CQ Press' Elections in West Europa
Elections in West Europa is an online political simulation for students which provides a hands-on approach to learning the electoral processes. For this project, The Art Monkey delivered an engaging student-friendly design which is fully scalable to accomodate different user types and product packages.
> View Portfolio
American Health Care Association Grassroots "Call to Action" Newsletter Insert
With healthcare reform a hot topic in Congress, AHCA needed to get their message out to their members quickly. The Art Monkey worked with AHCA to design a grassroots "call to action" four-page insert for their monthly Notes newsletter that grabs reader's attention quickly to ensure a prompt response. AHCA used the insert to urge members to contact their Congressmen regarding the effects of the proposed health care reform bills on medicare, assisted living, and nursing home facilities with the bold tagline, "Save Our Seniors!".
> View Portfolio
Independent Sector 2008 Annual Report
Independent Sector's 2008 annual report, titled Our Hopes, Our Voice, Our Future, serves as a state of the union and call to action for the organization's members—nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs—during a challenging economic time. Independent Sector's existing logo and photography, as well as the idea of working together to promote the common good, provided inspiration for the design of the report.
> View Portfolio
CQ Press Mass Communications Textbook Companion Website
The Art Monkey works closely with CQ Press' College Division on numerous textbook companion websites, which offer additional learning and teaching resources for students and professors.
> View Portfolio
Independent Sector 2007 Annual Report
Independent Sector's existing logo and photography provided an inspiration for the design of the 2007 annual report, which features profiles of their members' successes to highlight key members and engage the audience.
> View Portfolio
American Health Care Association's National Nursing Home Week Promotional Materials
The Art Monkey designed a logo, planning brochure, advertisements and other promotional materials for AHCA's 2007 National Nursing Home Week.
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- "Ms. Venart and The Art Monkey have proven time and again that they are creative, conscientious and handle their work in a timely, economical way. I highly recommend the firm."
Tom Burke, Senior Director, Public Relations, AHCA - "Lynne is as reliable as the sunrise and creates designs as stunning. With minimal input from me, she invariably nails the look and feel of a concept on the first try. I've been using Lynne's services for six years, on dozens of projects, and couldn't be more pleased with the results."
Jerry Orvedahl, CQ Press - "Lynne Venart has created more than two dozen web designs for me over the past seven years: never late, never over budget, never off brand, and never disappointing. Her designs are always original and creative, and on top of it all, Lynne is simply a pleasure to work with."
Jerry Orvedahl, CQ Press - "Lynne worked closely with us from the start of our business to create a logo that embodied our vision and a site that reflected our core values. We provide healing services to people experiencing stress, so her ability to create a welcoming, easy-to-navigate site was essential. We have received numerous positive comments about the professional look and comfortable feel of the design."
Tracie Nichols, The Resiliency Center - "Since we were a growing business at the time we first hired Lynne, website flexibility was critical. Lynne created the initial design when we were only two people strong—and then found ways to reorganize the site as we grew to fifteen strong—so that visitors could find information easily."
Tracie Nichols, The Resiliency Center - "She was always a step ahead of us in brainstorming ways to improve the site and in finding cost-effective solutions (e.g. online calendar and newsletter programs) to meet our needs. Thank you for your wonderful design and your ongoing partnership as we continue to grow our organization!"
Tracie Nichols, The Resiliency Center - "We have a small shop with a large amount of work. Lynne is an indispensable extra set of hands for us. She is talented, flexible, and has learned our system. We use her for both graphics and coding. Our clients like her ability to get jobs done on time. Our IT staff appreciates her tidy code and positive outlook."
Steve Fuchs, Voice of America / Broadcasting Board of Governors - "Lynne Venart is truly wonderful to work with! She is very professional, creative and completes the jobs quickly. She also goes above and beyond which results in wowing our customers."
Abby Kirsch, Red Bull North America
ABOUT: NEWS
February 2011: Usability at its Best
The Art Monkey's contract with BNA focuses on usability design, and with our latest project — the HR Strategy Builder — we teamed up with BNA staff and the folks at Innosphere. Using the Agile development process, we hashed out every use case scenario with an emphasis on ease-of-use. The final product helps Human Resources Managers plan the best path for their organizations.
November 19, 2010: A Partnership to Produce Print: The Gerontological Society of America Leading the Way for 65 Years
This Fall, the Art Monkey partnered with writer Susan Ficke and the staff of The Gerontological Society to produce a stunning 36-page commemorative book honoring the hard work and dedication of the Gerontological Society and its members through its 65-year history. Leading the Way chronicles the successes of the society in advancing the study of aging and providing information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. The Gerontological Society will use the piece in fundraising efforts and to promote the Society's mission.
> Download PDF
September 8, 2010: The Art Monkey Continues Long History with CQ Press' College Division with a Custom Publishing Solution and Textbook Companion Websites
The Art Monkey has a long history with CQ Press' College Division. We've been designing electronic publishing sites with them since 2001. This summer, we worked with CQ Press' team to complete a number of textbook companion sites, including the new edition of Ralph Hanson's Mass Communication: Living in a Media World. In addition to CQ Press' traditional textbook websites, The Art Monkey helped bring to life their new Custom & Online Books project, which brings the entire CQ Press collection to any computer, anywhere, without the need for purchasing entire printed books.
June 8, 2010: The Art Monkey Creates New Brochures for Palmer Legal Staffing and Palmer Staffing Services
Washington D.C.'s Palmer Legal Staffing and its sister company, Palmer Staffing Services, needed to update their presence at trade shows and in front of client prospects with a new set of brochures that communicate the key differences that customers experience when working with Palmer. The Art Monkey brought in copywriting expert Lou Baccam, who honed in on Palmer's personalized service, integrity, and extensive expertise. The brochures use a unique two-and-a-half panel layout to grab attention and drive the key points home.
> View the Palmer Legal Staffing e-brochure.
> View the Palmer Staffing Services e-brochure.
March 16, 2010: The Art Monkey Brings User Interface Design Skills to Contract with BNA
The Art Monkey began a long term contract with electronic publisher BNA this month. Principal and Creative Director Lynne Venart will work with BNA's Product Development team to improve user interaction on several existing products, and will design and produce new products for BNA. Lynne brings thirteen years of experience in publishing and web design, and ten years of experience in designing and producing online research tools to the contract.
February 1, 2010: Creative Director Lynne Venart Teaching Two Design Courses at Westwood College in the Winter Term
The Art Monkey's Principal and Creative Director Lynne Venart is teaching both Digital Color Theory and Print Production to the undergraduate design students at Westwood College in Arlington, Virginia over their winter 2010 term. In Digital Color Theory, students learn how different color combinations communicate and alter the viewer's perception. Students in Print Production take several print design projects from concept to completion, including learning printing techniques and print industry standards.
January 4, 2010: DCist Exposed Entries Due Wednesday, January 6
For the third straight year, Creative Director Lynne Venart will be among the judges for the DCist Exposed Photography Show. This year's event will take place at the Long View Gallery from March 6-21, 2010. Long View has recently moved into a new, gorgeous, and massive 5,000 square foot space on 9th Street NW, so this show promises to be even bigger and better than years past. Only two days left until judging starts, so gather your best images of the D.C. area now, and submit them to the Flickr pool for judging.
November 25, 2009: Voice of America Launches Redesigned News Website
The Art Monkey has worked with the Internet Services division of Voice of America for the past several years on numerous web design and coding projects for VOANews.com, which publishes news to a worldwide audience in over 45 languages. In the past year, Art Monkey Creative Director Lynne Venart has helped VOA's team on the launch of their redesigned news site, which uses an entirely CSS layout with enhanced usability, Javascript and Flash functionality, and the Clickability content management system. The team launched VOA Spanish, Persian and Chinese earlier this Fall, and VOA English, Zimbabwe, and Ndbele this week.
> Visit VoaNews.com
October 22, 2009: The Art Monkey Teams Up with Final Cut Productions to Launch Satirical Web Series "The Video Makers"
Final Cut Productions recently called on The Art Monkey's technical skills to help them launch their first satirical web series, The Video Makers, which just released its fifth episode. This well-produced satire tells the story of "the overcaffeinated, overmedicated, and overstimulated world of nonfiction television and video, where the crew at Lowball Productions, Inc. struggles to deliver programming to the Exculpatory Channel, Esophagus Network, and Hysteria Channel while holding their company—and their sanity—together." Artist Ken England designed the graphics, and The Art Monkey made all the pieces come alive online.
October 1, 2009: The Art Monkey Partners with Two Member Associations to Produce Annual Reports
This month, The Art Monkey worked with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and Independent Sector to design their annual reports. The organizations had a similar key message for their members: while the changing economic and political landscape may prove challenging, we must push forward and continue to advance our causes. AHCA's report focused on Quality Care Plus, urging long term care professionals to continue striving for excellence in health care, and informing members what AHCA—and its sister organization the National Center for Asissted Living—are accomplishing on the political front. Independent Sector's report—Our Hopes, Our Voice, Our Future—serves as a state of the union and call to action for the organization's members—nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs—during this challenging economic time.
September 9, 2009: DCist Celebrates 5-Year Anniversary with New Logo
DCist.com celebrates five years of providing local news, arts, food and events coverage to the Washington metropolitan area by unveiling its new logo designed by The Art Monkey. DCist Editor Sommer Mathis states, "[The new logo] was conceived out of a long held desire on our part to have a logo that better reflected the mission of DCist: to represent not just the federal aspect of the city, but the local one. DCist has always been about serving the interests and needs of actual D.C. residents. So yes, we still have the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument, but now we also have a typical D.C. rowhouse and a little cherry blossom branch offering it shade."
May 5, 2009: Artwork of Art Monkey Principal Featured in Three New Exhibits
Principal and Creative Director Lynne Venart's recent drawing and painting work will be featured in three exhibits in the D.C. area from May through July 2009. Reconstruction I and II, two new ink and gouache pieces, are currently on display in the group 12 x 12 exhibit at the Gallery at the Lustine Center in Hyattesville, Maryland. The opening event for 12 x 12 will take place during the Hyattesville Arts Festival on Saturday, May 16th.
On Friday, May 16th, an additional piece will be on display in Critical Mass, a one-day-to-evening show at Civilian Art Projects organized by Ten Miles Square. Her work will joined by some big hitters in the D.C. arts scene, including Tim Tate, Michael Janis, and Cory Oberndorfer.
And, lastly, Lynne will be participating in the huge art extravaganza Artomatic. In Artomatic's tenth year, over 800 artists will be showing their wares. Lynne will have an 8 foot x 8 foot wall space, where she will display seven new ink and gouache works on paper.
February 8, 2009: New Art Monkey Website and Branding Unveiled
The Art Monkey celebrates our 8-year anniversary of providing graphic design and web development services to the Washington D.C. area and beyond. To mark the occasion, we unveil a new brand image to better communicate our depth of experience and strength of service, including a new logo, letterhead, business cards, and website.
The new website uses an entirely CSS-based, table-less layout for full 508-compliance, showcases The Art Monkey's recent print and web design projects, and highlights our focus on providing a high quality product and superior customer service at a cost that won't break your budget.
> Tell us what you think of the new look.
December 3, 2008: DCist Exposed Photography Show 2009 Open for Entries
In addition to her work at The Art Monkey, Principal and Creative Director Lynne Venart writes about arts and events for D.C.'s popular local website, DCist.com. For the second year, Lynne is working with the arts staff to organize, curate and promote the annual DCist Exposed Photography Show, which runs from February 20-March 9, 2009 at the Gallery at Flashpoint.
September 1, 2008: The Art Monkey Welcomes Web Design Intern Susan Buenafe
Web Design Intern Susan Buenafe joins The Art Monkey this fall as part of the Web Design Certificate program at Northern Virginia Community College. Susan holds a Bachelors Degree from James Madison University in Studio Art and Art History, and is eager to learn all there is to know about web design and development. Welcome, Susan!