When we do a website where no text is necessary and everything is said with images, as in the case of Herman du Plessis Photography, there’s nothing for me to add… the pics say it all!

http://www.hdpphotography.com

For all your property rental requirements… We just made the Quick Rental site live : http://quick-accommodation.com/

“Quick Rentals & Accommodation is an independent rental agency providing accommodation for short term, corporate and long term stays in and around Cape Towns Atlantic Sea Board Area.

(written by Len)

The day started off pretty much like any other day… except Len was late – he says he was stuck in a Guest House….hmmm?? … but it was like any other day.

Retha and Kristoph did their normal Project Status meeting and it appeared everything was under control.

Len & Karin trying to figure out where to go

Then, Retha briefed us on what we had to do for the day.. a Team Treasure Hunt! Images of The Amazing Race/  Survivor/ Thunderbirds/Travel Channel came to mind when she gave us the brief!

We had quite a few stages to get thru and had to start quickly. First off, we had to find a picture, which was taken at the office, and then put speech bubble comments on it…this was going to be our invitation to lunch later on! What fun that was!

We then had a long list of questions, which had to be answered, some quite weird, but we managed to answer most of them! Then we had to drive to DuikerPrint to get some information and samples from various people in order to get our next clue.

Len, Karin & Lloyd at Digicape

Digicape was the next stop on the list… and wow, if we knew what was in store for us there! We had to hand out flyers at the traffic light!! We all vowed that Retha and Kristoph were gonna pay for this!!! (We did eventually find out that it was not their idea at all, but rather the manager at Digicape!! We’ll deal with him later!) (note from R&K:

The Pause Room at the Gardens Shopping Centre was the next port of call, where we had to get some handwash (for the office) and then count the steps in the Tower block! Oh wow.. there are 20 floors…! but we managed to do some quick calculations and got an answer… although we still do not believe that our management actually knew the correct total! (note from R&K: Of course we did!)

CT traffic wasn't kind either!

Parker Cottage was the next stop, to take a picture of the dog and mms it to our managers. So, what happens… we arrive there, only to find the dog isn’t there!!! Not only that, but one very confused manageress who had NO idea what we were talking about! One of Kristoph’s last minute idea’s! (note from R&K: There’s a pic of the dog on their website… you should have known that, and it could have saved you the trip!  Initiative! J)

From Parker Cottage we had to get to the New Cape Quarter, to Philip Wulfsohn jewellery for the next clue… fortunately he was a lot kinder than Digicape, and we just had to answer a question about the hardest substance known to Man…. A Diamond. (also a girls best friend!)

Niel distributing pamphlets at Digicape!

Our last stop was Andiamo for lunch and some well deserved wine!! Our lunch was full of fun and jokes and it was a fitting end to a busy year!

Thanks to Retha and Kristoph for making the day possible and for the arrangements.

(We each received a 2 night stay for us and our long-suffering partners in one of two hotels in either Knysna or Mossel Bay)

Happy Holidays from everyone at Kreatif !

We are looking forward to 2010 !

Geisha Poken

Pokens are the latest trend in networking, getting us connected with people we meet and getting their contact details. Each Poken is a USB device, which holds all your company (or personal) information and where you interact socially online. So, whether you are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ning, Skype, GoogleTalk or any other social media site, this detail and your contact info can be loaded onto your Poken.

When meeting up with a fellow ‘Poken Buddy’, all you do is ‘high 4′ with them, and the information from your respective Pokens is exchanged.

No more heaps of business cards on your desk after a networking session. You can have everyone’s details!

Panda Poken

The Pokens are available from our offices at only R200 each for the standard poken SPARK in several adorable characters, and R300 for the 2GB Flash Card poken PULSE.

A typical usage scenario consists of:

1. User meets User
2. User ‘high 4′ his or her Poken with that of the other user. Essentially holding them against each other (such that the coils inside the token are more or less aligned).
3. The two Poken flashes green to signal that a bond was made.
4. At home, the User plugs in his or her Poken into the USB port.
5. The Poken is recognized as a standard (read only) disk.
6. The user opens an HTML file from the disk (either manually, or through the AUTOSTART.INF mechanism).
7. The HTML file contains a page which forwards the user to the Poken website. The URL forwarded to contains the Poken its unique identifier as well as the unique IDs of the most recent 64 pokens seen.
8. The website detects any new pokens seen – and adds them to the various buddy lists.

Pokens are available at our offices – please contact us on studio@kreatif.co.za

PULSE poken

Alien Poken

When we first met with HWB Communications, we made a commitment to them to reinvent their web site design and structure to be more fitting to their dynamic company.  Their old site was.. well, old and tired…

We asked many questions and then finally, I saw the light go on in our design team!  A very happy client approved the design and the development team sprang into action to deliver a very polished web site with a customised CMS system for the client to update their News Room and Gallery.

The site went live on time and as promised!  We had loads of fun with this project, and HWB is a great crowd to work with!  You can meet them on the Team page.  Oh, and follow them on Twitter!

Kreatif was named this week as one of the top 10 web design agencies in SA by Dave Duarte of Huddlemind on his blog – after a twitter survey. We are thrilled, and asked a few of our clients why they agree:

We at DreamWorker think the Kreatif team is fantastic because:
1.    They LISTENED when we briefed them
2.    They TOOK TIME to understand what we were needing
3.    They worked WITHIN BUDGET, understanding that we are a non profit organisation
4.    They managed their DEADLINES beautifully
5.    They COMMUNICATED with us on every issue
6.    They produced a SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE, EASY TO USE website for us …….
on time, inside budget and looking fabulous. They deserve all the accolades they receive. Well done!  Tania Bownes, Project Manager, DreamWorker

Well done! Liked your offices (which we visited the other day).  I think the thing that’s kept us smiling about Kreatif has been the desire to interact with the customer in a non-patronising way. The thing that stood out for me most is that I never felt stupid when learning how to blog etc. and you even took the trouble to train me how to do it. Phil and Liz, Parker Cottage

We love Kreatif and our fabulous new retro website. Kreatif carefully assessed our specialties, likes, dislikes and organisational culture and then designed a funky, clean retro website to illustrate what we do. Its challenging to explain Public Relations in a visual manner, but they succeeded with this design. Elsa Uys, HWB Communications

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!  You guys ROCK! Dawn Alexander, Square One Group

KREATIF designed our web site printsofafrica. From our first meeting with Retha and her team we were impressed by their enthusiasm and professional approach. KREATIF delivered the brief to our complete satisfaction and we were extremely pleased with the result. KREATIF is a dynamic company combining empathy with total commitment to their clients. Printsofafrica wish them every success for the future and feel confident their business will continue to prosper. Congratulations KREATIF on being voted one of the top ten design agencies in South Africa. Mary Cowler, Printsofafrica.com

Congratulations, you guys deserve it! Kathleen Barry, Beadstudio

I agree!  I used Kreatif for my first hesitant steps into the world of having a web site.  Retha was highly proactive in the advice given for the layout and design. Her input regarding graphics and background music was a great help! The final product spoke for itself. Thanks Retha for a great job!  Steve Bailey, Photographer

Kreatif has my wholehearted endorsement as an agency that listens to the customer’s brief and interacts with their client accordingly. As someone who needed more than the usual by way of explanations and attention, I am pleased to say that their personal attention and “handholding” encouraged me and gave me the confidence to boast about my business. Thanks to their simple yet artistic interpretation of what I need the viewer to see and react to, HomeLink has acquired an appreciative viewer response. Avril Mitchley, HomeLink South Africa

Why I am I NOT surprised!  Well done!  Itha Taljaard, Sense 2 Solve

.Kreatif and Penguin Marketing, a specialised marketing consultancy for children’s and family brands, worked together on several projects in the past few years. Aysha will have a desk in the .Kreatif office from this week, and we hope to do a lot more with her in future!

Penguin Marketing, a company offering customised marketing solutions for children’s and family brands opened in May 2008. The company is owned and managed by Aysha Gani–Mohamed, a marketer passionate about brand management, particularly within the family brand arena. Aysha’s qualifications include a Bcomm (Law and Marketing) and a BComm Honours (Marketing) from Wits, and her experience ranges from marketing Philips’ South Africa’s domestic appliances; working in Woolworths franchise marketing, to managing the Safari Dried Fruit and Nuts brand for Pioneer Foods, where she worked extensively on marketing their children’s product range.

“The aim of Penguin Marketing is to provide clients with customised marketing solutions for their brands” says Aysha. “Marketing to children and their parents is a specialised field, and specialist services are required to ensure the most effective operation, creation and execution of marketing campaigns to this target market. I am dedicated to ensuring that Penguin Marketing provides creative and differentiated marketing solutions for it’s clients, in the most ethical way possible.”

Penguin Marketing’s website is in process, so here’s a glimpse of their work, past and current :

• Re-launching the entire children’s packaging design range (5 products) for Safari Dried Fruits, and launching a new children’s product for them. Many of the revamped packs are not yet on shelf, as old packaging must first be sold out.
• A national Safari Dried Fruit and Nuts school campaign comprising teaching aids for teachers and learning tools for grade ones at the beginning of 2009.
• A new Safari school campaign for 2010 is in progress.
• Penguin Marketing has just been called in by a well-known cereal brand for a briefing on a school project.
• Numerous small jobs for other clients, including NULAID eggs.

For information on services offered by Penguin Marketing, Aysha is contactable via email: aysha@penguinmarketing.co.za or call 082 927 7786

Established in 1953, Homelink is the original home exchange network with worldwide representation and a continually updated database of homes to suit all tastes. Our user-friendly, secure web system ensures peace of mind and offers in-depth information and assistance to its many thousands of members.

See http://www.homelinksouthafrica.com

If you are interested in exchanging your home in SA with other worldwide home exchangers, HomeLink SA certainly has something to suit your requirements!  They will help you set it all up – you can download application forms, exchange agreements forms and find very useful tips on their site.

Karin Prinsloo is joining the Kreatif team today, replacing Gill as our Studio Admin Manager.  We are very excited to have her on board, and wish her a long and exciting career with us!  Here is a little introduction from her:

“I’ve been working in the Admin field for about 3 years now. I do however also have a diploma in Sound Engineering and do Sound after hours. I am one of those people who love taking on different projects and keeping myself busy and entertained.

My big love is Animations and my passion is doing the sound for it. In the rest of my spare time I love watching movies, series, playing computer games and cooking.

I am happy to join the Kreatif team and I am sure that we will have some great times ahead of us. ”

Note:  Karin got married in February 2009, and is now known as Karin McLea!  Congrats to Karin & Geoff..