LewisCarnegie Goes to Design Ranch


Vinyl Listening Lounge

It’s that time of the year again for Design Ranch. The whole gang is coming, and we’re counting down the days. Once again, we’ll be hosting the LewisCarnegie Vinyl Listening Lounge at Swiss Chalet #1. If you’ll be around, make sure to swing by, and don’t forget to pack your wax! 


Bringing some of your own records to the Lounge? Add them to the list on the Design Ranch facebook group

 
LewisCarnegie Vinyl Listening Lounge
All Day +  After Parties on Friday and Saturday nights
Swiss Chalet #1
BYOV

Design Ranch
Camp Waldemar
Thursday, April 14 to Sunday, April 17, 2016



The Non-technical Guide to Mobile Web Design

When clients approach us about creating a website, many of them understand the value of having a website, but many have questions about what it means to be mobile-friendly and how this effects their business. This article is an effort to share the basics of how mobile web design is a valuable investment. 

More and more, people use mobile devices — anything from a phone to a tablet— to access the web. In response to the ever increasing popularity of these devices, the way we design and build websites is changing. For businesses, this means clients are accessing information from their websites across multiple platforms.


Why should I have a mobile-friendly site?


Well-designed mobile-friendly site will engage more people. Duh - We know. Whether they’re shopping or just finding out more information about your business, people don’t spend a lot of time on websites that are hard to use, especially when they’re out and about. If people have to zoom in to read anything, all the buttons on a site are too small to press, and there is not enough information hierarchy, they’ll want to leave before they find what they’re searching for. A well-designed site will makes it easier for people to navigate and find what they want.

It improves SEO. Google recently made a big change in how it serves up its search results: it deciphers between sites that easily viewed on mobile devices and which ones are not. When a mobile user googles keywords, Google will bump down sites that are not designed for mobile use. Therefore, making your website mobile-friendly will improve your searchability and, as a result, the amount of people coming to your site. While Google’s standards for being mobile-friendly are very basic, they are some of the most paramount characteristics to at least making a site navigable. Test your website performance here.

If you’re thinking of having an e-commerce site, a mobile friendly site will improve sales. The easier it is for people to shop, the more they buy. According to Shopify, about a third of online sales are through mobile devices - that’s a big chunk of sales! And it’s only growing. Having a mobile site makes your shop accessible to more customers and potential customers.



Responsive and Adaptive Mobile sites


You may have heard these terms thrown around, and they refer to the technical structure that your website is coded upon.  Responsive websites are websites that are designed and developed to fluidly adapt to the context the website is being shown. This allows content to shrink and grow continuously, depending on the size of the browser. Adaptive web design provides a specific layout based on the device it’s being used on. Sometimes websites use a bit of both; it is dependent on the goals and content of your site and its content.


considerations for mobile-friendly sites

Who are your audience or customers? What kind of browsers and devices are they using? Your website’s analytics can be an important tool in defining who your audience is.

What are your future plans for the site? How do you want your site to grow? Is e-commerce something you hope to pursue in future? Do parts of your future plans need to be taken into account?

What is your budget?

What are your goals  and how do they differ between devices? Are you selling products? Promoting your services? Educating your customers on what you do or sell? Establishing an online presence?


The best businesses understand and adapt to their customers and their needs. People are no longer just viewing websites at home or work on their desktop computers. The ubiquity of mobile devices in our culture mean more and more people are looking at the internet on their devices and are no longer confined to home or work to view websites. A mobile-friendly website is a step towards adapating to your customers and users, staying relevant, and in building a better business.

Movie Night: Drumline

















Join us for movie night this Thursday, May 14!

BYOB and we'll bring the popcorn. Doors open around 7 and movie begins about 7:30!



New Work: Austin Bat Cave


Austin Bat Cave has been a long time client of LewisCarnegie. When they expressed interest in a fresh interpretation of the brand, we happily took the challenge. We recognized the current logo was a great concept. It contains all the essential elements that defines a creative writing program in Austin. So we convinced ABC they simply needed a refresh that would be relevant to their audience – kids, parents and donors.

Austin Bat Cave
Since 2007, Austin Bat Cave is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides children and teenagers (ages 6-18) with opportunities to develop their creative and expository writing skills. ABC connects a diverse population of young writers and learners with a vibrant community of adult volunteers in Austin. All of their programs are free.

The Rebrand

We recognized their current logo was created in the right spirit, but fell short in tone. The mark was inconsistent and difficult to use across various mediums. The pen quill speaks to an older audience while the kids the organization serves don't recognize it. We all agreed we needed to embrace an apparent core brand value: FUN. We started by replacing the quill with a pencil and thickening the line work for legibility. We flipped the bat over to convey a more positive and recognizable icon. We updated the typography into a shape that works as a badge or an overlay across all mediums. And we brightened the color palette with interchangeable color.  All in the spirit of fun. 

Old Logo


New logo












We can’t wait to roll out the full refresh of the brand and our whimsical approach to it over the next few months as its released to the public.  Stay tuned…




Movie Night: STEET PEOPLE

70's ACTION MOVIE GOLD!
Car chases, mafia bosses, shoot-outs and double crosses.
PLUS: Stacy Keach and Roger Moore.
So bad, it' s good. 

 


Join us for movie night at the studio! We’ll be opening our doors around 7pm and starting the movie at 7:30pm. BYOB, and we'll bring the popcorn. 

Wednesday, February 11
1312 Cesar Chavez (through the back gate) 

 

Summary:
A Mafia boss is enraged when he is suspected of smuggling a heroin shipment into San Francisco. He dispatches his nephew, a hotshot Anglo-Sicilian lawyer, to identify the real culprit. The lawyer also enlists the aid of his best friend, a grand prix driver with an adventurous streak.


Next Month: BIRDMAN


RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/861879473855255/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Movie Night: The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces



Lewis Carnegie presents…
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

Join us for movie night at the studio! We’ll be opening our doors around 7pm and starting the movie at 7:30pm. BYOB, and we'll bring the popcorn. 

Wednesday, January 14
1312 Cesar Chavez (through the back gate)

Summary:
Open spaces in cities function in different ways. Inspirational urban advocate William H. Whyte presents an informative look at why some spaces work, while others do not. Using New York City's Seagram Plaza as a starting point, this video analyzes why certain urban spaces are more popular than others, and why public spaces are necessary at all. The founder of The Project for Public Spaces, Whyte narrates this film and guides us through an observation of a number of public spaces in an original and witty way. ~ Cara Saposnik, Rovi, New York Times


Next Month: STREET PEOPLE

Cold Beer, Hot Art! It's the East Austin Studio Tour!

This week, the air is buzzing at LewisCarnegie as we put the finishing touches on our East Austin Studio Tour (EAST) exhibit. Art has been selected, printed, and framed. Beer and sausages have been ordered. Art placement in the gallery is almost final. Our “Cold Beer, Hot Art” sign is ready to be set out. Even the Austin weather seems to be cooperating with us. All in all, it’s shaping up to be our best East Austin Studio Tour yet.

In case you are wondering, the East Austin Studio Tour is a free, self-guided tour that brings tour-goers and local makers together. You can see working studios, meet local artists and artisans, find out what inspires them, learn about the tools of their trade, and visit local businesses. There are over 400 events, studios, exhibits, and happenings on the docket for the 2014 East Austin Studio Tour.

Even though the tour is open to the public, we at LewisCarnegie would like to officially invite you. So here is your invite:

Who: Pack Film Pack
The Pack Film Pack consists of 4 artists, Sean Carnegie, Craig Crutchfield, Bart Kibbe, and Woody Welch, who are unified by their passion for an old, but not forgotten, photographic technology that captured the imagination of an era – Polaroid* instant film. The imperfections, nostalgia, and element of chance are part of the charm that inspires the Pack. 

*Before digital photography and camera phones, “instant” self-developing film was innovative. Unlike traditional film that you had to shoot the whole roll of 12, 24, or 36 shots before you could develop it and then wait for one-hour processing, Polaroid’s instant film was one shot at a time and only took 5 minutes for your black and white image to develop. Then you would carefully peel away the backing to reveal your photo. Since 5 minutes was still a long time to wait, everyone had a trick to developing the Polaroid faster – shaking, fluttering, under the arm, waving it over your head, or some combination of these. None of these are recommended by Polaroid.

What: Black and White Photography
Our artists have taken their black and white Polaroid images and professional printed and silkscreened them on to a high quality archival paper. There will be approximately 90 framed prints in varying sizes on display and available for purchase, starting at $20. Also back by popular demand are artist test prints – unique one-of-a-kind silkscreens of some of the Polaroid images. We’ll also have posters, koozies and t-shirts commemorating our fourth East Austin Studio Tour exhibit.

Where: The Gallery at LewisCarnegie, Stop #299

Our gallery is in the heart of East Austin, specifically at the northwest corner of East Cesar Chavez and Navasota. The entrance is on Navasota, just north of the LewisCarnegie sign. Look for our “Cold Beer, Hot Art” sign!


For those using a GPS, Google maps, or Apple maps, here is our physical address:
1312 East Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, Texas 78702
MAP

When: November 15-16 and 22-23
We’ll be serving up cold beer, hot art, and hot sausages from 11-6pm both EAST weekends (November 15, 16, 22, and 23). Come by and meet the artists, hangout for a bit, and have a great time.

We hope you are as excited for EAST as we are and we will see you there!