We Moved... A long time ago...

http://blog.unnaturallygeisha.com

Recession Developments

Banner ads, email newsletters and direct mail. All things I should be doing for myself but am glad to be doing for other people. In this recession, companies are refocusing and tightening their marketing efforts - more targeted offerings, more business development. We count ourselves lucky to have been there for our long standing clients when these ideas are implemented.

Some of the latest offerings:


Naturally For Her (naturallyforher.com) Banner Ad currently being run on mybestbirth.com


Microsoft Mobile Advertising Email Template


Direct Mail/Return form for Golden Monkey Healing

Awww Twitter

I think the upside down dead bird is one of the funniest things I have seen in awhile!

UFOs in Los Angeles???

In 2002, Ryan McLaughlin captured video of a UFO in the skies above Los Angeles. What began as the search for an explanation led him to the “Keeper” of the FAA’s “X Files”.

One man’s caustic tale of UFOs, Hollywood and the struggle to believe makes up this feature length documentary, Crescent Heights.

We were transfixed by the advance copy Ryan sent to us and were delighted to whip up the documentary's web site for him.

www.ufoflick.com

I got my Pre!!

After 6 months of hanging on with my lame Moto-Q crashing, not accepting calls (some of the time) and spontaneously restarting - I have finally procured the new Palm Pre phone! The truth is, I have been waiting for this phone to come out and was invited to the launch party where I was able to purchase the phone a whole 12 hours before everyone else. They even liquored us up and served hors d'oeuvres - it definitely beats getting up early to wait on line for it! The two reasons I have held out are: 1. I will not purchase an iPhone because I will never go back to AT&T - the devil incarnate in my book. 2. I hate the touch screen keyboard on the iPhone and some others but still like the large touch screen for other things.... Just when I thought that there wasn't anything out there for me, my DH received an email about this new phone, hence the wait. Well worth it & I love it!!!

Women's Health Items

One amazing lady with a plan to change the way Americans think about reproductive health and the environment; that is the lifeblood of a new business venture that we have had the distinct privilege to work on - Naturally For Her™! This is the new identity that we created for the company and in the coming weeks we will be launching the online marketplace designed by us as well. For now, you can check out their coming soon page to get an idea of what its all about: www.naturallyforher.com

This is How Behind I Am...

...on blogging, that is. Yes, it is a little before 1:00 AM and yes, I am just finishing up my day with this post.

A few weeks ago I was able to enjoy the cherry blossoms (one of my favorite times of the year) at our local park. I snapped this in between the ice cream and lolling about.

Not the Prettiest Cookie on the Block

But what is Passover without a Macaroon? This year I went for the almond ones, since I love marzipan and all, I thought I'd give it a shot. Where oh where have you been my whole life? Its like a light and fluffy marzipan cookie. So good!!!

Music Subscription - A New Way to Look at the Music Biz

In light of the music industries penchant for consistently shooting themselves in the foot, it is amazing to me that musicians are still trying to get that major label deal (in the sky). Other artists are more realistic about the process of creating art and marketing it today. The Omar Torrez Band has come to us at Unnaturally Geisha to implement their concept of what it means to communicate and realease music to their audience. We built them a content management system (so they can update and add new songs, video and pictures themselves) with a subscription component to sign up, transact the monthly fee and administer their subscribers.
Take a look!
exclusives.omartorrez.com

I've Been a Bad, Bad Blogger

Here are some of the things that have been keeping us really busy!!! We look forward to going live and talking more about these in the near future.

Another Website that Never Was...

We had built out and were putting the finishing touches on this one when the hospital was bought out by another medical center so this one never saw the light of day... until now! We designed and programmed a pretty sweet app with an attention to ease of use for the senior demographic.

New Years Resolution

I usually don't make resolutions because I hate breaking them and always do. I don't want to lose weight, I don't want to make a grand life-change. There are always conservation measures that I can take... I already religiously use canvas shopping bags by Eco Bags (www.ecobags.com)... What I do want to do is stop using so many plastic water bottles. There are currently a total of 7 bottles in various states of fullness floating around my car, 2 by the side of the bed, 1 on my desk and 3 under the bed. I have a serious problem!! It started when my kitties began a bad habit of upending cups with the special talent for dumping them in my purse. My new baby kitties like to chew on the straws and dip their paws in the water - not too appetizing when you consider where that foot has been! I tried an armada of plastic and lexan bottles only to find out that they may be better for the landfills but still leach toxins into your beverage. My BF "B" turned me on to these wonderful stainless steel bottles by Klean Kanteen (www.kleankanteen.com) and I LOVE THEM!

Food for the Soul

Yet even more weekly newsletter love!! We have been collecting these over time and now design and send out at least 10 email newsletters a month for a wide variety of clients.

Repo: An Opening Weekend

We were privileged to document Repo The Genetic Opera's opening weekend revelry. Our 2.5 minute video sums up the creators, stars and fans participation.
www.repo-opera.com
click on the Repo Premiere feature towards the middle top of the page in front of the big moon to view the video.

Something Funny for the New Year

We just went live with this incredibly fun project for the absolutely hilarious comic Aron Kader. We have a few entertainment driven web sites currently in production and this was the first of those to go live!
www.aronkader.com
Make sure to watch his Axis of Evil set on the Videos page!! Good times!!

A report card for doctors?

Over a year ago, we created a logo set, icon set and early interface prototypes for CareSeek / Nurses Recommend Doctors.

Yesterday, they were featured in a news piece about doctor research online by Los Angeles's ABC7. I just happen to be watching when it came on and excitedly grabbed a few screen shots of our work (thanks Tivo!).

W. The Movie

I have the pleasure of driving past this series (in billboard form) almost everyday. I have almost gotten into a few accidents on that corner because I can't stop looking at them. I think Oliver Stone and whomever designed this campaign struck gold. It sums up his persona and presidency in a mere 6 images. Genius.

Some Poor Graphic Designer is FIRED!

Yep, you've read that right, "She killed. It was her evening. She was the star." -Famous Person
We've all done it before, placed a FPO (for placement only) image or text into a design and then have forgotten to replace it. The client doesn't even notice it because they just love the concept. This mistake hopefully gets caught before it goes live to the masses on the internet or before the presses actually start cranking out your stupid mistake and you become liable for those printing costs. Well someone, in the race to capitalize on the Biden-Palen debate, the morning after, forgot to either get a quote or replace it. Either way it ran on WashingtonPost.com, was a great joke and embarrassment to the Republican campaign and probably got someone low on the totem pole fired.

NIN at the Forum!!

Inglewood, California 9-6-08


Yes, that is the mic stand midair!


The Chorus of "Vessel"

Golden Monkey Healing - New Homepage

New Home Page


Old Home Page

Golden Monkey Healing has gone from a single practitioner acupuncture office to a healing center with yoga, meditation and other classes. To reflect this growth, we changed the configuration, added a flash animation with images of the office and added new items to the navigation in addition to a special area for upcoming events. The site was originally designed by another freelancer a few years ago and has served the practice well but it was time for a face lift.

Take a look - www.goldenmonkeyhealing.com

Kitty Babies

Two new additions to the family! We are still trying to name them. Hmmm....

Update: Their names are Matrix (the black one) and Eskimo (the gray one).

Island Graffiti

Big Island, Hawaii
Look, there is another Danica & Shem who love each other : P

More Email Newsletter Love

We have won yet another contract for design and production on a monthly email newsletter. This is the new design and August's has already gone out!

Scenes from an Erupting Volcano

Kilauea, Hawaii
These pictures don't even begin to represent the experience...

Idea Ventures Inc. Launches

Idea Ventures, Inc is a marketing agency specializing in cause marketing, creative advertising and special events here in Los Angeles, headed up by Stephanie Ross.

Visit www.idea-ventures.com to view what we have created for Stephanie and her agency.

Mr. Pumpkin Pancake Man

Arrrrrrwooooo

Hawaii Details #2

More of the Maui pics - this time, flora.

RIP

Sadly, some of our older web work has recently gone off line. The web moves VERY quickly but some of these had a 5+ year shelf life, not bad! I think they are still pretty relevant and deserve a proper burial.