Developing Custom Apple Watch Apps: A Hanson Demo

You already know that the Apple Watch is Apple’s entry into the blossoming smartwatch and wearable category. It works like this: the computer-on-your-wrist has a symbiotic relationship with your iPhone. Health data read from the watch sensors flows to your phone’s activity tracker. Incoming notifications for apps on your phone are routed to your watch, where a click glance removes the need to pull the phone from your pocket. How do you create custom watch apps that enhance existing iPhone apps? Let’s walk through the process.

Infographic: 4 Types of Redesigns

When you think of a website redesign, what comes to mind? Is it a new look and feel only? Does it include updated functionality? What about backend updates? Where is the line between updating a site and starting over with a new one? Everyone seems to have their own definition.

Congrats to National Hardware, our 2022 ADDY award-winning client partner

Our 2021 Tech Wish List

We’ve established a tradition over the years where we poll around our office and find out what items top our techies’ wish lists for the year. So what are we asking for in 2021? 

Celebrating our 2021 WebAward winning client partner

Meet a Hansonite: Chris Hatfield

What We Know Now: Zak Jasinski

What We Know Now: Chas Ryder

Chas Ryder, Managing Director, Creative

What We Know Now: Mindy Withrow

What We Know Now: Mike Osswald

Why Project Management Certification Is Worth Getting

What We Know Now: Kate Whetsel

What We Know Now: Michael Hirsh

What We Know Now: Craig Hagenbuch

Director of New Business Development Craig Hagenbuch reflects on lessons learned throughout his business development career.

Why We Design The Home Page Last

What It’s Really Like to Intern at Hanson

What Does Being a “Top Workplace” Mean to Us?

As you may have heard, Hanson was recently named to The Blade's Top Workplaces (for the second year in a row). Because this award is based on employee surveys, we wanted to hear what being named a top workplace means to our fellow Hansonites. (Spoiler alert: a lot of us feel lucky to be part of this team!)

People Skills for UX 2015: Negotiation Skills — Making a Case for UX

As a User Experience Architect, I was fortunate to attend the recent People Skills for UX webinar locally sponsored in part by Hanson and hosted by Rosenfeld Media and Environments for Humans. The webinar featured specialists on topics related to improving interpersonal relationships, with user experience leaders then tying those topics into the realm of digital design. One thing that became clear through all of these presentations was how crucial people skills are to advocating for UX.

What We Know Now: Leslie Mohn

If you’ve been following our ongoing career lessons series, you know that at Hanson we like to take a few minutes from time to time to reflect on what we’re learning and look for opportunities to grow. Today, we’re talking to Director of User Experience Architecture Leslie Mohn.

What We Know Now: Chris Kujawski

One of Hanson’s core values is “stay curious,” an attitude of continuous learning that characterizes our employees and reflects the ever-evolving nature of our industry. To celebrate this value, we’ve been talking to various Hansonites about career lessons learned, starting first with Ben Eddings, video production specialist, and then Sue Woten-Schultz, account director. Today we’re talking to connection strategist Chris Kujawski.

Through the Looking Glass: Developing Hanson’s First Glass App

My colleague Joel Lanciaux and I got the opportunity to develop Hanson’s first Google Glass app. So we thought we’d take a few minutes to talk about what we learned from the experience. What follows is a loosely-edited transcript of our conversation.

Request for Proposal, or Request for Partner?

As a digital agency, we’ve responded to our fair share of RFPs over the years. Some are well thought out and others… not so much. Previously, we've shared our reflections on the RFP process, offering some specific suggestions for how to make it more valuable for everyone. But another way companies can make the RFP process better is to ask themselves: are we looking for a vendor to complete a one-time job, or are we looking for a partner to provide solutions now and guidance into the future?

Behind the Magic of Live Events

The house lights dim. The crowd hushes. Music swells from an unseen source as the curtains part to reveal an actress, in a trio of spotlights, swooping down from the stars...

Thanksgiving Survival Kit: Digital Edition

Hansonites love holidays. Really, we do. But all that family togetherness has a way of driving up the stress levels. So this Thanksgiving, we’ve put together a survival kit with our favorite digital tools to help you through the family awkwardness. Here’s how to use it...

Iterative Development in the Digital Agency

Imagine you’re an automotive manufacturer who signed off on the functional spec of a new iPad app only five weeks ago, when you discover your competition has released an app with twice the features you were planning...

A Project Manager’s Principles for Effective Meetings

As a project manager, I admit I have a bit of a reputation around here. I’m known for getting people out of meetings early, earning me the nickname “Miss Bossypants.” (I’ve been assured this is an affectionate term.) Ending meetings on time seems like a basic tenet of business. But the dozens (hundreds?) of ineffective meetings we’ve all experienced in our careers indicates that it’s an acquired skill...

You Are Here Toledo

What’s better than checking in to a location via your smartphone? Learning something cool about the place you’re standing. This week saw the official launch of a mobile app Hanson developed to support the AIGA Toledo and The Arts Commission public arts project known as "You Are Here Toledo”...

4 Digital Tools to Convert Desk Dwellers into Fitness Fanatics

They say a person’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time---pills or stairs. Desk jobs are notorious for weight gain, back pain and other health problems. But here at Hanson, digital innovation is our middle name. So it is no surprise that digital and fitness have formed a healthy (pun intended!) bond. We spend a lot of time at our desks creating digital experiences, but we’ve also embraced the healthy lifestyle concept in numerous ways...

Welcome to The Treehouse

“Welcome to the treehouse,” said CEO Steve Hanson the day we moved into our new headquarters. Steve wasn’t the only one responding with childlike delight to our new setting. We’re now on the upper floor of a building on the edge of the woods. Long banks of windows on all four sides reveal a view from the trees that shifts with the seasons. It was lush with vines when we moved in; now, cardinals flash between snow-covered branches.