“We had two main goals in the design of the first ever site for KeyArena: first, to interact with the viewer and improve their ticket purchasing experience; and secondly, to build a user interface that is equal parts informative and entertaining,” stated Stevi Boskovich, Marketing Manager for AEG Facilities at KeyArena.

The newly launched website, www.KeyArena.com, is on the forefront of the industry with its new intimate website design, amenities and special features:

• On the Spot Interactive Seating
• Facebook Integration allowing website visitors to add and comment on events through their Facebook Profiles
• Quick updates of upcoming events and event news
• Virtual Video Library
• Contesting System to allow website visitors to win tickets to upcoming KeyArena events
• Easy-to-use navigation and compatibility with the latest web browsers and mobile devices

“Our charge from the beginning was to create an emotionally engaging experience that represents the long history that KeyArena has as the home of sports and entertainment in Seattle,” stated James Sack, President, carbonhouse, inc.

Congratulations to KeyArena on the new site!

The cobbler’s kids.

It is always a tough task creating a website for your own company. We do this all the time for our clients, but as a creative shop we always want to be…well…creative. After many iterations, we decided the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach was best. Get all the good stuff out and available and keep the fluff to a minimum. Really, the problem we were facing was not the look of the site, but the delivery of content.

With that in mind and a blank slate, simplicity became the main goal in the new direction for carbonhouse.com. Building off one of our product sites, venuelements.com, we wanted to keep it uncomplicated, clean and clear, and allow the work to speak for itself. We relied on the typography to create the space, but also improve usability, by providing quick access to all the pertinent information (the good stuff). Taking the single page site concept and amping it up, we used the mootools framework to dynamically deliver the content from our greenhouse content management system and create transitions that aren’t just fluff. These transitions ensure the correct flow of the content to the user and communicate our message.

Design

• Clean, uncluttered design to communicate and focus on work and let the interaction via javascript provide the ‘bling’ or motion
• Single-page format to allow visitors quick access to pertinent information and messaging
• Object-oriented approach to home page spotlight area that showcases recent projects in a less traditional, more unexpected way
• Utilization of sIFR (Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) to present titles and headers in Helvetica Neue Light, which offers a more sophisticated look than the standardized web font palette.

Technical (all the techy goodness)

• A degradable javascript navigation for users with javascript-disabled browsers allows the site to be navigated while also providing search engine-friendly standard hrefs for our links.
• We utilize AJAX calls with the mootools framework to load page content and project details from our greenhouse CMS, thus avoiding page reload.

Accessibility Benefits

Overall, there are a lot of different ways to handle navigation. By incorporating the degradable javascript within our navigation, we have reduced the possibility of viewers not seeing the site as intended, while increasing the ability of Google and other search engines to find our links.

Author: Taylor Nall

The elements that carbonhouse has brought to our new site are amazing.

Meegan Ditton, Marketing Director, AT&T Center

carbonhouse recently completed the new website for the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The venue is home to the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, WNBA’s Silver Stars and the San Antonio Rampage hockey team.

The venue is beyond pleased with the new site.  When asked about the overall take on the new AT&T Center website  and its features, Marketing Director Megan Ditton replied, “The new AT&T Center website it out of this world!  It is so easy to use and navigate and it has all of the assets that we were missing with our old website.  The look is so crisp and fresh that it gives that “wow” factor when people open the page for the first time.  Its features allow us to house so much information on our site and really interact with our viewers.  It allows us to do promotions, blog, post videos and so much more.  We are so happy with it and we know it will make a huge difference in our marketing efforts.”

The marketing team at AT&T Center wanted to take things a step further and create something special.  “They wanted to leave a lasting impression on their clientele and captivate visitors,” said Brandon Lucas, Principal at carbonhouse.  “So we created the Backstage Club feature.”  The Backstage Club is a private area that AT&T Center customers can sign up for that allows them to get behind-the-scenes information on their favorite shows.  This club will give them special offers, set lists, and photos and videos from the shows. Not to mention that the club will drive additional traffic to the site and create repeat visits due to the unique content.  “We are very happy with the way that our Backstage Club has worked out.  We are getting people signed up and it will really help add to our database,” said Ditton.

The reoccurring theme for venues choosing to work with carbonhouse is the ease of utilizing the Venuelements website platform.  Ditton said, “The elements that carbonhouse has brought to our new site are amazing.  It is so easy to go in and modify the site and make updates.  It is also efficient that changes can be made from anywhere that you have internet access including a phone.  We love that the site includes Google analytics and that it does such a great job showcasing our events and the building itself.  We have always been impressed with the professionalism that carbonhouse has shown us in the time that they took to make sure our site was exactly what we wanted.”

“We have not visited an arena that had so many colors and things that caught your eye.  We knew we were in San Antonio once we saw the southwestern themes and the festival flags.  We would have done a disservice to the arena and community if these elements were not added to the look and feel,” said James Sack, carbonhouse Principal/Creative Director.  Each building and city has its own unique qualities, especially San Antonio, known for Fiesta San Antonio, of the nation’s largest festivals.  carbonhouse wanted to incorporate a bit of that character into the site, and the site visit made this clear.  “When they came in for a site visit, they were very careful to take pictures of specific building elements that they later incorporated into the site.  They were great about listening to our needs and working with us on every element”, explained Ditton.

“We are far from finished with the site. We are looking forward to launching an interactive seating chart in the near future,” said Sack.

When asked about making a recommendation Ditton simply states, “I would definitely recommend carbonhouse to other venues.”

Visit AT&T Center website at attcenter.com.

The site is built on carbonhouse’s Venuelements system, tailored exclusively for major event-driven facilities.