11th st. annex
A local favorite that’s been around for a decade. Located in an old house and operated by two sisters.
Why we love it:
• great home cookin’
• fun ambiance
• best desserts in town

tap 42
If you don’t know about tap 42 already, go there now.
Why we love it:
• creative interior
• the kale ceasar salad
• they use a lot of local grown food

gaysha sushi
This little gem has some of the best sushi in Fort Lauderdale hands down.
Why we love it:
• best sushi around
• creative and innovative food + presentation
• where else can you get sushi that’s lit on fire?

We have entered a few websites in this month’s awwwards.com and need your help to vote us to the top! Submissions include: lagloutonnerie.com, mybluevip.com and our own heliumcreative.com. VOTE NOW to cast your support for helium and we will be oh-so-grateful!

So if you’ve been following us on Facebook or Instagram, then you probably heard about the #heliumcreative365 challenge. We’ve been signing people up to photograph our helium balloon on an assigned day of the year. Our first showing of the balloon photos during art walk in FAT Village was a huge success.  We showcased entries that were submitted for dates from February 24 – March 29.  These photos were taken by the Instagram of Fort Lauderdale community, a local photography based creative group who highlight Fort Lauderdale in creative and unique ways using Instagram. The #heliumcreative365 project has truly evolved in such a short span of time since we began on January 1.  Our objective was to inspire our community and those around us, but in turn we have been inspired by their creativity.  This year long endeavor is still open for entries, so if you would like to be involved please contact Ryan to sign up for a date and get your balloon!  A big thank you to everyone who has participated thus far!

One of the main goals when we create a website is […drumroll please…] to keep a user there for as long as possible. [Shocker, right?]   But in today’s world everyone is so busy multitasking that it’s hard to focus our attention on one thing for very long.  In fact, there are about 12 screens open on this very monitor right now.  A Skype chat in process. 2 emails being drafted.  A cup of coffee being gulped down.  And, of course, a pair of shoes being purchased online.  Guilty.  Our point being, if you do not capture the attention of a visitor almost immediately on your website, they’re clicking through to somewhere else. Or talking on the phone. Or watching YouTube. Or admiring the helium creative portfolio.  The latter being greatly appreciated

We say that you need to grab someone’s attention immediately. And you do.  But this great feat won’t be achieved by flashy graphics, psychedelic images, intro pages, or streaming in your favorite Florence + the Machine track. Instead, we create an experience rich with content [content is key] that works alongside great design and imagery. Hooking visitors to your site becomes that much more important if the purpose is to encourage a sale or promote a service. You have to wine and dine the human mind. Psych 101 meets Design Theory.

It’s said that human beings think with both “sides” of the brain, but each side is completely different from the other. The right side of the brain is responsible for creativity, emotion and subjectivity. While the left side of the brain is responsible for logical and analytical thought. Each of these elements are important to consider when designing a website. Everything from intuitive navigation, to engaging copy and selecting color + graphics that will visually communicate the brand, products or services without flashing a neon sign.

helium creative has the best of both realms.  our team carries the creative smarts and the strategic intelligence to keep websites not only fresh, but user friendly and effective in results. Check out our portfolio for examples of previous sites where we have put these practices to use!

We are happy to announce that we attended the Addy Awards and were able to walk out with 2 Gold and 3 Silver nods.  As this year was our first attempt at submitting work, we are very excited about the wins.  Gold was earned in Collateral Material for EDSA’s annual 2013 magazine, while the La Gloutonnerie’s responsive website earned a gold in Digital Advertising.  Silver awards were received in Direct Marketing, Advertising Industry-Self Promotion, and Digital Advertising for the Blue Martini app, the EDSA Senses campaign and our own website.  These recent accomplishments, along with the 2 Davey Award wins earlier in the year help set a great path for our upcoming 10th year in business for 2014.  A big THANKS to our clients and team who have been with us during this journey.  We look forward to many more accolades in the future!

click to view the winning entries:
GOLD
La Gloutonnerie Website
2013 EDSA Magazine

SILVER
EDSA Senses Campaign
helium website
Blue Martini App