Hiring: Visual Interactive Designer

We are currently looking for an experienced Interactive Designer to help create and design engaging interactive sites, brand experiences and other digital media. The Interactive Designer will work closely with brand strategists to concept and create strong and strategic designs.

SKILLS
2+ years agency, design experience and interactive work.
Must have a diverse online portfolio that showcases innovative concepts and creative design solutions with a unique point of view.
Must be a strong conceptual thinker — visual and interactive. You’re a passionate designer that pushes boundaries of design.
Must have superb creative problem-solving skills.
Must be OCD with a sharp eye. You can instantly spot the difference between Helvetica and Arial at 8px.
Must have superb communication and presentation skills. You work well with team members and are easily able to interface with clients.
Must have an understanding of HTML, the process and expectations of web development, and the capabilities of web/mobile browsers.
Must have the ability to not only work hard, but work smart, with a sense of urgency to deliver consistently.
Must be a wizard in Adobe Photoshop and well versed in Fireworks.
Must have a sense of humor and a good attitude.

Send portfolios to jobs@tractorbeam.com

NO RECRUITERS PLEASE

Coolio stops by Hair By Charlie’s pop-up barber shop

Hair By Charlie’s pop-up barber shop this weekend at Three Sheets in Dallas was a big success. Such a hit, in fact, that Coolio, who performed this weekend at McKinney Avenue Tavern, plopped down in the chair on Friday afternoon for a nice and relaxing (to say the least) shave from Charlie Price himself. Check out the pics below, taken by our very own Jason Perez.

Coolio poses with Travis Selcer (of Tractorbeam) and Charlie Price of Hair By Charlie after getting his shave

Charlie Price putting Coolio to sleep

Coolio, completely passed out

Travis Selcer (Tractorbeam) taking his turn

Eric Benanti (Tractorbeam) getting started

Pretty stylist (Hair By Charlie)

Lauren Chambers (Hair By Charlie)

Lindsey Henrie (Tractorbeam)

Girls like to look pretty too - Lindsey Henrie (Tractorbeam)

Charlie Price (Hair By Charlie)

Charlie Price (Hair By Charlie)

Eric Benanti (Tractorbeam), cleaned up

Pete Freedman (Central Track)

Tools

Chalkboard for pop-up shop and the Boot Campaign

All images Copyright © 2012 Tractorbeam

Sissy’s Southern Kitchen

How do you create a brand and image (that merges pin-up girl style of art with vintage seed packets) for a celeb chef opening a restaurant in Dallas? Go look at the Sissy’s Southern Kitchen project on our site and I assure you we won’t post another bragging blog entry until at least next week.

And if you’re in Dallas, you MUST stop by Sissy’s. The food and bevs are something to write home about, and you’re likely to see one of us Tractorbeamers shoveling down yet another one of those delicious deviled eggs…

Ostroblue Topaz

We just updated our website to show off some more great client work. This time, it’s Ostroblue Topaz, an engagement that has involved strategy on all fronts: product, merchandising, marketing, the works. Head on over to the Tractorbeam website to check it out the Ostroblue Topaz case study.

Tractorbeam to host Tony Bones art show on 3.22.2012

Come join us on Thursday, March 22nd for DJs, drinks, and the fantastic work of Tony Bones!

Long Gone
Tony Bones
Opening: March 22nd 7-10pm
Show runs: March 22nd - April 19th

325 Cesar Chavez Blvd.
Dallas, Texas 75201

About the work:
Tony Bones grew up in DallasTexas. He began his artistic journey in 1997, writing graffiti in the back alleys of east Dallas. He eventually graduated to the streets of that fair city and beyond. Traveling the country leaving his signature simple characters behind. In the early 2000s he started showing in galleries, exploring a range of mediums from printmaking and neon signs to jewelry making and leatherwork. He has spent the past few years based in Brooklyn new York but has recently taken to the road once again.

Hotcan, Hot Rebrand

Posted by Lindsey Henrie

Hotcan is a meal-in-a-can, on demand. The self-heating contraption that says sayonara to microwaves and campfires. I’d eat this, no question. Of course, that doesn’t really say much, because I’d probably eat cold Spaghettio’s out of a can. With a butter knife.

I’m not going to explain how the thing works – because that’s not what grabbed my attention. It’s certainly a novel, curiosity-piquing concept, but it’s not a new one. self-heating meals have been around for many years and are a commonplace concept in the military.

Here’s what heated me up:

Hotcan recently underwent a rebranding, and it shows. It almost makes you forget that this isn’t the first time the microwave-in-your-pocket has been produced. In fact, Hotcan claims to be the original. They’ve taken a difficult-to-digest concept (no pun intended) and made it desirable — or at least compelling. Taking a look at where they’ve come from, and where their competitive counterparts still reside, it’s easy to see why the Hotcan rebrand is impressive. From the website to the packaging, the brand’s look-and-feel is distinct and well executed. It communicates what it’s supposed to, and doesn’t lend itself to cluttered, ambiguous messaging.

Here’s a couple of basics that Hotcan seems to understand well:

Confidence builds belief.
Hotcan is unapologetic and states very clearly the reasons you should choose their product. It’s delicious, nutritious, heats to a perfect temperature, and has a five-year shelf life. You’d be a fool not to.

This doesn’t mean you have to kick down doors and Macho Man Randy Savage your product to folks, but if you believe in your product and show it, it’s a lot more likely that others will believe in it too.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Succinct, Stupid)
A rep from their UK headquarters told me, “We wanted to keep things simple but light-hearted as I always think it is easy to fill a site with a lot of information which actually nobody is really interested in.” Point made. Time to move on.

Know who you are.
Branding doesn’t begin with design. A brand is built on identity and promises, and communicated by language and design. Before you say who you are, you have to know who you are. A brand is essentially a personality that informed by the product, the customer, and the people behind it all. You’ll need no more than 15 seconds on the Hotcan website before you’ll know exactly who they are. It’s because they know who they are, and are intentional about how they communicate it.

The brand is the first point of consumption, and if you don’t make it count, it could be the last.

UPDATE: My shipment should be arriving from the UK any day now, and I no longer buy groceries.