Blue Fish Design Studio

We seem to be getting a lot of business from churches lately. Our latest is one that I am really proud of since I am a member of Bay Community Church. Over the last few years they have had someone on staff that has handled the website for them. But his recent move to a position with more responsibility and the Creative Pastor’s (Trey Taylor) desire to push the boundaries led them to choose Blue Fish Design Studio to build their new site. This site is massive. It uses a lot of JQuery and has a backend of ExpressionEngine. It is beautiful and I couldn’t be more proud to announce their new website and our latest launch.

For their tri-fold brochure, the main focus was getting information on Compounding Pharmacies out there, specifically, what they do and the advantages they offer over traditional pharmacies. This was reflected not only in the arrangement of the text, but also the overall design concept and images we chose for the project. We also designed a folder for them, using the same images, design concept and color scheme.

This was one of those times where re-inventing the wheel just wasn’t necessary.  Think Remarkable was happy with their current web design, but was looking for more functionality.  So Marcus took their existing site and transformed it into an ExpressionEngine template so they could keep the look and feel of their website, but with all the added functionality that the ExpressionEngine CMS offers.  ExpressionEngine was so pleased with the results, they decided to do a feature interview with Marcus. You can read the entire interview here.

For Living Perfume, it was all about simplicity.  They didn’t have a ton of content, so we opted for a straight xHTML site, versus a CMS site.  The result is simplicity and elegance.

When we took on the project of Kent’s website, we wanted to create a site that would capture the elegance of his work. He has been in business in the Mobile area designing beautiful landscapes for 30 years. For the website we chose a palette centered around earth tones, in keeping with the idea of landscaping and growth, and then set up the site using the ExpressionEngine Content Management System. This provided Kent with not only an elegant design that showcases his work, but also the functionality he needed to get information of his work to prospective clients.

This is a website that Marcus took on pro-bono.  It feels good to give back!

Nothing says “happy customer” like repeat business. A while back we designed a kickin’ web site for 1065 The Pirate. Recently they changed formats from a rock station to talk radio. So our skills were called upon again. New format. Completely new design. The client also opted to switch from the CMS from Joomla! to ExpressionEngine. So we set about designing a completely different website that would make their programming schedule, as well as info on the radio personalities that they showcase on their broadcasts, readily accessible to the listeners. We even included a live feed on the site, so listeners can enjoy the programming, right from their computers.

This website has been a pet project of Marcus’ which has finally come to fruition.  EETemplates offers beautiful and functional templates for use with the ExpressionEngine Content Management System (CMS).  There are three tiers of templates offered by EETemplates - Free, Pro (pay), and Customized.  We even offer set up, installation and ongoing support for those that need or want those services.  And with new templates being developed and added all the time, there is sure to be something for anyone interested in a website using ExpressionEngine.

“Come see why the Eastern Shore offers more.” That’s the new slogan of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, and was the aim of the newly designed ESDiscounts.org website.  We want to showcase all the beautiful Eastern Shore area has to offer, and all the reasons why it’s a great destination, whether you’re moving there or just visiting.  The website is all about the info.  Very crisp, clean and professional, and best of all, powered by ExpressionEngine.  We also designed a two-sided full-color flyer to advertise the website, and all the photography used on the website and flyer.

After we created a beautiful website and post cards for Sexton Lawn & Landscapes, Sid was so pleased with our work, he asked us to create a tri-fold brochure for additional marketing.  We incorporated the look and feel of the site, and highlighted the various services and Sid’s company offers.  We accented each section with photographs of his beautiful work, which were taken by Marcus.

After having created a beautiful website to showcase Will’s culinary talents, we were approached to create a catering menu for Will.  The first task was the best. Photographing the food.  Talk about eating what you shoot!  Trust me, his food tastes as delectable as it looks.  After capturing several of his signature offerings in photographs (and sampling the wares), we set about designing the perfect layout for showcasing his creations.  We chose to keep the menu content itself very simple - choosing to focus on the food, and the images of the food.  For the cover we incorporated elements from the website in order to create a uniform branding. The result is a menu that makes your mouth water.  Go ahead, give into temptation, and pay Will a visit.  You won’t be sorry!

The Jade Consulting website is a fairly straight-forward HTML site, but what really sets it apart from some of our other work, are the interesting design elements, particularly, the header and side bar areas which have the appearance of actually wrapping around the edge of the main content container.

For Harbison & Hoyt, we were aiming for a simple elegance with a touch of southern charm. The emphasis is on the area which they service, and so for our design, the palette was inspired by subtle hues of land and water, and we included beautiful scenes from the Gulf Coast area and waterways.

By land, Cypress Point is a progressive location rooted in historic battles. Today it is being transformed into a development of high end cottages and the amenities to boot. Two marinas, a lodge, and elevated boardwalk trails are just a few of the amenities planned for the project. Our desire in creating a new website for Cypress Point was to leave the visitor with the feeling of rustic luxuriousness. We used elements like the cypress trees in the background to con notate the nature aspect of the project. And the color scheme and images used reflect the beauty and luxury of the project. We were responsible for the website and photography.

Advanced Payroll Solutions is a recognized leader in providing payroll for small to medium sized businesses in the Mobile Area. When we first met with John from Advanced Payroll they had a homemade website that John had put up several years prior. They realized that this was not really in keeping with the image of their company. They wanted something that followed the theme of helping local businesses and so we pulled in images from around the area. The color scheme was dictated by prior marketing materials.

Blue Fish Design Studio recently completed a new website for American Computer Enterprises (ACE). Philip and the gang over at ACE wanted something that communicated the services that they provide and was also easy to update. So we built them a website with a Content Management System built in so they can add, subtract or multiply the content on their site to their hearts content. Philip has promised that he will update the Blog on the website with helpful hints and interesting tidbits so make sure to check back. And if he doesn’t then email me so I can give him a smack down.

We also want to state that we are developing a strategic partnership with ACE. If any of our clients are in need of Computer Administration, Network Administration, Spyware or Virus removal or anything else that has to do with these complex little things called computers then Blue Fish thinks ACE is the one to call. Philip is a great guy and his staff of technicians are very knowledgeable.

The Bluegill Restaurant is a well-known bar, grill and entertainment hot-spot in the Gulf Shores, AL area. So when Harry called almost 2 years ago and wanted to meet we were very excited about the prospect of working with him. Turns out we were right. He is an amazing entrepreneur that has been wonderful to work with. We handle all of his ad layout, take-out menu design, email marketing campaigns and website updates. We have had a lot of fun with the Bluegill website. When Harry wanted to announce that he was “Going Green” we helped him put together press releases, made his website completely green and sent out emails noting the changes that he had made in order to better his impact on the environment.

The Bluegill Restaurant is a well-known bar, grill and entertainment hot-spot in the Gulf Shores, AL area.  We maintain their website, as well as sending out a regular newsletter to keep patrons up to date on the upcoming entertainment.  Another way we help them with marketing the restaurant is to periodically design print advertisements in various local publications, like Lagniappe.

When Spanish Fort Fire approached us about designing a site for them, we knew we really needed to go all out.  They’ve been faithfully serving and protecting the Spanish Fort area, for over 35 years.  Marcus came up with the design for the Joomla site, that is at once visually striking, yet fully functional in accommodating the wealth of fire safety information and educational resources that they provide for the public.  The Joomla CMS will also make expanding and updating their information a breeze. We’re very pleased with the end result, and more importantly, so is our client.

Sid Sexton had a website when he came to Blue Fish. His desire was to create something that he could center his marketing around. So we created a website for him with visual cues and colors related to plants. We also did all of the photography on the site.

The guys that run Gulf Coast Junk Removal (Hudson and Sloan) are a great bunch. They saw a need and decided to do something about it. Hudson called me with nothing. They had no logos, no business cards, no colors chosen nothing… So we started with the logo that they use on their business cards (more of a font and color choice). Then we got started on the website. After getting part of the way through the website project Hudson mentioned needing some rack cards for promotion at the Chamber of Commerce. We used the same color scheme as the website and same fonts so that it creates a cohesive set.

Belinda Simpson started Pelican Insurance Agency in Fairhope as a way to service clients that were getting dropped from the major insurance companies after a string of hurricanes came through the Gulf Coast. She is an energetic woman that came to me with an image of a pelican that was pretty bad. So we found her a new logo. Created a simple one page website. Created new letterhead and business card for her and sent her off to help the masses. Go Belinda Go!

Will Hughes Catering and Market was not a restaurant I (Marcus) was familiar with prior to this project. I now stop in at least once a week to get “the sandwich” I felt that Will was an artist with his food. That his profession went beyond a way to make a living. This man loves his food. So we wanted to do something artistic for his site. It comes down to the images. I went to his shop one day and set up my Canon Digital Rebel on it’s tripod. I intentionally used a slow shutter speed as Will was moving quite quickly behind the counter (it is food service after all). The color and contrast made the site come alive. Kelly, Will’s better half, wanted some way to update one section of the site so she could put recipes on the site. So I used the blogger FTP interface. Basically it allows her to log in to Blogger and when she publishes the blog entry Blogger FTPs the files to her website for display. This site is probably xHTML and CSS valid I just haven’t bothered to submit it.