Virtual Architects - Digital Agency

VA is Hiring- Social Media Manager

Craig Stack — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:25:37 +0000

Virtual Architects is looking for a dynamic, talented individual to join the team as an Online Community/Campaign Manager. If you eat, sleep, live digital and think you have what it takes to be part of the VA team then fill out the form below or head over to Facebook fan page and complete the application form on the Work for VA tab. Don't forget to have a look around our fan page and get a feel for our agency.

What is Responsive Web Design and why should you look into it?

Bo Bissict — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:53:04 +0000

There has been an enormous pull towards mobile versions of websites and almost every client nowadays wants it or in most cases demands it.

The days of having a simple .mobi site along with your website to just “get by” are behind us and nowadays you need to make one design for blackberry, another for the iphone, the ipad, netbook, kindle, and then all screen resolutions must be designed too. As new technology comes out we will almost certainly need to keep increasing these designs at an impossible/impractical rate.

New Media, the New Consumer and Inbound Marketing

Paul Greeff — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:59:19 +0000

The South African marketing industry is still relatively unexplored in terms of integrating social media, and as a whole digital marketing, into brand and campaign communications when contrasted with international retailers. There have been major advancements in digital marketing technologies as well as in consumers' purchasing behaviour in recent years and as such it is in every brand's interest to be aware of them and adapt to them accordingly.

Everyone is waking up to the power of GREAT CONTENT. The future looks especially bright for those who embrace and integrate these emerging strategies. When Social, Search and Content Marketing are integrated in this manner to drive traffic to a single content hub such as a website, blog or portal it is termed Inbound Marketing.

South African brands & Adoption of the Facebook Timeline

Chris Edington — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 06:52:43 +0000

Facebook has for some time now started the rolling out of the Facebook Timeline feature for brand pages. As I'm sure many of you have seen there has been a notice box at the top of all pages that still use the default layout.

A massive space of 851 by 315 pixels is offered up for you to customize. With some creativity and a touch of design, this space can then be used to your brands advantage in a number of nifty ways.

Cape Town Electronic Music Festival

David Ireton — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:33:19 +0000

This post has been dedicated to one of our projects that is very close to our hearts.

Website: www.ctemf.com

How South African's Search The Internet [Video]

Craig Stack — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:12:10 +0000

I have always been a stats man, whether it be on my blog on a single post, on the backend stats of google analytics or any piece of information that I digest daily regarding internet usage. There are so many things crossing my mind on a daily basis with regards to SA internet usage, how things are being search and where those searchs are coming from. iProspect have launched in South Africa and with that they have created a video on "What we searched in 2011". I must say, it is one fantastic video and for those stats lovers like myself, you need to take a look.

SportingbetSA Infographic

Craig Stack — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:15:35 +0000

We have just rolled out an awesome infographic for Sportingbet SA showcasing last season's stats as well as previous records and info one might enjoy. After searching the net continually to find another infographic of it's kind, we are extremely proud to announce that this Super Rugby infographic is in fact the first of its kind.

Pinterest - Our Take on the Digital Game Changer

Paul Greeff — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:33:32 +0000

Pinterest is a word that has been buzzing on the internet of late and it appears to be for good reason. This fledgling social network has garnered a lot of attention for its reportedly amazing, ease of use and unprecedented user growth. The social bookmarking application has already been deemed by some to already be changing the face of web design forever.

Now that's a cool way to market your country

David Ireton — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:23:22 +0000

I stumbled across the website www.inspiredbyiceland.com and its brilliant.

Nice clean design with awsome intro video, and a brilliant User Experience Design. (well I think so anyway)

Have a look...

Clever Print Adverts

David Ireton — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:08:35 +0000

Here are a few adverts I like and think are cleverly done. Which is your favorite?

Neostir

VA is Hiring- Designer/Junior Art Director

James Gilmour — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:59:28 +0000

Virtual Architects, a Cape Town based digital innovations agency is looking for a talented individual to take on the full time role of designer/junior art director in a rapidly growing business. Virtual Architects provides digital solutions to a range of top local and international brands.

Keep your website ahead in 2012

Chris Edington — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:27:12 +0000

There are alot of trends going around the internet with regards to website design and development, many of them not lasting very long and many of them being overdone.

The Virtual Architects expert design staff stay ahead of the curve on the latest website design trends and functionalities. Here are a few of the top website design and functionality trends you’ll see in 2012.

F-Commerce - The Storefront of the Future

Paul Greeff — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:32:13 +0000

F-Commerce is a new word that will be gaining a lot of momentum in the next few months as Facebook commerce or online stores embedded within Facebook become more popular and widespread due to improvements in online shopping functionalities.

Introducing the new Virtual Architects

James Gilmour — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:22:14 +0000

As those of you that are familiar with Virtual Architects (VA) may be aware, we have given the VA brand identity a bit of a spit and polish.

2012 is the start of a new era for the team at VA and our revamped brand identity, website and social media platforms is just the beginning as we start to roll out some exciting changes within the VA team.

Getting Barbie and Ken back together, my favorite digital campaign of 2011.

David Ireton — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:25:15 +0000

In February, 2004, Mattel announced a split for Ken and Barbie, with Russell Arons, vice president of marketing at Mattel, saying that Barbie and Ken "feel it's time to spend some quality time – apart...

Like other celebrity couples, their Hollywood romance has come to an end", and then in 2011 Mattel came up with a plan to get Barbie and Ken Back together again...

Welcome To The World Of Infographics

Craig Stack — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:25:28 +0000

Gone are the days when you had to read through pages and pages of clutter and wasted information.

Infographics have become the latest trend in getting large amounts of information across in the most visually appealing way possible. Infographics are a visual representation of information (data, knowledge, stats) in the form of a cleverly thought out design which displays all the content. Infographics can help the reader digest large amounts of information in quick and clear fashion, helping enhance the readers comprehension! There is nothing better than sifting through a clearly explained and well thought out infographic, it makes read easy and fun.

Social Media and Online Reputation Management

Paul Greeff — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:32:13 +0000

Social Media and ORM

The explosion of social media and mobile internet usage over the past couple years has had many implications for brands and the way in which they do business. 'Over 3.5 billion pieces of content are shared each month on Facebook alone' (Social Media Statistics 2012). Whether you are aware of it or not, your brand has an online presence and is being spoken about on blogs, websites and social networks. An increasingly greater value user-generated content in search algorithms, meaning its presence on SERP's is set to rise as we continue into the age of the 'Social Business.'

SOPA - What does it mean to you?

Chris Edington — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:44:33 +0000

If you browse international blogs or websites, or follow some international people on social networks - you may have seen the word SOPA popping up pretty frequently and assume that is has something to do with American politics.

Well, it does have something to do with American politics, but this one has world wide reach.

SOPA is a bill in America which is being voted on that will allow the U.S. Attorney General to "turn off" websites that it thinks infringe on copyright laws.

The user as an anonymous designer

Bo Bissict — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:44:39 +0000

Designers beware; there is a new kid on the block who has more power and influence than any of us.

Recently organizations have begun to realize that it is essential to devote time, money and effort into research to better understand their audience. The movement towards a more socially connected web has made clear the huge shift of power towards the user and their input has to be critically important as to how we engineer and develop our websites and online applications moving forward. Website owners and the users have now become dependent on each other and the job of a designer is no longer as simple as it once was.