Inproheat Industries Ltd. needed a state-of-the-art website to show off their state-of-the-art products. For 50 years, Inproheat has been designing and manufacturing energy systems and engineered materials for the foundry, mining and manufacturing sectors. Their goal with this site was to increase the profile, visibility and sales of their equipment as well as to built on the company’s strong image and reputation. After an initial usability survey, ImageX Media built Inproheat a website that would showcase their company to the fullest. An online database highlights equipment and services, educating potential buyers about Inproheat’s products. A mineral price feed of real-time stock market prices is featured on the home page. And news updates, location maps, and online forms are all easy-to-use to enhance the online experience for site visitors. We even developed a wiki-like integrated private intranet system to help Inproheat run smoothly inside and out.

My last post served as an introduction to designing for content management systems (CMS) in Photoshop – how to get set up and get started. In this post I’d like to give you some tips for designing some of the main components of a CMS website: the background, navigations and columns and content blocks. Next week’s post will show you how to finish things off with headings, footers and lots of fine-tuning.

Photo by Vancouver photographer Kris KrugConferences can be nerve-racking experiences for some people – and energizing for others. Despite your outlook on these industry must-dos, there are ways you can make the most of them, maximizing what is often a very significant investment in time and funds and turning it into a winning opportunity for you and your company.In my last post I talked about how taking a few simple steps before the event even begins can help you increase your return on investment. But where the rubber hits the road is when you are actually there – shaking hands, exchanging business cards, taking in (or leading) seminars, and actively trying to reach the goals you set for yourself and your company.

Industry conferences can be very appealing. They provide a break from routine, maybe a visit to a different city, a chance to learn something new, and some great networking and socializing opportunities. But it’s not all exotic locations and making new deals over a Long Island Iced Tea. It’s true that conferences can have their perks, but there is also a real danger to your company’s bottom line if you or your staff start viewing these opportunities as mini-holidays.