As we inch closer to our ninth year in business here at Clique, a remarkable (and encouraging) trend has emerged: every year has been markedly better than its predecessor.
Keeping with the trend, 2011 has undoubtedly been our best year to date. For our clients, we are proud to report the results across the board: close to 100 successful project launches, millions of hits, great press, and millions of dollars transacted on our sites.
If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to dive into the year, lay it on the table, and do a quick post-mortem. Below are some of the highlights of Clique 2011.
New offices: We recently moved our HQ down from its previous spot at Michigan and Randolph, to our new spot a little south on Michigan in the Fine Arts Building. Built in 1884 for the Studebaker company, and overlooking Buckingham Fountain and the Art Institute, we couldn’t be happier with our new pad. We’d love for you stop by.
Our brand new promotion division: In mid-2011, we were pleased to announce that Jeff Molitor, a previous client, had signed on to become captain of our new promotions division. We made the announcement in style, launching a clunkily-named “$100,000 Promotion 2 Win a Promotion Promotion” in which we gave away a “Wilson” worth of promotional services to a deserving Chicago business. The contest was extremely well-received and featured in design galleries worldwide.
The contest was eventually won by Swingbyte, a killer new golf swing analysis tool. This was also our first (of many) successful partnerships with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, who has been more than good to us in our first year. If you’re a Chicagoland business and haven’t signed up yet, do so. Seriously.
Mobile, mobile, mobile: It’s simple, folks: gone are the days of a single, controlled web experience. Potential customers are everywhere now, and 2011 saw the explosion of mobile traffic that the world was waiting on.
Leading the charge, we launched successful mobile projects for the likes of Motorola, Crate and Barrel, American Mattress, Magellan Development Group, and Genworth Financial. In August, with Chicago’s own Energy Results, we even designed the user experience for an in-store iPad app at Best Buy.
The Clique family tree grows: The year began with the addition of John Gile, our Sr. Experience Developer, and the growth of the team hasn’t slowed since. Among other additions, John Ellis came over from his previous position as Director of Software and Services for Motorola to lead our mobile charge. Phil Orlandi is laying the groundwork for our West Coast practice and Drew Fravert is killing it as an Experience Designer.
Even more significantly, both Ted and Phil both had their first child this year, and we couldn’t be happier for them.
Photography: Prior to this year, we provided photography in a variety of ways, usually calling on trusted freelancers. 2011 was the year that we brought that service in-house, with great results. Check out our Flickr page for some recent shoots.
Clique University: We launched our educational arm, designed at consulting business owners on how to properly harness new technologies to work for them. This blog will serve as our way of keeping you updated on current happenings, trends, information, and future events.
Other highlights
- Worked with Superchef Curtis Duffy to unveil the name of his much-anticipated restaurant.
- Designer the User Experience for Chicago-based Retrofit, an amazing new startup based on tech-forward weight loss. The new business has already received coverage by CBS, Crain’s, and more.
- “Revenge of the Electric Car” debuts worldwide, including at Tribeca Film Festival, Starz Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival, and more. Rave reviews abound, and Clique makes its first appearance in film credits.
2011 was amazing, but we’re confident that 2012 will be an even better year at Clique. We can’t thank our clients, vendors and partners (and families) enough for being a part of it all.
Here’s to another one.
Cheers,
Derek
