So you already know things have been insanely busy at F360 these last few months (so much so that I had to drop off the grid and stop blogging for the entire month of July), but we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and this might be as good a time as any to share some of the not-so-confidential projects we're working on for this fall. (Worry, we can't talk about the super-double-top-secret ones.)

1) The F360 website is going to completely change this September. Not that there is anything wrong with the current design, but to be completely honest, we put all of five minutes into it last time, and that was a bit lazy on our part. For 2008, we thought about the site's new look for the better part of half an hour, so we expect that it will be at least twice as exciting as the 2007 version.

As you may or may not have noticed from the sample image above, the current prototype for the welcome page is 725% more narcissistic than before, which works exceedingly well for Roby. (Now we just need to find a friendlier, less ridiculous looking photo of yours truly... and maybe make it a tad BIGGER. And leave my hair alone?

Feel free to comment and throw suggestions our way.

At Roby's request, our content will focus on the photography side of the F360 portfolio first, and then move to the graphic design, advertising, and marketing portfolios.

2) New Services: The 2008 site will also see the addition of Brand Management and Idea Sandbox services to F360's menu of goodies, which is pretty exciting. (As in: It's about time.)

The Brand Management side of F360 will simply be the practical application of what The BrandBuilder Blog discusses quasi-daily.

The Idea Sandbox will focus on helping clients a) with specific projects such as new product ideation, and developing innovative strategies for starters, and b) nurture innovative thinking and functional creative processes within their organizations.

We will talk about these services in more detail when the site officially launches next month.

Fans of our creative work: No worries, the commercial photography, graphic design and other purely creative elements of F360 aren't going away. (They're doing way too well for us to ever give them up.)

3) "Collaboration" may have been a dirty word in Europe during WWII, but it is a great way to earn yourself some free beer and some kudos in F360's crazy little world of idea cross-pollination. The new site will make a point to recognize our favorite co-conspirators and give them a space to call their own. Expect names like Jason Crosby, Kimberley Westbury, Ben Schowe, Rusty Hutchison, Cox Photography, Orange Coat, North Gate Labs, and perhaps even the super secretive 6:43 group to make the list.

4) Roby's War: In case you didn't already know this, Roby is shipping out to the Stan with the US Army this fall and probably won't be back until next spring. While deployed, he will be splitting his time between being a soldier and shooting some intense combat photography (hopefully not too intense), which should be pretty exciting.



What does this mean for F360? Aside from a) more work for those of us staying stateside, b) a greater level of involvement from our growing pool of guest designers (who will be taking over much of Roby's duties while he is away), and c) having to learn a whole new international area code, nothing much will change.

(We'll kind of miss him though.)

I guess it also means F360 will have a studio somewhere in Afghanistan... which isn't Paris, London or New York, but pretty exciting nonetheless.

More updates will follow.

That's it for this week. Have a great weekend, everyone. ;)

Labels: F360