Swann discusses the impact that design can have on a brand:

Think how swiftly and strongly a design experience shapes our opinion of that brand, company or store, for good or bad. For instance, we know quickly when a website is bad. And we associate that feeling of frustration, or worse, disappointment with that brand.

Design-oriented organizations invest in thinking this stuff through. They put design at the heart of their company to guide innovation and to continually improve products, service and marketing. They recognize that a great design leads to differentiation, customer loyalty and higher profits.

With a few examples of how some of the most successful companies in the world are using design to improve their business, Swann observes, “What is certain is that the design bar has been raised and design-oriented businesses are winning.”

The article notes that careful thought about a brand is much more important now because information travels so quickly in a hyperconnected world.

Finally, Swann offers a “call to action” for leaders to put forth the effort to make extraordinary experiences from ordinary products and services, to use design as a competitive advantage.

We couldn’t agree more.

Read “Welcome to the Era of Design” at Forbes.com

Red Pixel Studios has a history of giving to the community, having donated numerous sites over the years for organizations whose missions are to help children and promote education.

The design group was founded by brothers Eric and Jason Kyle on May 1, 2001, and has called downtown Owensboro home ever since.

“To thank the Owensboro community for supporting our business for 11 years, we wanted to do something special,” said Eric Kyle, president of Red Pixel Studios. “We feel that putting out a sort of ‘request for proposals’ might help us find an organization that we might not otherwise know about.”

Red Pixel Studios has developed numerous Web sites with donated time, including sites for Goodfellows Club of Owensboro, Impact 100 Owensboro, Cathedral Preschool, ODC Drug Free, and GRADSA – the Green River Area Down Syndrome Association.

“We are proud to help these amazing organizations that improve our community and help those in need. They make Owensboro a great place to live, work and raise a family,” said Eric Kyle. “The Internet can be a very powerful tool for these groups to promote their work and raise the funds that allow them to carry out their missions. We’re happy to offer our expertise in this area so that these groups can focus on their mission.”

The Red Pixel Studios 11 Years Award is open to all non-profit organizations that are based in the Owensboro-Daviess County area or perform work locally. Organizations that wish to be considered for a new Web site developed by Red Pixel Studios should complete the application at redpixel.com/11years. The approximate value of the award is $9,000.

“We are excited to work with a group that is doing great things for our community,” said Jason Kyle, who serves as vice president of Red Pixel Studios. “We will look at how the organization is fulfilling their mission and how a new Web site might help to further advance their work.”

Applications may be submitted though June 1, 2012. Red Pixel Studios will announce the organization with whom they will work on or before June 29, 2012.

The plugin works by defining content – a page or post – with a shortcode, then enabling that content to appear in a page or post wherever that shortcode is invoked.

This is much like an include file common in Web programming, but is unique to WordPress in that RPS Include Content is multisite aware and works for both pages and posts. In addition, the plugin prevents include loops from occurring.

There are numerous possibilities for using the plugin, but many will find it useful when the same content is posted across many pages.

For example, you may want to place your company boilerplate at the bottom of press releases in your News section. Instead of pasting the boilerplate copy at the end of each of these pages, you can now insert the shortcode (along with the post ID, and for multisite configurations, the blog ID) where that content should appear.

When your company boilerplate changes, you only need to modify the source copy to update all your press releases – the changes will appear on all pages that contain the shortcode. There’s no need to open and modify each page.

When a user previews the post from the WordPress Administration, the included content is distinguished with an indicator in the right margin as well as an on-hover highlight. In the preview, links are provided to make it easy to view or edit the source content. The preview of the include will not distort the target page – the width, height and position will remain as defined by the site.

RPS Include Content works in multisite environments; the shortcode will require the post ID and blog ID. To easily obtain the blog ID and post ID, install RPS Blog Info, a free plugin that places this information, and more, on your WordPress 3.3 Toolbar.

Learn more and download the RPS Include Content plugin here.

About Red Pixel Studios

Red Pixel Studios is a marketing design group that partners with clients to develop sustainable brand identity, build effective Web sites, and deliver beautiful print materials to drive successful campaigns. Additionally, Red Pixel Studios creates engaging Apps for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Android devices. Red Pixel Studios was founded in 2001 in Owensboro, Ky.

The organization selected Red Pixel Studios to redesign their Web site because they wanted a distinguished design that would instantly convey their mission and offer convenient ways to become involved. The group also wanted a site that they could easily manage while having extensive control over its content.

IMPACT 100 Owensboro wanted the site to be a tool with which users could learn more about the group and allow women to join or donate, with options for online or offline giving. The group also required that the site should make it easy for organizations to apply for grants and that the site could be used to tell the stories of those receiving grants.

IMPACT 100 Owensboro combines annual donations from a minimum of 100 members and gives large grants each fall to local worthy causes selected by the members. The only membership requirements are to be female and to donate $1,000 each year. All membership donations go to the grants; separate funds are raised to cover administrative costs. Grant applications are accepted in each of the following focus areas: culture; education; environment, preservation & recreation; family; and health and wellness.

About Red Pixel Studios

Red Pixel Studios is a marketing design group that partners with clients to develop sustainable brand identity, build effective Web sites, and deliver beautiful print materials to drive successful campaigns. Additionally, Red Pixel Studios creates engaging Apps for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Android devices. Red Pixel Studios was founded in 2001 in Owensboro, Ky.

You can read the article here: http://wpmu.org/wordpress-sitemap-generator/

The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph are a vibrant group of women who minister to the needs of the communities in which they serve, in areas such as education, pastoral ministry, nursing and a variety of other arenas where they have been called by God.

The organization approached Red Pixel Studios because many years ago we had designed and developed their previous site. While that site was still useful, the organization came to realize that as the site evolved over time it had become unwieldy. It also presented limited opportunities to grow and incorporate new features.

In meeting with the communications team from Mount Saint Joseph, we determined that the site’s organization and navigation could be consolidated to simplify user choices. We also decided that we could combine two existing sites – one for the Ursuline Sisters and one for the Conference and Retreat Center – and use one domain.

The Ursuline Sisters of Mount Joseph provide a great deal of information on their site, and continually produce new content. We organized the site so that its users can easily find what they want. The design reinforces the strategies that the organization developed for how they use the site to accomplish their mission.

In addition, the new site gives the communications team more control over the management of their site, which we accomplished by using WordPress for their CMS.

About Red Pixel Studios

Red Pixel Studios is a marketing design group that partners with clients to develop sustainable brand identity, build effective Web sites, and deliver beautiful print materials to drive successful campaigns. Additionally, Red Pixel Studios creates engaging Apps for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Android devices. Red Pixel Studios was founded in 2001 in Owensboro, Ky.

A couple of interesting results:

• Nearly half (46%) of American adults are smartphone owners as of February 2012, an increase of 11 percentage points over the 35% of Americans who owned a smartphone last May.
• Overall adoption levels are at 60% or more within several cohorts, such as college graduates, 18-35 year olds and those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more.

I also got a kick out of a “data point” in the right margin stating that 30% of 18-29-year-olds have pretended to be using their cell phones to avoid interacting with the people around them. If this were a study of me – although I am just outside that age bracket –  it would be 100%!

Owner and certified pastry chef Alisha Hardison started Dalishas Desserts as a home-based business a few years ago, making desserts for friends and acquaintances. She found success as word quickly spread, forcing her to sometimes turn customers away.

Alisha entered a business plan competition sponsored by eMerging Ventures, a program of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation. She won, earning the opportunity to open a storefront at the Centre for Business and Research at 1010 Allen Street.

With the commitment to establishing her business came the understanding that she should have a professionally designed logo. Alisha selected Red Pixel Studios to develop the identity for Dalishas Desserts.

Alisha told us that she preferred a more whimsical style and hoped to continue using her existing color scheme of red, pink and brown. She wanted to incorporate a cake into the logo so that customers would recognize that Dalishas Desserts specializes in desserts and decorative cakes. We determined together that a retro emblem style would be a perfect representation of her bakery for many years to come.

Dalishas Desserts is known for intricately designed decorative cakes. We wanted to show that detail while still allowing for a logo to be used at a small scale.

We developed an identity for Dalishas Desserts in two parts – a retro-styled name badge and an embellished cake illustration. The badge provides the unique look Alisha wanted, while the intricately decorated layered cake conveys the artistry in her work. Both are garnished with scrollwork to accentuate and unify the elements.

For smaller scale applications such as business cards or box stickers, we separated the name badge as a stand-alone element. On its own, it still carries the intricate style and whimsical nature of the brand.

We can’t wait for spring to come for the official opening of Dalishas Desserts! Until then, Dalishas Desserts is taking orders for decorative cakes and other tempting treats. Contact her at dalishasdesserts@gmail.com.

About Red Pixel Studios

Red Pixel Studios is a marketing design group that partners with clients to develop sustainable brand identity, build effective Web sites, and deliver beautiful print materials to drive successful campaigns. Additionally, Red Pixel Studios creates engaging Apps for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Android devices. Red Pixel Studios was founded in 2001 in Owensboro, Ky.

The RPS Blog Info plugin uncovers useful information about blogs, posts, pages and even attachments and collects it all in a convenient spot right on the WordPress toolbar.

Some of the information the plugin displays is difficult to find, such as the post ID for pages and posts. Other info is more readily available, but having it all in one spot on the WP Toolbar is nice.

Learn more about what the plugin does on the RPS Blog Info page.

Admittedly, many users may not find this plugin to be an earth-shattering addition to the WordPress community. If you’ve never needed a post ID or blog ID, you’re probably one of those users.

Guess what?  We did need that info, so we developed a plugin to get it.  We’re using it for another plugin now in the works that is a little higher on the scale of earth-shattering plugins, so stay tuned.

About Red Pixel Studios

Red Pixel Studios is a marketing design group that partners with clients to develop sustainable brand identity, build effective Web sites, and deliver beautiful print materials to drive successful campaigns. Additionally, Red Pixel Studios creates engaging Apps for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Android devices. Red Pixel Studios was founded in 2001 in Owensboro, Ky.