we can help you meet your business goals online and off, contact us at info@blackout-design.com.

When he’s not designing for the web, our Art Director Phil Barket has an interesting, creative hobby - building custom G.I. Joe action figures.

The task involves rebuilding and meticulously repainting the figures, mix and matching pieces to create a piece that is a unique take on the original.

Barket’s work has been praised by artists and collectors alike.

View a gallery of Barket’s custom figures.

BlackOut recently completed a new marketing postcard to illustrate how the BlackOut process can build your brand online.

The three core components of our approach - creative design, interactive technology and online strategy - are leveraged together to strengthen your brand awareness.

Click on the image below for a .pdf version of the postcard (front and back), and for information on how BlackOut’s services can grow your business, contact us at info@blackout-design.com.

BlackOut Design, Inc. President Jack Reager was quoted in a Sunday Times article dealing with the growing popularity of corporate blogs as a powerful new tool for communicating with customers.

Featured in the “Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Weekly” section, the article cites Reager along with other Northeastern Pennsylvania business leaders, discussing how blogs have replaced traditional PR methods and can open up a mutually beneficial dialog between a business and its customers.

“Years ago, it was get a press release out, make sure you’re in the paper, make sure you’re in the TV news. Now, with technology, you can get your message out there and control it,” Reager is quoted as saying.

At BlackOut, we not only maintain our own corporate blog; we design, build and manage blogs for our clients. If you’re interested in learning how a blog can advance your marketing message, contact us at 570.341.3466 or info@blackout-design.com.

We came across an interesting project being offered by the NEPA Alliance and its ACTION (Access, Connections,Technologies, Innovations, Opportunities & Networking) Committee called the InnoCentive Challenge.

InnoCentive is a web-based marketplace where “Seeker” clients post technical problems or “Challenges” when trying to develop new ideas or solutions to grow or start a business.Registered “Solvers” from around the world will then help solve the problem.

Companies are currently being invited, as part of the InnoCentive Challenge, to fill out an entry application describing the major challenge faced by their business. If your challenge is chosen by the NEPA Alliance ACTION Selection Committee, you will be notified to submit your free Electronic Request for Partnership (ERFP) posting worth $15,000 on the InnoCentive website.

The alliance and its partners will help create a YouTube video to alert a worldwide network of “Solvers” that a new technology challenge posting has been added. This will generate proposals from potential worldwide solvers that can offer you a pre-defined solution.

Applications must be submitted by September 30, 2008, to:
Karen Ostroskie
Government Procurement Manager
Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance
1151 Oak Street
Pittston, PA 18640

Wired has an interesting article on the ridiculously high readership of an online newspaper which you can catch here.

An online paper covering news in a fictitious world populated by penguins has become more widely read than New York’s Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, or the Dallas Morning News, reports the L.A. Times.

The Club Penguin Times is a weekly online-only publication with a readership of about 6.7 million monthly users of a Disney-owned social network and virtual, Club Penguin.

Although the numbers are interesting, and the comparison to the traditional newspaper industry is  obvious the piece that gets me is that we are seeing a real shift in behavior at a young age. We are talking about a percentage of 6.7 million that are learning to get their news online rather than off. For 6 - 14 year olds they are learning to get their news online.

Scranton is gearing up for one of its biggest annual events, La Festa Italiana, which brings close to 100,000 visitors to the downtown area each year to celebrate the culture and cuisine of Italy.

This year, BlackOut Design, Inc. was tasked with developing a design that captures the spirit and energy of Scranton’s Italian festival. Our designers generated a series of “looks” for La Festa organizers. Two of those were selected and will be seen on posters, shirts and promotional materials during the festival.

We at BlackOut are proud to be a part of this great community event. We’ll see you there over Labor Day weekend, August 30-September 1.