For weeks now, our visual artists have been brainstorming ideas for the 2012 catalog, reviewing photography, design concepts and other details to ensure that this version is the best one ever. Our team has been producing the Capel catalog for nearly two decades, and each year we raise the bar for maximum impact.

Sarah Owens meets with the Capel Team to talk about room shots and layout for the Capel Catalog

This time, we’ve put a lot of work into improving the layout of the catalog, trying to make it as consumer-friendly as possible. We placed a particular emphasis on making the room presentation of every rug stand out, so that this year’s catalog is unique from its predecessors – and the competition.

Of course, the amazing quality, originality and creativity of Capel’s area rug line gives us a lot to work with. Capel has some terrific new rugs this year, including the new line it launched in partnership with HGTV star Genevieve Gorder at the October High Point Market.

Capel collaborates with some of the leading designers and licensing programs in the industry, including Kevin O’Brien, Biltmore and Williamsburg. The company is passionate about great design, and its line includes styles to fit every taste, from casual comfort to classic elegance, as well as a diverse range of constructions.

To highlight these and other new and exciting pieces, Rivers’ Senior Art Director Sarah Owens devoted three weeks to designing and setting up shots at the studio that really give the rugs a chance to shine – and customers a chance to see just how fabulous they are! Sarah has been able to produce almost 30 of these stunning room shots in just under three weeks.

The Capel Catalog is definitely a group effort, reflecting the fact that teamwork is one of our core values here at the Rivers Agency. We are really excited about the work we’re doing with Capel and can’t wait to see the final product once it rolls off the printing presses tomorrow!

The original post is titled 2012 Capel Catalog , and it came from Rivers Agency .

The awards are judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an organization of leading professionals in the industry who are dedicated to progress and innovation. They receive more than 4,000 applications annually for the competition, and judge excellence in dozens of categories ranging from print design to video and radio.

Rivers Agency received two Silver Awards for the NC Science Festival website, the first for Website Homepage Design, and the second for Website Graphics. We also received three for the Biltmore Inspirations site: one for Website Branding, one for Website Consumer Products, and one for Website Best Practices.

With both sites we worked hard to capture the spirit of the company we were representing. We put special consideration into having the graphics make a statement to the consumer, and that gave the site credibility and professionalism, while allowing ease of access and navigation. We’re confident these awards show we achieved those goals and more.

We are so excited to be awarded these honors; we look forward to continuing to work hard and add more Daveys to our wall!

The original post is titled Rivers Agency Wins Five Davey Awards , and it came from Rivers Agency .

The North Carolina Science Festival had its first run in September of 2010. It was so successful, they decided to do it again — this time bigger and better. As part of the initiative to make the event the best one yet, NCSF hired us to create an amazing, interactive website promoting the festival. And that’s exactly what we did.

The new site is up and running after we launched it last week. We’re really excited and very proud of the work we’ve done.

The NCSF 2012 site is very interactive, making it easy for visitors to get information about the Festival and easy for organizers to post information, keeping it current.

We constructed a plan to build the website in three phases. Phase One will focus on pre-festival activities, and will allow organizations to apply to host events, to increase Festival participation and to establish the site as a year-round destination with fresh, updated content. Closer to the Festival, the web site will switch to a Phase Two version, serving to promote the Festival Calendar and highlight specific Signature Events. Phase Three will focus on the post-festival wrap-up and highlight Signature Events with video, photos and written content.

You can check out the website in Phase One for yourself here:

We just love working with the NCSF team, and we are all very excited for what’s to come!

As always, we love feedback! Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter @Rivers_Agency.

The original post is titled NC Science Festival Site Launch! , and it came from Rivers Agency .

Jen Deguay from Compete Pulse compares invitations to this summer’s hottest websites to invitations to parties, and really puts things into perspective. You can read the article here. Deguay concludes that Spotify is throwing the best party on the block, and we agree.

Spotify is offering a compromise. It built up enough tension and excitement in America as we just waited for it to launch. Previous to this summer, the music streaming service was only available in Europe, but was highly coveted overseas. Once it announced it was extending, buzz began. After launching the beta version, Spotify stuck with the invitation only access option,  but decided to give special attention to its “VIP” members. If you wanted to use the free version, you had to put your name on the list and wait patiently for that golden ticket. But, if you are willing to shell out a cover of $4.99 a month for the Unlimited version or $9.99 a month for the Premium, you can skip the line, duck under the red rope and dive right in.

Just because Google+ isn’t offering any way to cut the wait time doesn’t mean their plan isn’t working, though. They chose to only allow people by invitation to test their beta version so they could get feedback and make it the best it could be before going public. By allowing users 15 invitations to use as they saw fit, they ensured that users could have at least a few friends to circle, while still keeping the test pool moderately sized. The graph below shows how quickly Google+ reached 10 million users compared to its biggest competition, social media powerhouses Facebook and Twitter.

By Leon Haland

There’s just something about exclusivity.

The original post is titled By Invitation Only. , and it came from Rivers Agency .

See our blog post about the video shoot with Cisco here.

600 Brickell is located in the Brickell District of Miami, and it is the most technologically innovative building in the world, with the latest and greatest technologies and communication tools to help power it as an outlet for businesses to call home.

We are very proud to say that the video we helped shoot and produce for Cisco and 600 Brickell is now complete. Click on the photo below to view the video.

Cisco Systems, 600 Brickell

Let us know what you think in the comments section below or on Twitter @Rivers_Agency.

The original post is titled 600 Brickell Video Live , and it came from Rivers Agency .