Amphibian Design
The about page at Amphibian Design scores high on the “I wouldn’t mind grabbing a beer with that guy” scale.
Amphibian is a graphic design and digital construction empire with humble beginnings in a one bedroom apartment in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Today it has grown to have offices in … well, one city … and employ over … well, just one person worldwide. Nonetheless, Print Magazine’s 2005 Design Annual called Amphibian ”... a design agency I’ve never heard of.”*
I’ve been designing and building websites, posters, brochures, CD packaging, business cards, and other various forms of communication in the physical and virtual world since 1997. Sure, some of those early projects were “learning experiences.”
However I think my body of work today speaks for itself. Those with few resources who are working for peace and justice in this sad world have been known to get quoted on a sliding scale according to need, funding, and my own personal passion for their project.
It’s an oft overlooked secret to getting hired: Be likeable. A lot of “hire me” energy is spent on showing off and looking professional — education this, portfolio that, etc. But when you’re trying to attract moths to your flame, a friendly vibe and an easy-going attitude are a great place to start. Plus, you’re more likely to attract clients with the same attitude which can help lead to a saner existence.
(Btw, check out the subtle gradients at the site’s contact form and the in-your-face cover shot.) [tx Andy]
Jewelboxing tells a story
People like stories a lot more than sales pitches. One Thing Leads to Another tells the tale of how Jewelboxing came to be. Stories like this are a great way to show you truly care about what you make and create a connection with your audience.
After all the work that went into the shooting and editing and everything else it seemed like printing out some color sheets and putting the disc in a regular old jewel case was not the best way to make a first impression. We’re pretty good at finding things here and over the next couple days we looked at virtually every single disc packaging option available anywhere and decided that they all stunk.
Kevin had saved a promo disc of stock photography he received from Getty, not because we needed another disc full of serious looking businessmen pointing at computer screens or happy people on the phone, but because of the slick, modern hinged case it arrived in. We tracked down another, ripped all the paper out of them and then made our own inserts and sent the Slowtron series winging its way across the Atlantic. I’ll let you know what happens with that.
Anyhow, it didn’t take us too long to realize that there must be other firms and individuals who like us, wanted to put as much thought and effort into what our presentations discs were packed in as we did with the material that we were burned on them.
Brand new bag
Pinder makes thin laptop bags. It’s About Us page does a good job of presenting the company’s bags as a hip, socially conscious alternative to bigger competitors.
Pinder offers a new and interesting alternative to the boring and bulky laptop bags that are so pervasive today…
Pinder is a company that believes in being socially responsible while growing the business. We believe good business and social responsibility are not mutually exclusive. We are committed to donating 5% of our net revenues to your choice of 7 different charities…
We only use the best materials for our bags…every THIN bag includes padding underneath the zipper to protect your laptop and will even offer padding when the bag is upside down. We are so confident in the quality of our bags that every bag has the Pinder Lifetime Guarantee.
The Colonel and Julius Serpentine
Slantmouth’s about us “The Cabinet” page offers a couple of tongue-in-cheek web site bios.
The Colonel
Bona Fide Badass
Now, The Colonel is known for many things. Not least of which is his uncanny ability to speak to animals. It has been rumored that he lived in the Serengeti with a pride of Lions, where they taught him the ways of the plains. During his brief time with the French Foreign Legion, he was credited with 3,072 kills and 47 assists. He has been known to rip into an antelope to feast on its delicious innards from time to time, but mostly tries not to kill anyone. He is an angry, bitter man.
Julius Serpentine
Father of Multitudes
A graduate of the Oxmore School of Black Magic, Mr. Serpentine only uses his powers for the betterment of society. By “betterment of society” Mr. Serpentine usually means planting his seed in hot women. He has been called “Black Magic Johnny Appleseed” as well as “Homewrecker.” He is an extremely self-satisfied man.
Related: At ALA, Erin Kissane writes, “A natural, friendly, confident writing voice does much to humanize your site, and the About page is an ideal place to demonstrate great writing skills, even if the rest of your site needs to be quite technical.”
[“On Writing” is a new category of SvN post focusing on interesting online copy. If you spot some, send a link to svn [at] 37signals [dot] com and put “On Writing” in the subject.]
Nathaniel
on 12 Dec 06Amphibian’s about page is just awesome.
Gordon
on 12 Dec 06You know i think alot of people will connect with the amphibian story, there is alot of hard work going on in the services industry and its very easy to feel that nothing much changes over the years.
Its here that i most like the work by 37signals and Coudal and others who have shown us how its possible to make the transition, without taking massive risks.
Sometimes its a little idea that just nags at you like jewel boxing, hey we have all had them but how many of us turned it upside down and rolled out a product off the back of it.
few.
Anyway thanks for the little bits of inspiration guys, its nice to see those little beacons :o)
Anyway as a slight off topic, to roll in the festive season i think we need to revive ye old 80’s cheesy euro rock, was sent this today and have been grinning ever since :oD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg4GARsb6kI
Bob King Neverland III
on 12 Dec 06I home page with the chicken with the hoodie is hilarious. The site is so clean and simple, yet looks so brilliant.
dave rau
on 12 Dec 06Amphibian’s site is great; the Print magazine quote is amazing! And I’m a big fan of the sliding scale; we use that a lot for our artist clients and more indie projects.
And the Slantmouth page is really funny. Oh man, that’s some great writing right there.
nate
on 12 Dec 06On being likeable: that’s why attorneys and stockbrokers always ask about how the wife and kids are doing.
Derek
on 12 Dec 06Thanks for the love Matt.
Another vote of praise for Slantmouth, very funny. Funny gets me every time.
Ivan Klassen
on 12 Dec 06People from Winnipeg are cool.
Mrad
on 12 Dec 06I really dig how much attention you folks pay to writing. It’s an art, and usually slips through the cracks in alot of places and/or falls prey to meaningless buzzwords.
Which, by the way, some co-workers and I constructed our own interactive buzzword bingo game (the bingo ‘card’ of web phrases randomizes on page load, each square is clickable) to play during company meetings. Quite fun, and keeps you interested in what’s being said.
The Colonel
on 13 Dec 06We had expected all this, thanks for the kind words!
I’m sure you won’t be seeing any shocking exposés on 37s from Slantmouth anytime soon.
And I have to say, Amphibian is awesome. Kudos on that!
It’s rare to see that much personality and humor come through on a portfolio site.
Ben Rowe
on 13 Dec 06Innocent Drinks (http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk) from the UK write in a nice, quirky and humanised style. You’ll see examples of this on their website, but it’s actually their products where the best copy is written.
The Colonel
on 13 Dec 06I meant hadn’t on that previous post.
This kind of praise rushes straight to our head, much like cheese to an ample midriff. All apologies. ;)
vaspers the grate
on 13 Dec 06I love this stuff. It reminds me of Christopher Locke’s GONZO MARKETING book, subtitled “Winning Through Worst Practices”, the un-corporate, more humanized approach.
Reluctant, blase sales methods vs. pushy, annoying hype.
“Triumph through Self-Loathing and Overachieving Laziness” is my book to be written someday maybe, in my dreams.
Jeff D.
on 19 Dec 06I think it’s great that 37signals is highlighting good writing. So much so that I wrote about it on my own site. I am not sure that I would highlight these particular examples, though they are good for their own markets, most likely. I think that sometimes people view unpolished writing as more honest and unpolished writing as more dishonest, but to me, the important question is whether or not you’re clear and direct in what you’re saying.
This discussion is closed.