Do people actually read About Us pages? The About Us page really has kind of become the “parsley” of the web site, no? I mean, it often acts as garnish – people rarely consume it, but they’d think it odd if it wasn’t there. Well, at least you are reading it.
Hexatrope was founded in 2004 by creative director, designer, and geek Jay McDonald who first laid hands on a computer as a wee lad in the late 1970s. He’s been “online” since 1980, when he regularly played text-based adventure games on a monochrome terminal that called into the mothership via an acoustic coupler modem (think Matthew Broderick’s setup in WarGames). By the 1990s, he discovered that computers could be used for professional art and design, and the proverbial chocolate got into the proverbial peanut butter, creating a match made in heaven. By the time the online world of BBSs (Anyone remember those? Bonus points if you do!) evolved into email and something called “the web,” he knew he had found his niche. The rest is history, and now he’s been creating interweb goodness for… well, check the green bar in the site footer for an accurate timespan.
In that span, web experiences have been crafted for everything from military ruggedized computer displays designed to be air-dropped out of planes (I’m not making that bit up) to Walgreens, Thomson Reuters, MasterCard and the NFL “Big Game” that occurs after the new year (sorry to be so coy, but trademarking prevents me from naming it). But working with the big boys is actually not Hexatrope’s primary focus. What we enjoy most is taking the principles of design and communication and weaving together smart communication vehicles that articulate our clients’ brands and resonate with their audiences – whomever we’re doing it for.
Design is a discipline whose goal is creating things that serve a particular purpose. Not just being pretty, but aimed at doing something. Communication design is focused on creating elements/experiences that connect with a targeted audience, improving and clarifying the image and message, and stripping away anything extraneous in order to craft something which embodies the core positioning and value proposition. Additionally, in the interactive world, design isn’t just color, type, and layout, but it’s also function, interface, and user flow. Don’t settle for merely pretty.
Hexatrope’s approach is focused on communicating. That’s why our 3 Phase Strategic Process always begins with distilling your brand essence and understanding your audience. We’re also focused on empowering our clients. We want you to come back to us because you want to, not because you need our technical skills to update your website content. That’s why our sites are built using the Drupal content management system – tuned and sweetened to maximize smoothness of functioning and ease of use for content managers. All because we believe that your site should fit like a glove, so that you can nimbly reach your marketing objectives.
OK. Philosophy class is done. Give yourself an A.