Midtown Makeover

Posted by: marilyn @ 2:29 pm | Date: August 14, 2012 | Comments (0)
Filed under: All things business,Design,Detroit,Websites

Have you been to Midtown Detroit recently? If not then you’re in for a surprise. Ongoing efforts to reinvigorate the neighborhood have brought in a steady stream of new businesses and residents. It has become a hotspot for new small business ventures and enjoys a building occupancy rate of over 95%. Add some of Detroit’s greatest cultural institutions and the result is a vibrant urban ecosystem, one that hosts an enjoyably eclectic mix of retail, restaurants and entertainment venues.

One of the key players in Midtown’s current economic revival is the aptly named Midtown Detroit, Inc. MDI is the result of a merger between the University Cultural Center Association (UCCA) and New Center Council. Like its predecessors it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community development organization. Given its new identity and larger pool of resources MDI needed a new, more contemporary website and wanted Trent Design to create it for them. Given its positive role in the community we were more than happy to help.

Original UCCA Midtown site: Somebody over there clearly likes russet

Original UCCA Midtown site: Somebody over there clearly likes russet

The new MDI website was redesigned from the ground up; we restructured the existing information architecture, transferred the site to a more powerful CMS, added new features and gave the front end an updated aesthetic that more accurately reflects the open yet urban feel of the Midtown area.

The new site is designed to be a convenient online resource for anyone interested in Midtown Detroit, especially tourists and young professionals. The homepage layout is clean and inviting. It sports a large image slider that showcases compelling visuals of what Midtown has to offer. It also has a news feed that lets visitors see at a glance how the area is moving forward. The website’s calendar of events, property listings, news and interactive local area directory are all searchable and easily accessed from the homepage. Other sections of the site provide information on available development resources, ongoing community programs and several of the more prominent institutions and annual events in Midtown.

The new MDI site: Less russet, more usability

The new MDI site: Less russet, more usability

Being able to put our skills to work for an organization that does so much good for the community was definitely a feel good experience for us at Trent Design. Have to admit though, all the positive feedback they’ve gotten about their new, fully featured website feels pretty nice too.

Check out MDI’s new site here.

Raising the (Steel) Bar: A Business to Business Website Re-imagined

Posted by: marilyn @ 11:16 am | Date: April 3, 2012 | Comments (0)
Filed under: All things business,Detroit,Websites

Eaton Steel Bar Company New Home Page Design

Eaton Steel Bar Company's New Home Page Design

Nowadays every business needs an online presence, even if it’s just your basic brochureware site. Eaton Steel came to us because they wanted more. They wanted a website that captured the essence of their company and worked just as hard as they do to make their customers’ lives easier.

With these criteria in mind we envisioned a fairly straightforward site for the client. Its content would focus on Eaton Steel’s products and services. Short, sweet and to the point. Of course, this was before we had a thorough understanding of everything Eaton Steel does for its clients: luckily that’s what discovery meetings are for.

Discovery meetings are part of the immersion phase that we go through for all our projects. It’s an opportunity to research, interview and fact find everything we can about a company and their culture. We’ll also bring the key players to the table during this period in order to discover how they envision the project helping their business. The insight we gain into the less obvious aspects of our client’s business during this stage lets us build a more robust product for them that enhances their sales and customer service process.

What we discovered about Eaton Steel is that they have always gone that extra mile for their customers. The company started off in 1953 as a steel brokerage that excelled at getting their customers what they needed when they needed it.  Their growth since then has been designed around expanding and improving what they can do for their clients. It’s been the key to their success and informs everything they do.

Providing superior customer service has always been a cornerstone of Eaton Steel’s business model and was exactly the sort of thing that their new website would need to emphasize. To do this we added a ‘Solutions’ section that goes over all the things that Eaton Steel does to optimize their clients’ steel supply chains. We also produced a short video that talks about the additional business lines that Eaton Steel has added over the years in order to better accommodate their customers in their steel supply chain process. A second video that we shot for the ‘About Us’ section talks about their history and highlights the company’s “what else can we be doing for our customers?” mentality.

The client trusted us to use our design and communication skills to their advantage and the result is an innovative and dynamic website that represents their company in an authentic and genuine way. It has been a great partnership for everyone involved.

“Everyone at ESBC is extremely pleased with the new website. We have received great feedback from our customers and internally.” – Craig Cipa, Eaton Steel, Inside Sales Manager

Visit the site and let us know what you think.
www.eatonsteel.com

The Greatest Little Toy Shop in Downtown Rochester

Posted by: marilyn @ 11:29 pm | Date: November 16, 2009 | Comments (0)
Filed under: Websites

e-commerce site for a brick and morter toy shop in Downtown Rochester

    Challenge: Produce a website that is engaging, fun and motivates the visitor the learn more about the toy shop while shopping online.

  • Result: www.froggystoys.com A website that showcases the stores philosophy of buying toys that are based on safety and enjoyment. Trent Design created the Froggy Approved Seal to show the stores dedication to high quality and safety. The site was also designed to represent a local and caring hometown store.

New Work: City of Sterling Heights Fire Station

Posted by: admin @ 9:38 am | Date: September 14, 2009 | Comments (0)
Filed under: Design,Websites

plaque2

Trent Design has just completed glass signage for the walls inside of the city’s firehouses. Working with Jeff Umsted from Blasted Creations, Trent designed mountable plaques as markers for the building. The plaques record the city council staff members, battalion chief and general coordinators responsible for the station architecture.

Printed in layers, the image rests on one level while the type is printed on-top another. When placed together, the sign takes on a subtle 3-Dimensional quality and serves as a reminder to visitors and occupants.

Creative Director: Marilyn Trent
Design & Production:
Andrew Kopietz, Chantal Oudin
Sign Creation: Jeff Umsted, Blasted Creations (www.blastedcreations.com)

New Work: World’s Biggest House Party

Posted by: admin @ 4:42 pm | Date: July 21, 2009 | Comments (0)
Filed under: Design,Websites | Tags: ,

wbhp-logo

World’s Biggest House Party (Logo)

Trent Design has just completed work on a recent fundraising campaign for Habitat for Humanity. With the goal to raise funds to build home(s), members, guests and volunteers assemble each year at residences all over Metro Detroit in support of  this unique deed.

Trent Design was responsible for the new website and printed collateral which was inspired by 1950′s kitsch and exaggerated silhouettes.

wbhp-site

The new website (built on a flexible foundation and customized CMS platform) Visit

wbhp-pcard

A 2 sided card announces the dates and information tied to the event

Partner in Charge: Marilyn Trent
Designers:  Michael Johns, Andrew Kopietz, Brian Hartwell,
Genna Cowsert, & Chantal Oudin