Not to be confused with Howitzer, Bryce is still a force to be reckoned with. What can we say, Bryce came in and we liked what we saw, it's that simple. Sticking to our core values of being an idea shop first and producers of great work second, we feel that Bryce fits perfectly. His hybrid nature will augment our extremely dynamic interactive team perfectly. Bryce comes to us from Antidote X where he worked on accounts such as Allianz Life, American Standard, Eljer, CH Robinson Worldwide, Jennie-O Turkey, Guidant, AdFed Minnesota, Mima and more. He also teaches at Miami Ad School and writes for the Evanto Tutorial Network (flashtuts). Wow, huh? Welcome aboard Bryce. @howitson's not tweeting much, but if he gets 100s of followers, I'm sure he'll start. In his own words, "Evil rainbow gradients beware." You can also all help Bryce answer this question. tags: catalyst studios, minneapolis, minnesota, design, graphic design, interactive, catalyst,

AdWeek just published an article about how agencies are adapting to leverage the best ways to connect with consumers while saving money. Sounds crazy/impossible but it's happening. You can read more, but the thing we think is most important about all of this is that it brings more focus on the strategic, thinking part of design. If more of the clients (within our profession) begin to view our greatest value at the strategic, thinking level, everyone benefits. Clients engage us sooner, at the right stage and the results will be much stronger. Agencies will have the information they need to do their best thinking and work, as well as the motivation that stems from feeling like a true partner. Short term, budgets might be incrementally smaller, but the long term benefits of a deeper, more strategic relationship will be a tide that "raises all the boats." tags: catalyst studios, minneapolis, minnesota, design, graphic design, interactive, catalyst,

Recently, I discovered a pretty common branding problem that really surprised me. While researching corporate job boards for a project (we recently launched kohlscareers.com, Kohl's recruiting site), I noticed that the majority of the sites were well-branded until you hit the jobs/career section. Once you arrive, the brand becomes almost invisible. It’s as if you’ve left the site you were on. The reason for this is simple. So many companies buy and integrate one of the ‘candidate application’ tools. These tools are great for putting a solid, online application process in place. But unless these process tools are appropriately branded, a candidate is going to feel a shift away from the brand and everything it represents. I understand why this happens – it’s much easier and much less expensive to let the software company apply your logo and some other simple elements of your brand to the “job search” section. But if great candidates are turned off or turn away, that’s going to cost that company handsomely, in terms of HR resources. Does it really save money to let the branding fall down in the area of employment? Feel free to search the Kohl's Careers site for a job. It's super easy. And who knows, maybe you'll find your next career. @catalyststudios tags: catalyst studios, minneapolis, minnesota, design, graphic design, interactive, catalyst,