Case Studies

The Client: Environmental Design Group

The Need: Environmental Design Group was in need of a new look and an efficient way to display their past work. The architectural firm had been in business for nearly 35 years and had a depth of existing photography and past projects which weren't being highlighted. To keep up with traditional design/architect web sites, the element of animation was requested to give the site more style.

The Result: The new design for this web site takes on a contemporary look; simple and effective. The project categories are easily accessible throughout the site. The projects were updated with new content and the images for each project are accessed via a custom photo gallery which has its own navigation menu.

Flash animation was incorporated in the form of a brief introduction.

Diligent IS's comprehensive back-end site management system, Site OnCall, was implemented allowing the entire site to be easily updated and to keep project listings and their photography fresh. For a demo of Diligent IS's Site OnCall, please contact us.

The Site: http://www.environmentaldesigngroup.com

The Client: Centro Restaurant

The Need: Centro, a restaurant located in downtown Des Moines, opened its doors to a full house in November 2002, serving 700 people in the 160-seat restaurant on the first day. Located in the Temple For Performing Arts, Centro quickly became the hottest spot in town with its classy atmosphere. To accompany such ambiance, the Centro web site required a flare that captured the fun and sophistication of such a unique Italian eatery. The web site needed to embrace three elements that George Farmaro perfected: Centro's lunch and dinner dining, Centro's coal-oven fired pizzas, and the luncheon cafe located adjacent to Centro, South Union Bread Cafe.

The Result: The finished product for the Centro web site incorporates photography from Michael Faas, along with elements of the menu design which was created by Conyers Design. Along with easy access to the vital information such as directions, hours and parking, web site visitors can also browse the full menu and keep tabs on the local and national politicians and celebrities that frequent this fine restaurant.

The Site: http://www.centrodesmoines.com

The Client: The Iowa Able Foundation

The Need: The goal of Iowa Able is to help put assistive technology and home modifications within the reach of Iowans who need it. The program needed an web site that could guide an applicant through the application process easily, while also offering 508 Compliance.

Completed applications needed to be accessed by the program administrators to process them as quickly as possible. The client recognized that most applicants would not complete the application in one sitting, so the application was built such that it could be resumed later.

Security was a major concern given the amount of personal information which is collected in the application.

The Result: The Iowa Able web site was announced in April of 2004. The site used directives from the 508 Compliance web site (http://www.section508.gov) to guide development such that the site is as compliant as possible.

Security for the application uses a 128-bit SSL certificate to encrypt transmitted data as well as session cookies to autheniticate the applicant. By creating a username and password on the first step of the process, an account is created which allows the applicant to resume the application as many times as needed.

Diligent IS's comprehensive back-end site management system, Site OnCall, was implemented allowing the entire site to be easily updated and to allow program administrators to process completed applications. For a demo of Diligent IS's Site OnCall, please contact us.

The Site: http://www.iowaable.org

The Client: Temple For Performing Arts

The Need: Billed as one of Iowa's most historic buildings, the Temple For Performing Arts opened with a newly renovated interior and exterior in late September 2002. To compliment musical and theatrical performances as well as some very unique restaurant and retail shops, this project required a classic look that would fit an "Urban Lifestyle" of an architecturally rich building.

The Director of the building needed easy access to control content and schedule upcoming events. Due to the various types of events the Temple hosts, the calendar had to be robust.

The Result: TempleForPerformingArts.com launched in mid-October with a graphical layout fit for such a building. Accommodating the needs of the building, the layout and design captured the essence of the Temple.

A calendar control panel capable of managing various types of events was molded into Diligent IS's Site OnCall; which allows the Temple staff to control and update the web site themselves. For a demo of Site OnCall, please contact us.

The Site: http://www.templeforperformingarts.com

The Client: Consumer Credit of Des Moines

The Need: Consumer Credit of Des Moines needed a new image to present its audience with a more professional looking web site than what was previously available. Aimed at attracting new clients, the new site utilizes internal banners to promote its own services and organizes information to be easily accessible. The registration/application form found on the site was integrated with the look and feel of the site to give their audience security that they were not being handed off to another site.

The Result: The new web site saw immediate results. They collected as many online applications in two days as they typically saw in one month. The web site had achieved its goal and now represented Consumer Credit of Des Moines in a professional manner.

Diligent IS's comprehensive back-end site management system, Site OnCall, was implemented allowing Consumer Credit to update their entire site themselves. The completed registration/application forms are accessed through the tool, making it extremely easy for their internal staff to access new client enrollments. Photos can be uploaded and removed at any time and be placed anywhere within the web site, and text changes are made simple through a web form. For a demo of Diligent IS's Site OnCall, please contact us.

The Site: http://www.consumercredit-dm.com

The Client: Consumer Credit of America

The Need: A new web site design was needed to give Consumer Credit of Des Moines a National appeal, reaching clients outside the Greater Des Moines area and Iowa. Web site applications built into the existing web site would need to integrate with the new design as to not increase the back end work load.

The Result: Consumer Credit of Des Moines created a d/b/a called Consumer Credit of America allowing them to market to a broader audience. The new web site was created to be clean and simple to navigate. Considering 15 years of credit counseling success, the message didn't need to change much, and most of the content stayed consistent with the original web site.

Diligent IS's web site management system, Site OnCall, was integrated with the existing Consumer Credit of Des Moines web site. This meant all the processes used to keep their original web site up to date could be reused here. Also built into Site OnCall were custom tracking modules which allows Consumer Credit of Des Moines to research their marketing initiatives and eventually assist more clients.

The Site: http://www.ccofamerica.com

The Client: Des Moines Arts Festival

The Need: The Des Moines Arts Festival has been recognized as the 4th best fine arts festival in the nation! The Des Moines Arts Festival needed to be able to update their site year after year with new artists applications, art displays from the previous year and the schedule of events for the upcoming year. Considering the site was for an arts festival, it didn't hurt to have something that looked artistic, either.

The Result: Diligent IS's Site OnCall was implemented along with a new graphical look that coordinates with the current year's artist application. News releases, artists applications and the artists gallery are all driven by the site management system, which makes it extremely easy for the Des Moines Arts Festival's staff to make changes or updates to the site.

For a demo of Diligent IS's site administration tool, please contact us.

The Site: http://www.desmoinesartsfestival.org

The Client: The Covello Group, Inc.; San Francisco, CA

The Need: The Covello Group required an attractive site to display the services they provide that could be updated easily. They wanted to be able to make updates to the site themselves through an online interface that would not require the purchase and training of expensive web software. Site updates they needed to make included adding new projects, updating employee resumes, uploading new photos and making text changes.

The Result: Design work was completed early in the development of this project, and The Covello Group was pleased with their options. Three design templates were presented to their management group, and the final choice was actually a blend of two designs. The site structure was completed following the adoption of the design template.

Diligent IS's comprehensive back-end site management system, Site OnCall, was implemented allowing The Covello Group to update their entire site themselves. The project and employee profile sections are both driven by databases, making it extremely easy for their internal staff to add, edit and delete listings. Photos can be uploaded and removed at any time and be placed anywhere within the web site, and text changes are made simple through a web form. For a demo of Diligent IS's site administration tool, please contact us.

The Site: http://www.covellogroup.com

The Client: Raccoon River Brewing Company; Des Moines, IA

The Need: Raccoon River needed a new, updated look for their web presence.

The Result: The new web site incorporated a classic look, with simplicity as the theme. New photos highlighted their unique and attractive interior space.
A calendar system is built into the site which allows their own employees to add/edit/delete upcoming events and specials.

The Site: http://www.raccoonbrew.com

The Client: Doran Clinic For Women; Ames, IA

The Need: The Doran Clinic For Women needed a basic Internet presence. They also wanted to ensure that potential customers would be able to find a new web site through the Internet by using search engines. This was their first venture into any kind of e-marketing/business and approached the project with a limited budget.

The Result: The web site produced for The Doran Clinic For Women has a clean and classic look to complement the simplicity of the site. It contains the pertinent information for their office, services, and doctors. The major search engines (Google/Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Excite, Ask Jeeves, Alta Vista) list the site number 1 when searching for "doran clinic", and all but one list the site in the top 5 when searching for "ames iowa obgyn".

The Site: http://www.doranclinic.com