For our first Student Design Project Series we hired Nikolena Sidler, a student at Georgetown’s Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts to design an infographic poster to represent the growing trend of Washington DC Food Trucks. What she came up with is a great overview of DC Food Trucks, including how they use social media to generate business and communicate with customers, a general daily schedule of operations, and even a list of her choice of the area’s top ten Food Trucks. We think she did a great job. Let us know what you think.

Click image to enlarge.

Top 10 Washington DC Food Trucks

Fojol Bros.

Cuisine: Indian
@fojolbros

Distric Taco

Cuisine: Mexican
@districttaco

Red Hook Lobster Pound

Cuisine: Seafood
@lobstertruckdc

Takorean

Cusisine: Korean BBQ
@TaKorean

Tasty Kabob

Cuisine: Middle Eastern
@TastyKabob

Capmac

Cuisine: Gourmet Pasta
@CapMacDC

District of Pi

Cuisine: Pizza
@PiTruckDC

Curbside Cupcakes

Cuisine: Cupcakes
@CurbsideCupcake

BBQ Bandidos

Cuisine: Mexican BBQ
@BBQBandidos

Sauca

Cuisine: International
@wheresauca

Nickolena Sidler is a graphic, web and brand designer and the founder of CutPaste Designs. Her blog, DesignFoundThought narrates her adventures of working in the design world and what she has learned along the way. She can be contacted at nickolenasidler [at] me [dot] com.

Social media has played a big role in the marketing of these businesses, especially Twitter. You can follow your favorite food truck on Twitter to get the latest specials and find out exactly where the truck is parked on any given day. It’s obvious that they are all doing a decent job with social media but how well do their websites match up? Well, I did some research with the help of Food Truck Fiesta, which has a great list of DC Food Trucks and links to their websites. So I now present to you the best of Washington DC Food Trucks web design. (In alphabetical order.)

AZNeats

District Taco

Fojol Bros. of Merlindia(?)

GoFish

Hula Girl Truck

Red Hook Lobster Pound

Sauca

Solar Crepes

Sweetbites

Tasty Kabob

——————-

And… sorry to do this but I also have to give out a BOOBY PRIZE to Sweetz Cheesecake Truck. I guess it could be considered retro?

Our new website for Digby & Rose, a premier Washington, DC invitation design and print studio, is up and bringing in visitors. The new site, built upon WordPress (previously Flash-driven) showcases the firm’s gorgeous Letterpress Light® creations and fully activates social media marketing.

Google Places
Add Listing: http://www.google.com/places/

Yahoo
Add Listing: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/signup

Bing
Add Listing: http://www.bing.com/businessportal/

Mapquest
Add Listing: http://listings.mapquest.com/apps/listing

Facebook
Add Business Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Linkedin
Signup/Join: https://www.linkedin.com/reg/join
Add Listing: http://www.linkedin.com/company/add/show

Twitter
Get Account: http://twitter.com/

Yelp
Add Listing: https://biz.yelp.com/

Hotfrog
Add Listing: http://www.hotfrog.com/AddYourBusiness.aspx

SuperMedia
Add Listing: http://www.supermedia.com/business-listings

Insider Pages
Signup: http://www.insiderpages.com/session/new
add Listing: http://www.insiderpages.com/businesses/new

Citysearch
Signup: http://www.citysearch.com/members/start
Add Listing: http://www.citysearch.com/profile/add_business

Best of the Web
Add Listing: http://local.botw.org/helpcenter/getlisted-lp1.aspx

Local.com
https://advertise.local.com/

Localeze
signup: http://webapp.localeze.com/extranet/login.aspx
Add Listing: http://webapp.localeze.com/mpm/bform.aspx

Express Update / Infogroup
Add Listing: http://www.expressupdateusa.com/

Brownbook
Add Listing: http://www.brownbook.net/business/add/

Shout Brigade has been hard at work for a few months now, but it somehow feels more official now that we’ve hung up our sign! Our offices at 3711 Macomb St NW are ideally located for a busy creative crew that burns more than a few ounces of midnight oil crafting websites and devising the next big social media campaign.

It’s a pretty cool space, with room to grow as we expand our ranks to accommodate our growing business. Shout Brigade offices are right above Cactus Cantina and next door to Two Amys, who fuel our creative juices with incredible food and frosty drinks. Down the hall is Digby & Rose so we are also in fabulous design company.

If you are in the area, stop by and say hello. Coffee is on us!

Most business owners understand that their biggest marketing battles are fought in the digital world. Hand over your business card or make a phone call and the first thing potential customers do is go to your website. Right now, a vast sea of potential clients are assessing, discussing and hopefully, recommending your company or brand. Hence the drive for getting a powerful website and social media program up and running PDQ…Just don’t forget to get your “brand house” in order before you get the ball rolling. Effective branding is the only way to ensure that your website and social media does your company, and what it stands for, justice. And that goes for your site, social media, advertising or any other form of marketing.

If your logo was created in 1973 with font Comic Sans, and you can’t answer the question, “What is your USP?” a little work may be in order.

Your branding and identity— logo or identity system and the elements of your brand: Mission, USP (Unique Selling Proposition), Brand Promise, Brand Story, and Personality are the essentials for building a website that does more than look and function properly. Smart branding ensures that your website and social media programs are strategic, formidable sales tools that work.

Sure, “lipstick on a pig” analogy is a harsh analogy, but all too true. Great websites bring your brand story to life with the power to compel and incite your clients to buy. Without proper branding, you can certainly have a strong, functional website, but it’s bereft of the thoughtful, credible brand power you need to present a quality, inimitable image. Branding is the foundation that clearly captures and projects why your company is unique, better, the one you want to do business with.

It’s not always about reinventing the wheel; sometimes you simply need new tires.

The cool thing is, small transformations can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived. Updating your logo (If it really does feature Comic Sans please call us immediately), crafting a marketable tagline or defining your strategy can go a long way in ensuring your success. Give it some thought. Whether you need a brand over hall or just a tune-up, give us a shout. From branding to web building, Shout Brigade’s goal is to help you put your best face forward from branding to brand new website and social media.

When asked if we could create a more compelling, social media smart website for Washington DC’s Digby & Rose, we RSVP’d with a resounding, “Yes!”

If you don’t already know, Digby & Rose is the name behind the most prestigious hand-pressed Letterpress Light® invitations and business cards in the Washington, DC area. If you visit their current site, you’ll find it quite lovely, but it can work oh so much harder in terms of web design that drives inbound marketing and social media.

The existing design is hobbled by a lot of Flash (which impedes SEO/Search engine optimization). We’re using a WordPress platform to give the new site a seamless, easy-to-update architecture. Cleaner, more intuitive navigation will also go a long way in making the site a great user experience. A fully integrated social media program will be also be key, giving D&R the opportunity to fully promote their stellar reputation (we’re talking a 5-star ranking on oodles of reviews and in the press). The infrastructure will also enable D&R’s website to grow as their business grows, expanding online sales of custom wedding invitations and specialty card sales.

The new design showcases the beauty of Digby & Rose using such products from the Letterpress Light studio— and promotes it with a strong social media platform

Each client feeds the “creative spark” in different ways.

The Ley Group

This week, we welcome The Ley Group, a remodeling and design firm that specializes in high-end, superbly crafted homes and commercial properties. To speak with Simon Ley is a rare chance to hear a personal commitment to extraordinary design and excellence in craft ring true in every word. It’s not a business; it’s a passion. As creative “craftsmen”, we can’t help but relate. To be honest, The Ley Group had us at “portfolio.” Their work, whether modern, traditional or anything in betwixt is, simply, exquisite. But then, you’d expect that from a carpenter who proved his talent by working on homes belonging to the likes of Cher and Versace. Wowie!

We look forward to creating a web and social media presence that will do justice to The Ley Group’s extraordinary work.

Check back as we post our progress as The Ley Group web design comes to life!

The Vienna Health Improvement Center

Like us, you are sitting at a computer right now. Like us, you probably find yourself in said location for many hours of the day. Which could mean a few things: Like you are a hard-working soul or, perhaps, addicted to porn. (Hey, we don’t judge.) Regardless, you are not at the gym and you just might have a bag of Cheese Doodles by your side because you are just too damn busy to eat a healthy lunch. Alas, we feel you.

Hence our excitement at the prospect of bolstering the branding, revamping the website and revving up social media for the Vienna Health Improvement Center. If, like us, you have tried so many diets you could make Oprah look like an amateur, you need to check out VHIC. The joint expertise of Dr. Katie and Dr. Mark, who both have a Masters Certification in Nutrition Response, has created such a smart, personalized and PROVEN program we all were immediately infused with the idea that: Wow, they can really make this happen for me. Finally.

You will also love the atmosphere. Welcoming, warm…human. You get a distinct sense VHIC truly cares about your success and the experience. We love being there and so will you. Their current website does not do this remarkable weight loss center, nor the people who make it so special, justice. We at Shout Brigade are so excited to make that happen!