Author Archives: Ian

Times Square Website Wins at 2018 IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Awards

We’re delighted to announce that the Times Square Official Website won a Bronze Award at the International Economic Development Council’s 2018 Awards in the General Purpose Website category.

IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. These 34 awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

The Times Square Alliance and I-SITE partnered on the redesign of the official Times Square website that serves both the 230,000 ‘locals’ who have made the area their home or place of work, and the close to 50 million visitors from around the globe who visit each year for the truly unique Times Square experience.

The website is a key vehicle for economic development for the district through driving commerce, business attraction, real estate development and programs and events that create jobs, build the tax base and improve the overall experience of anyone who lives in, works in or visits the Crossroads of the World that is Times Square.

I-SITE CEO Ian Cross said, “We’re delighted to be recognized along with our friends at Times Square Alliance. Our collective goal was to create a best in class website for one of the world’s most iconic destinations. This has been a great collaboration and to receive an accolade from their peers in a highly competitive category is an honor.”

Read more about the project and visit the website.

Since launch in late 2017 the website has received numerous awards including Best Regional Website at the 2018 WebAwards, and Best in Category (Towns & Municipalities) at the 2017 Horizon Interactive Awards.

I-SITE is Hiring a Drupal Developer

I-SITE has an immediate opening for a Mid-to-Senior level Drupal Developer to join our team. We are a  boutique, award-winning interactive design and technology firm located in Old City in the heart of Philadelphia’s creative community.

As an I-SITE team player you will have the opportunity to bring your experience to all facets of our civic, community and cause-based Web and mobile projects projects in an open and collaborative studio environment. Our clients include Alliance for Downtown New York, William Penn Foundation and the Times Square Alliance.

We want to talk to you if:

  • You are up to the challenge of technically planning and leading concurrent Drupal projects, accurately estimating project scope and risk, and effectively delegating tasks
  • You have extensive experience with Drupal architecture and project requirements and you develop and encourage team-wide best practices with respect to code and workflow.
  • You have proven experience working with creative teams and creative clients, ensuring that design is feasible and is able to be executed as accurately as possible
  • You pride yourself on your efficient and properly formatted, well-documented code and are expert at reviewing codebases and picking up on new technologies
  • You develop and encourage team-wide best practices with respect to code and workflow
  • You are excellent at problem solving and troubleshooting front-end, back-end, or server-level problems
  • You express yourself during meetings and voice your thoughts, opinions, and concerns in a constructive and clear manner
  • Must be able to work autonomously as well as leading development internally and externally
  • You are positive, supportive, helpful within a team environment and represent yourself well on the phone and via email with clients

Technology Requirements:

  • 3+ years of development experience building Drupal websites and web applications
  • Extensive experience working in PHP, both custom applications and popular CMS frameworks such as Drupal 7-8 and WordPress
  • A full, semantic understanding of HTML5, CSS3, Sass, and Compass
  • Write JavaScript with and without the use of libraries such as jQuery
  • Mobile-first responsive web frameworks (like Bootstrap / Foundation)
  • Adobe Photoshop CC
  • *nix shells (primarily Bash)
  • Apache Configuration
  • Database server management (MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL)
  • API Integrations such as Twitter, MailChimp, Salesforce, and The Raiser’s Edge
  • Version Control (Git)

Technology Bonuses (Not Required, Just Awesome):

  • Experience with various hosting platforms (i.e. Pantheon)
  • Mobile Development, Objective C (iOS) experience a plus
  • Project Management Tools: Atlassian Services, Slack, Trello
  • Familiarity with MVC Frameworks (like CodeIgniter / Ruby on Rails)

Things We Offer to the Right People:

  • Competitive salary
  • Health insurance, Dental, Vision
  • Life insurance plan reimbursement
  • Great office and open working environment
  • Quality time with our office kitties
  • Free beer after 5:00 PM!
  • AND MORE!

If you meet the requirements contact us at join@i-site.com with links to relevant work and code that demonstrate your expertise and experience.

ABSOLUTELY NO telephone inquiries or recruiters please.

I-SITE wins Two Golds at the Horizon Interactive Awards

The I-SITE team received two Gold awards at the 15th annual Horizon Interactive Awards for projects for the Times Square Alliance and Theatre Philadelphia. Both these projects support exciting and vibrant communities that are constantly looking for new ways to reach and engage new audiences.


The Times Square Crossroads Mobile App took home a Gold in the Mobile Apps Utility category. This unique application for iOS, Android and Windows Mobile offers exclusive deals and discounts for local businesses, provides special insight on the area and promotes events tailored to residents and workers. Download the iOS version from the App Store.

In the Websites Entertainment category we were delighted to win a Gold for our redesign of the Theatre Philadelphia website. The goal for was to create a highly engaging website that celebrates and promotes professional theatre in the Greater Philadelphia region. The website features an up-to-date calendar of productions, theater news and details on the nationally recognized Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre.

Horizon Interactive Awards is an international competition recognizing outstanding achievement among interactive media producers.

 

 

It’s Philly Tech Week Quizzo time again!

Join us as we co-host our annual Philly Tech Week Quizzo on Thursday May 4th from 6PM to 9PM. The event will once again be taking place at Philadelphia’s one and only Whiskey and Go Go spot, The Trestle Inn and co-produced by our friends at PhillyCHI.

The room is always filled so make sure you register and come early to enjoy happy hour specials in preparation for our brain teasing trivia questions. Categories include technology, design, architecture, art history, and other related topics. And of course, there will be prizes, too!

Philly Tech Week 2017 presented by Comcast is the 6th annual celebration of technology and innovation that takes place citywide every Spring.

I-SITE Recognized at International Downtown Association Conference

I-SITE CEO Ian Cross recently attended the annual International Downtown Association Conference that took place September 7th to 9th in Atlanta. The Conference is the must attend event of the year for urban place professionals who are shaping and activating dynamic city center districts around the world. For I-SITE the conference provides an opportunity to discuss with marketers, planners and fellow technologists how downtowns can better use technology to serve their businesses, residents and visitors.

Thursday’s plenary session included announcement of the annual IDA Downtown Achievement Awards. This year I-SITE and The Alliance for Downtown for New York were recognized with a Merit Award for the redesigned downtowny.com website. The team was especially proud as this was the only website project recognized in the Marketing and Communications category.

Two of the conference highlights were a session on why downtowns should pay attention to Pokemon Go, and a session on Leveraging Social Media to grow partnerships. Hannah Lee, Social Media Coordinator of I-SITE client Times Square Alliance, was on the panel and shared insights into how she and the Times Square team have used social channels to build relationships with local businesses and attract the public to signature events such as their annual Taste of Times Square. I-SITE is currently developing a mobile App with Times Square that will be released on iOS, Android and Windows Mobile this fall.

For more information on this year’s IDA Conference, I-SITE’s work with downtowns and how we can help you with your project contact Ian.

 

I-SITE Seeks Summer/Fall Interns

I-SITE [www.i-site.com], an award-winning interactive design and technology firm located in the heart of Old City, Philadelphia’s creative community, has immediate openings for highly-motivated interns who are passionate about interactive design and development.

As an I-SITE intern you will have the opportunity to gain experience working on all facets of our web and mobile application projects in a collaborative studio environment. Our clients are for-profit, non-profit, national and international and include Alliance for Downtown New York, William Penn Foundation, Great Apes Survival Partnership [GRASP] and the Times Square Alliance.

Requirements for the internship:

–        Enrolled or recent graduate in a digital design, multimedia or equivalent program

–        Proficient with HTML, CSS

–        Familiar with Photoshop and Illustrator

–       Knowledge of Web Design trends and UX a plus

–        WordPress, Drupal, JavaScript or PHP knowledge (a plus)

–        Interest in mobile site / app development

–        Have a portfolio site that shows off your potential

–        Strong desire to be part of a team and learn new things

This is an ideal opportunity for a junior, senior student or recent graduate looking to up their game and push their boundaries.

This is a paid internship requiring a minimum of three days a week at the I-SITE office. Interested candidates may contact Ian Cross at ian@i-site.com. No phone calls or recruiters or out-of-towners please.

Note we foster cats in our office as part of our KATO, Kitty at the Office program. This position would not be suitable if you are highly allergic.

I-SITE Seeks Freelance Front-End Developer

I-SITE is seeking a Philadelphia-based freelance Front-End developer with experience in Drupal 7 and a high level of competency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. The developer will have the opportunity to work as a contractor for clients including Times Square Alliance, the Alliance for Downtown New York, and William Penn Foundation starting in August through October.

We are looking for a Philadelphia-area based developer who would be available to meet and work on-site at our office in Old City. The developer should be accountable for daily update emails and correspondence during the work day if any time working is spent remotely.

This position will initially be part-time, hourly with potential for long-term engagements.

If you are available and meet the requirements please email join@i-site.com with your resume, work examples, a description of your skill set/experience, and availability.

To learn more about I-SITE and our work, visit i-site.com.

No recruiters or out-of-towner’s, please.

Tara Exposed

Skills:
Details. Details. Details; Reading the temperature of the room; Keeping focused; Formatting documents; Finding the perfect GIF for any situation.

Tools of the trade:
Hold your breath! Chrome, Trello, Slack, Basecamp, Google Apps, Harvest, BrowserStack, Pandora and………..good old-fashioned email.

What is your project management style?
Trust. Building trust among teammates and with clients fosters a positive working environment where micromanagement doesn’t need to rear its ugly head. My approach is always, “What do we need to do to get this done and get it done correctly?” In my past experiences as a video producer to my current role at I-SITE, my goal is always to do great work with a great team. The logistics are just the path to get there.

The Perfect Client?:
A “perfect” client appreciates the effort and expertise our team brings to the table and works collaboratively with us to make the project as successful as possible. On the flip side, they’re the experts within their field, so we appreciate the knowledge and perspective they bring to the project, as well.

How is managing a web project similar to managing a video project?
Web projects and video projects are fundamentally similar. At the end of the day, projects are finite: they begin, they end, and there are hundreds of things that need to happen in between. Each requires a dedicated individual or team, client collaboration, and actual production to achieve the best result possible.

How is managing a web project completely different from managing a video project?
Web projects are living, breathing things that require much more attention post-launch than videos. Ongoing support, for months and years after a project goes live, is critical to maintaining a website.

With video, once you export your final project, share it with your client, and upload it to a streaming site, you’re pretty much good to go. On the other hand, the internet can take a beautifully designed and developed website and essentially say, “Nope! That feature shouldn’t work anymore. Let’s add a bug here…one over there. HA! Joke’s on you, nerds.”

Props to my teammates. These guys know what’s up!

Dream project:
My dream project would be to work on something TV related. Doesn’t really matter what show or genre, I just love television.

Future technology prediction:
I predict that the necessity and expectancy of website redesigns, refreshes, and microsites will become the new normal. Today, everyone that needs a website probably has one, despite what it looks like or how it functions. It’s going to be more pressing than ever to keep up with technology and websites will more quickly become and feel dated.

Adopting the mindset where it’s understood that content already exists from an organization’s online presence is a must. Determining what to do with older content from existing brands to produce something fresh and exciting will become much more a part of the conversation between clients and producers.

I also predict an activity tracker that is built into shoes. Because, duh.

I-SITE wins 6 Horizon Interactive Awards

I-SITE was a big winner at the 14th annual Horizon Interactive Awards competition, taking home six awards including three in the Advocacy/Non-Profit category. The team also made the Distinguished Agency list based on the awards received.

The recognition included four golds, one silver and one bronze for the websites for Downtown New York, Re-PLACE-ing Philadelphia, The William Penn Foundation and our own KATO [Kitty at the Office] program.

horizon_2016The Downtown New York website redesign took home two Gold awards in the Towns & Municipalities and Travel and Tourism categories. We were especially honored to be recognized in both categories as the site both serves residents and workers in Lower Manhattan as well as visitors who come from around the world. The site is a reflection of our great partnership with the Downtown Alliance team.

Re-PLACING-ing Philadelphia, our collaboration with new client The Painted Bride Art Center took home two Gold awards in the Advocacy/Non-Profit and Magazine/News categories. Funded by Pew Charitable Trust the website is made up of hundreds of ‘field notes’ provided by artists and the public exploring the “unspoken” and seemingly invisible archives of cultural memory in Philadelphia’s rich and diverse past. It’s especially satisfying that we were able to work with the Bride team to realize their unique vision.

Also in the Advocacy/Non-Profit category we were delighted to win a Silver for the redesigned William Penn Foundation website. The goal was to create a fresh new website to clearly and elegantly communicate the area’s most recognized Foundation’s philanthropic mission to the region’s community of innovators and grant seekers.

Last not but least our office kitties Kali and Jazzy are purring approval for recognition of our KATO [Kitty at the Office] website in the Advocacy/Non-Profit category. The website is an entry point for animal lovers to foster kitties in need at their offices before they find their forever home.

We’d like to congratulate all our clients and partners on these accolades and look forward to collaborating on more award-winning websites and applications in the future.

Horizon Interactive Awards is an international competition recognizing outstanding achievement among interactive media producers

 

 

I-SITE Hosts Tech Week Quizzo Thu May 5

Join us as we co-host the 5th annual Tech & Design Themed Quizzo at the upcoming Philly Tech Week. The event will be held yet again at Philadelphia’s one and only Whiskey and Go Go spot, The Trestle Inn with our friends from PhillyCHI.

It was at capacity last year so make sure you register and come early to enjoy happy hour specials and snacks in preparation for our brain teasing trivia questions. Categories include technology, design, architecture, art history, and other related topics. And of course, there will be prizes, too! I was linux recover files able to successfully recover my XML file and retrieve the important data stored within it.

Philly Tech Week 2016 presented by Comcast is the 5th annual celebration of technology and innovation taking place April 29 to May 7, 2016.