Design

Design: it’s all about process

Design, it might seem easy enough. Find an artist or engineer, tell them your idea, and voila, it’s done! You are probably thinking that this statement is about to be knocked down shortly. But you’d be wrong. It is that simple. Well, almost that simple. Design is a discovery, a dialogue, an agreement, potentially an argument, a meeting of minds, and an execution all tied into one. In short, it’s a process with a conclusion.

Every one of our designs, whether it is graphic design, web design, a system, or an e-commerce project, is based on a process which takes place between us and you, the client. And that process is something we take very seriously. Our dialogue allows us to understand your ideas, and for us to present ours. Oh, and by the way, we expect you to take the process very seriously too, as every project’s success is contingent on a partnership between us, the designers, and you.

You’ve probably come to our website because you’re interested in promoting your business, your organization, or your product in digital or print format. And we would like to let you know that, while we do have a possibly overdeveloped sense of humour, we will make your project as successful as you need it to be. And design it so that it reaches the people you need to reach.

So, without further ado, our design creations fall under the following categories: web design, graphic design, package design, logo design, smart phone and iPhone application design, e-commerce and booking system design, Japanese and English web design, multilingual website design, intelligent design, responsive design,interactive design, system engineering, and last but not least, UI design.

Phew! Well, that's a lot of design, but hey, that's what we do for a living, as you can see from our portfolio.

Development

Hello. Yes, we can do everything.

Actually no we can't do everything; we do what we are good at, and we're good at what we do. We believe in our process and creativity, in quality, doing things right, and putting in the extra mile to bring your creations to life. The digital landscape (or jungle) is vast and ever changing. It's our job and our pleasure to be on top of the game.

Because our team is comprised of both artists and engineers our projects always consider how visual design and functionality must work together. To cut to the chase, there is no point having a beautiful website that doesn't function well, and there are many downsides to having a system with great functionality look unintuitive. We work together as engineers and artists. This symbiotic development process is something we feel should never be overlooked. Working with this dual sense of purpose is one of our strengths.

As for the technology, we can develop purely custom systems, or with open-source platforms such as Drupal, Joomla, and Wordpress, e-commerce, smartphone apps, mobile sites, flash animation and applications including desktop and touchscreen kiosk applications.

And because we are Tokyo, Japan-based, we specialise in multi-language production, and specifically integration with 3rd party services relevant to the Japanese market.

Management

No worries, we've got you covered

“Systems and websites are just great aren't they? Especially the ones that look after themselves. Yeah, ha, remember the days when you had to keep on top of all the information in your website and care about things like copywriting, SEO and product databases? Silly us. We used to waste so much time updating information and performing backups. Now, with the new super happy fun-time inter-fabu-web thing & stuff, all we do is say, "yeah, do this, in blue, no wait, green", and BOOOM, net sales hit 1 million in like a week...”

Hold on a second here, that is just a dream. Websites still do require close attention to detail and constant updating. The good news is, we can do that for you. There is no question that today's websites are far more important business-wise than they ever were in the past. But they are also far more subject to technological changes and platform variation.

Nowadays, you cannot afford to have your website just run on just one platform. It has to run on smartphones like iPhone, Android, tablets such as the iPad, and a bunch of other browsers and platforms you've probably never heard of. And with websites running on e-commerce or content management systems, every system requires some kind of support and attention to make sure it remains usable, current, and most importantly secure.

We cannot simplify the complex nature of the web, it just is this way, but at least we can manage this so you don't have to worry about it.

We can manage systems, applications and websites that require updating for security, compliance with new technology and 3rd party plugins such as social media apps like Facebook and Twitter, or e-commerce payment portals like Cybersource and Paypal.

We also know the do's and don't of SEO and social media integration and are more than happy to help you with all your marketing needs.

Consultation

Ask someone who knows!

According to all big PR companies, we are living in a time of rapid change, making business decisions even more critical. The world is continually smarter, flatter, and more informed than ever before. And the internet and telecommunications have played a large role in this (or at least so they say).

All jokes aside, there is no question that for ROI organizations to remain successful, they have to address technological challenges head on. The enterprises that best understand, plan, and execute their ideas across all platforms are best positioned to succeed. It's our business to help our clients have their ideas, products, and brands noticed, it's our business to help our clients implement their plans smartly and successfully.

Technically speaking we are well-versed in the arts of online brand presence, including, SEO, SNS integration, Japanese and English language newsletters (email marketing), Facebook, Twitter marketing, e-commerce, database integration, mobile and smart-phone presence, and the many forms of social media. It's what we do everyday, and in our best interest to know everything there is to know about these technologies, their popularity, and their effectiveness.

We're always here to help you develop or implement your digital strategy because we have the knowledge to aid in technical decisions, and the skills to manage projects directly. And, at the end of the day, this means that we are well placed to help you allocate your valuable time and resources in the most effective way possible. And who doesn't want to save time and money?

Proficiencies

What we like to think we're good at

When it comes to development everyone has their own tools. Some tools are custom made, others are in the public domain. What we want you to know is that we will never put a tool ahead of achieving a goal. In other words, we have no ego when it comes to technology. We choose what is right for the job. Last year, when an online group auction company came to us, we at first used Drupal to get the project up and running. But when the time came for the project to grow, we realized that Drupal would just not cut it. So we changed to ruby on rails when the time was right. The point is, we will never let you the client suffer because we are in love with one technology or another.

A lot of our work uses the opensource platform Drupal, especially when building system-based websites which don't fully need much customised functionality. However, when large projects that require very specific functions and processes come our way, and when timeline and budget permits, we build fully customised systems that address very specific needs. Either way, the goal is simple, provide you the client with the best possible solution regardless of the technology used.

When building in Drupal or other open source frameworks we heavily use PHP, MySQL, Javascript, and either XHTML or HTML5 with CSS3 for the build. Additionally we're specialised in building full Flash sites or integrating Flash into sites, as well as integrating Flash into CMS, allowing the Flash content to be updated easily by the client. Another service we provide with Flash is the production of desktop and touchscreen applications using Zinc to interface with Windows and Mac OS operating systems.

We use a full range of technologies, choosing the best we can to fit the task. However these are just some of the proficiencies we excel in.