Web Design
Project: Medford Public Schools Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Medford Public Schools in Massachusetts was in need of a comprehensive website that housed information and news not only for the district but for each of their nine schools as well. Brown Bear provided a robust content-managed solution powered by Wordpress that teachers and other staff could update themselves.
The website features a clean, intuitive design with a blue and gray color scheme based on Medford's school colors. The homepage and each school landing page highlight latest news, administrator contact details, and other essential information.
All the content, including pages, news posts, and sidebar data, on the site is editable via Wordpress's easy-to-use administration panel. Site editors can also upload photos, videos, and documents and place them throughout the site.
Project: New London County Rugby Football Club Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Customizing Wordpress to function as a CMS (Content Management System), Brown Bear Creative designed and developed a website that NLC Rugby Club officers could easily update without any coding knowledge.
The site showcases a custom theme template that is search engine optimized, as well as a few other unique aspects. The schedule page features a dynamic calendar of events, the photo gallery page automatically pulls data and images from a Picasa gallery, and the news page takes advantage of Wordpress's powerful blogging platform.
Project: Jog New London County Website Redesign
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Jog New London County is an online resource that offers descriptions, photos, and maps of running routes in Southeastern Connecticut and provides a list of races in the area.
In the site redesign, Brown Bear Creative invoked a more "local" feel by placing various photos of scenic places to run in Southeastern CT in the masthead.
The new site also highlights ten upcoming races on the homepage and provides a full list of events on the races page. All the race listings are housed in a database and editable via a Content Management System (CMS). Outdated races automatically disappear from the website. In this way, race listings stay fresh, current, and easily accessible.
Brown Bear also improved the site's usability by including a search function at the top of every page.
Brown Bear was honored by the Connecticut Art Directors Club (CADC) at their 34th Annual Awards Show with a Silver Award for the design, development, and photography for the Jog New London County website. Read the full press release here.
Project: Haslam Fiberglass Repair Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Haslam Fiberglass, a bathtub and shower repair company based in East Haddam, CT, was in need of a website that showcased their work.
Brown Bear created a user-friendly website that acts as a marketing tool for the company. Prospective clients can view before and after photos of their work, learn about their range of services, and read testimonials from existing customers.
Project: Stevens, Harris, Guernsey & Quilliam, P.C. Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
New London County law firm Stevens, Harris, Guernsey & Quilliam, P.C. approached Brown Bear Creative for a more visually-appealing site than their former website.
To give the new site a more unique look, Brown Bear took photos of their newly remodeled office building and incorporated them throughout the site. Brown Bear also employed a sea blue and sand tone palette to help convey the office's proximity to Long Island Sound.
Encompassing a user-friendly design and straightforward site structure, the new site steers prospective clients to the right page in a timely manner. Brightly-colored contact information boxes at the bottom of each page encourage people to take action and call the law firm with their legal matter.
Project: Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic of East Lyme, CT approached Brown Bear Creative to develop a new website that reflected the caring, dedicated mentality of their practice.
To achieve a friendly, yet professional look, Brown Bear incorporated a strong, consistent color palette, friendly, pet-related graphics, and multiple photos of pets, staff, and their facilities. In this way, prospective clients viewing the site would be introduced to all aspects of the clinic and would have the opportunity to get to know the veterinarian, vet technicians, and receptionists before ever stepping into the clinic.
For existing clients, the website serves as an invaluable veterinary resource. Clients can log in to Pet Portal, a personalized pet health site that lists their pet's vaccination history, medications, and upcoming appointments. They can also access Goodfriends Veterinary Clinic's online pharmacy, emergency contact information, and a comprehensive database of animal health information.
Project: Animal Fact Guide
Role: Web Designer / Developer / Illustrator
Brown Bear Creative has designed and developed a fun, educational website about animals for kids, parents, and teachers called Animal Fact Guide. The site provides informative articles about animals around the world.
Animal Fact Guide also features bright, colorful wildlife illustrations, interactive Flash quizzes, polls, coloring pages, and an integrated blog. Furthermore, the masthead changes to a night scene illustration if the visitor's local time is between 7 pm and 7 am.
The site has been recognized by the American Library Association as a Great Web Site for Kids. According to Karen Lemmons, co-chair of the Great Web Sites for Kids committee, "Great Web Sites for Kids are those considered the best web sites for ages birth to 14, outstanding in both content and conception."
Project: Town of Canterbury Official Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
The Town of Canterbury needed a website they could easily update themselves. They chose Brown Bear to create an ADA-compliant website with a user-friendly Content Management System (CMS).
Updating the site via a CMS provided an easy way for Canterbury officials to comply with a new state mandate to the Freedom of Information Act which requires towns to post meeting minutes and agendas to their websites in a timely fashion.
The new site also features a Flash slideshow movie on the homepage that highlights Canterbury's natural and cultural attractions. Other dynamic elements include a Selectman's Blog, a photo gallery, and a calendar of events.
Out-of-towners can learn about Canterbury's offerings, and residents can easily find application forms, board meeting agendas, meeting audio files, and information about town events, departments and community groups.
Project: Old Lyme's Midsummer Festival Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Old Lyme has held their annual Midsummer Festival for over 20 years. However, the festival, which celebrates the town's artistic heritage, didn't have a website to showcase its many events.
Brown Bear created a site that highlights the range of festivities and provides information about partners, sponsors, vendors, and directions/parking.
Dynamic features include a Flash slideshow of rotating photos and captions on the homepage, as well as a custom-made, interactive Google map embedded on the Directions/Parking page.
Brown Bear also designed brochures and posters for the festival. Learn more about the print materials in the Graphic Art section.
Project: The Niantic Inn Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Brown Bear created a website that showcases the Connecticut seaside hotel's 24 studio-style rooms and NEW efficiency rooms that come complete with kitchenettes.
The website also boasts a strong beach theme to reflect the inn's proximity to the Niantic Bay Boardwalk and Hole-in-the-Wall Beach.
Project: My House Rabbit
Role: Web Designer / Developer
My House Rabbit was started by two New London-based rabbit owners and is dedicated to educating the public on house rabbit care and behavior. The site features a wide range of articles including litter box training, nail clipping, housing, diet, bunny proofing - and the list goes on.
Capitalizing upon well-written articles with a consistent focus, revenue is generated through Google AdSense ads and Amazon referrals. For more information about integrating these e-marketing strategies into your site, visit our section on e-marketing.
The site also features a fully-integrated Wordpress blog that allows visitor interactivity with the site.
Thoroughly optimized for search engines, My House Rabbit appears on the first page of Google for the terms "rabbits," "rabbit care," "bunny care," "rabbit behavior," "rabbit photos," "pet rabbits," "house rabbits," among several other keywords.
Project: High View Modulars Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
High View Modulars, a family-run eastern CT modular homes company, approached Brown Bear for a professional website to showcase their homes and services.
To reach this objective, Brown Bear developed an intuitive site that educates and encourages prospective customers. A JavaScript-based slideshow on the homepage creates visual interest while illustrating High View's outstanding spectrum of work.
Project: Celebrate East Lyme 2008 Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Brown Bear Creative has designed and developed a website for the 9th annual Celebrate East Lyme. In keeping with the festive beach theme of prior years, the site displayed bright, warm colors and fun illustrations.
The Celebrate East Lyme 2008 site offered a wealth of information about the festival, showcasing special events like the popular Sand Castle Competition, as well as musical entertainment and vendor/sponsor information. Online volunteer, vendor, and sponsorship application forms were also available, making it easy to get involved.
Project: Discover East Lyme Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Brown Bear Creative has designed a logo and website to promote East Lyme, CT's shops, restaurants, attractions, events and business community. The site pulls together a wealth of information about the town to provide both tourists and residents alike with a useful new resource.
Featuring a seasonal Flash-based photo slideshow, a randomized Business Spotlight and Did You Know factoid, as well as a JavaScript weather graphic, the site remains current and fresh to each visitor.
Certain areas of the site, such as Things to Do, Community Bulletin Board, Calendar of Events, Local Businesses, Restaurants, Shopping, Real Estate, and the blurbs on the homepage, are maintained through a Content Management System (CMS). The CMS allows the site owner to update text and images using an Internet browser. No web design knowledge or programming software is necessary to use it.
Project: CT Pet Guide
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Brown Bear Creative has designed and developed a new online resource for pet lovers throughout Connecticut called CT Pet Guide.
Featuring CT animal rescues, pets for adoption, and pet-related businesses, the aim of the site is to provide residents with local, relevant information about pets. A comprehensive business directory is also housed on the site offering listings for animal artists, trainers, breeders, pet sitters, doggy daycare, kennels/catteries, pet boutiques/stores, veterinarians, and more.
The site demonstrates several marketing and sales strategies to generate leads and revenue, including an e-newsletter sign-up form, a Google search function, relevant affiliate ads, and Google Adsense. Contact us to learn more about incorporating these strategies into your web campaign or learn more on our e-Marketing page.
Project: Chelsea & Eugene:
The Wedding Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Brown Bear built this elegant site to celebrate the union of Chelsea and Eugene, and to provide the couple with an easy way to communicate with their guests. The site features an abundance of information about the wedding and shower, as well as gift registry links, tourist information about Seattle, and a photo gallery. The site also provides an online RSVP form so guests can quickly and easily respond to their invitations.
Brown Bear created a personalized feel by giving the photos a "snapshot" look throughout the site. An image of their unique wedding invitations appears in the background of the homepage to call attention to important dates.
Project: Pet Portraits & Animal Art by Abi Cushman Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Abi Cushman, a New London, CT animal artist, needed a website to showcase her work and to promote her pet portrait business. The site provides information about commissioning portraits and features four galleries of animal art.
It also links to her animal art CafePress store, which sells merchandise featuring her work, and to PayPal, which processes online credit card payments for her gift certificates.
Thoroughly optimized for search engines, Abi's site is displayed on the first page of Google for the search terms "animal artist" and "pet portraits ct" and on the second page of Google for the terms "animal art" and "pet portraits."
Project: Cini 2005 Website
Role: Web Designer / Developer
Matthew Cini, running for the local office of First Selectman of East Lyme, needed to create a graphic identity for his campaign. Brown Bear Creative designed his logo, print materials, and website.
The site featured a clean design with a seaside color scheme (to reflect the town's proximity to the coast). The site also included a facility for visitors to add their email addresses to the campaign email list and the ability to contribute online using CampaignContribution.com.