What a better way to celebrate the holidays than to help spread peace through Blueberry and Strawberry Preserves. Peace Preserves, a Client of Pica Design, is a local business that was created to provide an array of unique fundraising items to nonprofit organizations and the retail market. Products were developed as a vehicle to express the simple message to “Spread Peace, Peace Works”. When you buy their products, you send funds directly to youth organizations who are working towards achieving peace in our world today. To learn more on Pica Design’s involvement in helping Peace Preserves to develop their brand identity and packaging, click here. To purchase Peace Preserves for gifts or for your holiday enjoyment, you can visit a variety of local establishments such as the Farmers Fare, the Belfast Co-op, Whole Foods in Portland or directly through the Peace Preserves website . Enjoy!

Pica Design will participate in a panel discussion at CMCA to demonstrate Websites (that work!) for Artists at the CMCA Event: Making Connections: Monthly Marketing Series for Artists this Thursday. Join us from 7:00 – 8:30 PM for Websites, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, e-marketing, organizational websites for artists, and more. Contact CMCA for registration or questions: 207-236-2875 x303.

We frequently re-design or update existing websites that no longer serve their purpose. From upgrading a website with a new CMS (content management system) to quick image and text updates, we can spiff up a site in short order. We just finished two such updates: Mainely Pottery (an upgrade from a brochure-type site to a more functional, manageable site) and Bluestreak (a straightforward update). Visit www.mainelypottery.com or www.bluestreakme.com.

Join us for a nuts-and-bolts presentation on the benefits of websites for businesses. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about websites, network with other business owners and learn more about putting the Web to work for your business.

Event Details:

Thursday, June 25th

4:00 – 5:30 PM

Unity College Center for the Performing Arts

42 Depot Street, Unity, Maine

For registration and event information, call Julie Downer at UniTel: 948-3959;

or email jdowner@uninets.net

Sponsored by Pica Design, LLC, UniTel and Unity College in Maine

We are unabashed fans of Apple. We love their computers, and we love their design. It’s the best kind of inspiration; the kind we get to interact with every single day. As new people have joined the office, new computers have come on board as well. And you know we keep the packaging.

One day last week we were looking at the stack of Apple boxes, and realized that it tells the story of this whole company. And there, at the bottom, is the foundation of it all: the Power Mac G4 and Studio Display that Rob first worked on. It’s a workhorse that is still part of the office!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of G•O Logic Homes Online: www.gologichomes.com

We began working with G•O Logic to design their logo. We also helped to define their competitors and potential market, built their website, and helped with site launch marketing.

Most people want to be innovative, unique, interesting (main-stream is so not cool). But, how can it be more than just a statement and actually help you?; help you succeed, help you communicate and help you stay fresh? Creativity has to have a purpose. There must be a concept, an end-goal that matters. Jonathan Ive said it so well when he defined design as a process of “stripping away” what is not needed, a simplifying of content and the display of information. It’s not, then, so much about thinking up something cool as it is thinking of the best way to solve a problem to communicate a specific idea. Not to reveal a bias or anything, but someone asked Apple CEO Steve Jobs how they ended up creating the ipod as such a hip device. Jobs replied that  creating a cool device was never the intent, only something that would be simple and easy to use, and that’s cool! Because there is so much “creativity” in culture today, stating the obvious is a refreshing alternative. So creatively simplify your content (whether written or visual). Your audience will thank you.

Time for Belfast came to Pica Design to enhance their website. We re-organized the site, adding styles and structure, and posted new video clips for viewing. The mission of Time for Belfast is to put Belfast and its business community on the radar in Maine and beyond. The program is designed to confront strategic needs by giving students a voice and a leading role in a project that harnesses the converging medias of HD photography, Internet publication and TV airplay. To view their ‘spoof video’, click here. Time For Belfast’s website update project was spearheaded by our 2007-2008 intern, Zak Strassberg, under the direction of Web Designer Caitlin Holman.

We re-designed this beautiful Camden Inn’s website just before the 2008 summer tourism season. The site takes full advantage of color photography of the Inn’s gardens and features slideshows of each cottage’s amenities. From sweeping ocean views to gorgeous interior decor, this Inn has it all, and the new web site is enticing new visitors to explore the area.

A local telephone company serving Waldo, Penobscot and Kennebec Counties, UniTel came to Pica Design to re-design their website. We incorporated a new content management system that would meet their requirements for current and growing content as well as customer demand. UniTel staff can now update content and images in-house.