Fragment Blog

Now Hiring Web Designer

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 16:01:21 EST

Fragment is a web design and custom application shop in downtown Raleigh, NC. We are a small yet powerful team of designers and developers who work to make the web a better experience for everyone. We work with all types of clients on a wide range of projects from convention centers and restaurants to custom card applications and car rental databases.

Now Hiring Entry Level Web Developer

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Hello people! Fragment, a leading web design and application development company, is looking for an entry level web developer to join our crew. As a developer here at Fragment you will be working on projects on your own as well as larger projects that are a collaborative effort. Located in downtown Raleigh, we have a laid back but focused office culture.

Building Fragment 3.0

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST

At Fragment, doing things the same way every time is just simply unacceptable. It’s easy to fall into the groove of just one system or one programming language and to just stick with what you know. The fact is, that in a years time, the latest trend in the web world could already have been replaced by something else and honestly, the stuff I was learning in college was already out of date before I even graduated.

The Dying Art of Customer Service

Wed, 9 Mar 2011 17:50:52 EST

You’ve seen them before and you are probably roped into a few as you read this: long term service contracts. Whether it’s the cable company or your cellular provider, we’re faced with long term contracts more often than you might like to get access to the latest toys. The sales pitch includes price lock benefits or deep discounts up front on hardware. Everyone is out for a good deal right?

Website Validation

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 16:55:29 EST

Consider for a moment someone who makes wedding cakes. She carefully devotes her time to make a beautiful, well crafted and most of the time delicious cake.

First Friday at Fragment

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 15:00:44 EST

It’s that time of the month again. We’re gearing up for First Friday at Fragment. This month we are featuring the work of artist Matt Yow.

Why we use ExpressionEngine

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:36:56 EST

Our clients rely on the developers here at Fragment to recommend the best technology to fit their online needs. When it comes to choosing a prebuilt content management system, as opposed to building a completely custom solution, we usually lean on ExpressionEngine. In this post, I’m going to outline some of our reasons for using ExpressionEngine instead of some of the other open source and free alternatives.

Sometimes you have to say no.

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:55:24 EST

We love to build web sites. And most people would agree we build damn good ones. This can sometimes put us in a position where we have to say no to some offers, and although we always hate to do it, I thought I would take a minute and explain why.

Fostering a Creative Environment

Mon, 3 Jan 2011 12:23:30 EST

For the past few months at the Fragment office, right around lunchtime after everyone has gobbled up a few toasty hot dogs, the competition gets as heated as the George Foreman those beefy franks were cooked on. I’m talking about Table Tennis everybody!

Yahoo shuts down Delicious

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:04:25 EST

Yahoo! can’t ever seem to do anything right. The most recent news has really hit me personally. I recently started using the cloud based bookmarking service Del.icio.us and I thought I had found the answer to all my problems.

Reflections from the 2010 Internet Summit

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST

After two days of lectures and panels, three common themes seemed to rise above the noise. It’s funny because these three things haven’t changed since David Ogilvy wrote the rules of marketing in the 1950’s. If anything has changed, it has only become easier to execute an on-target strategy.

Our guide to the Internet Summit

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST

This year’s lineup at the Internet Summit 2010 is pretty impressive. The list seems to go on of companies to keep an eye on, as well as established brands. From small time start-ups to fortune 500’s, this years panel of speakers is sure to not disappoint.

Another Great First Friday at Fragment

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EDT

We had a wonderful First Friday last month, and are looking forward to another one this week! Fragment is always excited to open it’s doors to the public and invite everyone down to say hello.

What do web designers do... or at least what should they do

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

With so many roles that could be played in the development of websites and applications the role of the web designer extends beyond just making it look good.

7 Things About SEO You May Not Know

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

In doing a little research the other day on SEO (Search Engine Optimization), I found some interesting facts that I would like to share with our readers as well as our clients. These facts come from several places across the web and prove just how important good SEO is. If you are wondering how you can improve your traffic on your site, as well as improve your rankings with search engines, SEO is a good place to start.

SPARKcon’s cyberSPARK at Fragment

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

In the wake of the Hopscotch Festival, Raleigh is getting geared up for its next multiday art festival: SPARKcon. SPARKcon is a "creative potluck" of SPARKs or creative themes such as art, music, film, fashion, etc. Each SPARK is put together by individuals who are deeply embedded in that specific local scene. This year, Fragment will be hosting cyberSPARK a showcase for the creative use of new and interactive media and technology in the local community.

Why every small company needs a good website

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Something that has drastically changed over the last fifty years (or since your father opened the local family business) is that the American consumer now has a plethora of choices of where to shop locally for any given product. A common thing that many small businesses overlook is the value that a well organized and designed website can offer. Not only is it a place to showcase some of your best work, or your sharpest looking products, but if built correctly it can function as a powerful leads generator.

Layman’s Guide to Web Typography

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EDT

For those of us who, on a daily basis, deal with having to either design or recreate a design for the web, the use of "web safe" fonts is a big deal. Through the years there have been a couple of ways to include non-safe fonts but until recently there hasn’t been a great solution for doing so in a way that is free of a third party "plugin." In this post I’m going to outline just a few ways to access more unique typefaces for use online and then wrap up with a short rant about web typography in general. Here we go.

Confessions of the "Check-in" Queen

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

This afternoon one of our developers got an interesting e-mail. It was from a woman who so kindly asked him to give her one of his Gowalla badges from his account that had been inactive for 6 months. Of course he agreed, but not before we could have a little fun with her first. He kindly agreed to give her the badge if she would be willing to answer 8 questions about the service and how she uses it. We gained some interesting insights from a faithful user and she said she was more than happy for us to share them. So here they are, for your reading pleasure... The Confessions of the "Check-in" Queen aka "The Gowalla Balla":

It’s July and First Friday

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

This months First Friday brings a different kind of art to Fragment. Jaclyn Anthony Designs joins us with a unique look and feel of custom handmade jewelry.

In remembrance of Social Media Day

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

June 30th was officially the first "Social Media Day" around the world. Twitter was abuzz with people wishing each other well in honor of the "holiday" and there was an abundance of articles from all the new social savvy sites who were attempting to define why social media was deserving of a holiday. The most popular social media blog, Mashable, addressed yesterday as follows:

Our take on Mobile Advertising’s take

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

As I was doing a little research trying to find a subject for our next blog topic, I came across a subject that I found quite interesting: Mobile Advertising. The most shocking statistic that I came across was that mobile advertising revenue was expected to reach $32 billion dollars a year by 2015. For a little comparison, in 2014, newspaper advertising should be somewhere around $31.9 billion according to the New York Observer.

From school into the business

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Going through design school is a great place to learn how to design properly, but it teaches you nothing about having a job in design.

Men, it’s time to talk. Beards and Business.

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

There was a study published fairly recently about the trustworthiness of a man based on his facial hair. The study published in The Journal of Marketing Communications found that men with medium length neat beards were more effective at gaining the audience’s trust for most products. How can we apply this knowledge to what we do in our businesses? Should we immediately begin growing our manly beards? Does this mean we don’t have to shave daily? What if I can’t grow a beard? I’ll explore these questions and draw some conclusions based on this new knowledge.

Building Fragmentlabs.com

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

This article contains a lot of tech-speak related to our site redesign that might not be interesting to all of our readers. With that being said, bear with me as I try to give an overview of the Fragment site.

Refresh the Triangle #27

Fri, 14 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

This month Fragment hosts Refresh the Triangle #27 -Learn to Speak Interface: Creating Conversations Between Developers and Designers. If you’re a developer (or a designer) you should probably attend. The speaker is Jess Martin of Relevance.

First Friday with Fragment May 2010

Thu, 6 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Its First Friday again! Time to get out and get downtown! Friday is set to be beautiful weather! This month for first Friday we have a two-for, great art and the winner of our “Your Piece of the Window” contest’s design is revealed.

5 things i learned about the social media "industry" by being forcibly immersed in it.

Mon, 3 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Here’s the thing, I’m a skeptical jerk that has a hard time with some of the new social media “industry’s” practices. I believe that social media outlets were intended for personal communication and are now being littered with marketing messages and passed off as a marketing medium. Just read what I have to say. I’m pretty sure it’ll make you mad but at least we can talk about it.

Fragment: Making Our Piece

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Brand recognition is one of the most important aspects of any business. The ability to have your company condensed into a single icon, mark or statement is a highly-desired result of any creative endeavor. However, before any mock up is developed much consideration must go into the creation of the brand itself. I’d like to take hthis opportunity to not only introduce our brand but to also explain the creative strategy behind Fragment.

Our 1st First Friday: Thank you, Raleigh!

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EDT

We, the fine and upright brigade of Fragment, want to thank you all for coming out to downtown Raleigh’s First Friday celebration last week. We had an excellent time conversing with some new and interesting Triangle locals. The evening started off slow, but we had a good turn out for our first time participating in the festivities. We look forward to seeing you and your crew at our next First Friday at Fragment.

First Friday Featuring Art by Mark McLawhorn

Thu, 1 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Join us for Raleigh’s First Friday on April 2, 2010. Work featured by artist Mark McLawhorn.

Stop by Fragment for First Friday

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Fragment is proud to now be participating in Downtown Raleigh’s monthly First Friday gallery walk.

Win an iPad with Fragment’s Window Design Contest

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EDT

We have a serious offer for you that involves one of our most visible assets - our front windows. As you can see from the images on our website, we’ve taken a few creative liberties with them. Now it is your turn.

What is Fragment? The Video. And we do motion graphics too

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EDT

You may all be wondering about what has been going on around the Fragment offices since our ambiguous debut at Ignite Raleigh 2. Well, we’ve been diligently working on some great client projects while devoting some time to our rebranding process.

What is Fragment?

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST

Some recent changes have had a big impact on our company. For starters, our business compadre of the past three years, Jeremy Smith, has left the company to pursue new career endeavors, and we all wish him the best of luck in his new ventures.