Meet Warren Blayney.

Fathom is staffing up, no question about it. We recently added the talented Nick Chohany (videographer) and Anthony Smolenski (print designer) to the mix. And this week, we announce the addition of Warren Blayney.

Warren hails from Great Britain (Northern Ireland). With a degree in Interactive Media Design from the University of Ulster, Warren is also educated in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing.

“A good web designer must be able to code as well as design,” says Warren. “You need to know the limitations as well as the potentials of the medium.” Having studied under the famed “Web Standardistas” at university, Warren is as much a stickler for precise coding as he is for eye-popping visuals.

He is excited about the idea of print, video, and web under one roof. “Video is ready for the web, or perhaps I should say that the web is ready for video,” he explains. “The bandwidth is there. The demand is there. Of course, they can live separately, but together, they work a whole lot better.” He adds, “Oh, and print is always going to be necessary—as a live, in-your-face communications tool.”

Warren believes that all sites should be scalable, that good coding leads to intrinsic SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and that a site without tracking capabilities is about as smart as an ad without a headline. He has a few opinions.

Warren comes to Central PA by way of Alexandria, Virginia, where he worked for Redmon Group (with clients such as the Smithsonian, World Bank, and the DEA). Warren founded Glossy Pixel, a web development firm, prior to joining up with Fathom.

Stop by and say “hello.” And when you are done talking web sites and eating McVities digestives, ask Warren about his childhood days spent picking potatoes. (Um, he said we could mention that.)

Fathom was tapped by the Midtown Scholar Bookstore to assist with the creation of its new publishing arm, Midtown Scholar Press. Fathom created the logo for the venture and worked with Fathom Collective member Scott Boggs to design the book. Over 400 pages in length and featuring numerous vintage photos of Harrisburg’s history, the work features gold metallic ink on the cover and tasteful typography throughout.

The talented Scott Boggs

The book is a compilation of articles written by award-winning Harrisburg Patriot-News reporter Paul Beers (1931-2011). Beers’ masterful series of essays charts the PA state capital’s development from a City Beautiful, with its celebrated public spaces, through the fractures of race riots and the catastrophic challenges of flood and near nuclear meltdown. Each essay is packed with interesting detail about the characters of the time, and the work as a whole goes a long way towards explaining what led Harrisburg to its current economic crisis, which has made news throughout the world.

The book will be unveiled this Sunday at the Midtown Scholar’s 2nd Annual Harrisburg Book Festival at 1302 North Third Street, Harrisburg. A panel discussion on Paul Beers’ life is at 4PM and the book release party is from 5:30–7 PM.

You can learn more at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore’s web site. (And as for that site: Fathom is redesigning it…so stand by for more news there!)

Nick Chohany and Anthony Smolenski.

Meet Nick…

With over a decade of experience serving as a producer and director, Nick is skilled in crafting commercials, shooting live events, and creating video content of all sorts—for broadcast, DVD, or online use. Thanks to Nick, Fathom now offers comprehensive video services—for stand-alone projects or as an integrated part of a total multi-media solution.

“Design, web, and video are completely intertwined,” Nick explains. “I feel that Fathom now has capabilities that most agencies don’t have, right here as part of the core creative process.”

While Fathom has offered video services in the past (and often worked with Nick), we can now integrate video into our thinking, and provide it cost-effectively. For example, plans are already underway for a multimedia direct mail effort for a client that involves video interviews which are excerpted for a direct mail piece that leads people to a web site which provides the full interview footage.

Print, web, and video alone are useful tools, but when combined, each medium can be used for maximal effect.

Meet Anthony…

Anthony is a fine artist and illustrator as well as a graphic designer with experience in prepress. He brings a unique blend of talents to Fathom which will broaden and deepen our capabilities in print as well as online.

Says Anthony: “Fathom provides access to a level of design that most clients aspire to for themselves. Fathom’s portfolio speaks for itself.” He adds, “It’s exciting to work with a team that provides a full gamut of services—from initial branding and marketing materials to online presence and visual expression, including video for web and television.”

Anthony views Fathom’s letterpress with excitement (and a healthy dose of terror) and will also be leading up initiatives to produce letterpressed goods for sale to the public.

So, when you call Fathom, say “hi” to Nick or Anthony if they answer the phone. And if you know of anyone who may benefit from Fathom’s expanded offerings, please let us know!

Pennsylvania Certification Board
Fathom is pleased to serve the PA Certification Board with ongoing design services. For this mailer to promote the PCB’s Fall Training Series, we went with two colors of ink (black and metallic silver) printed on gold-colored paper. The result is utterly unlike the typical full-color pieces we see in the mail, and has an honest and bright feel.

Verdatum
Verdatum tasked Fathom with creating two brochures for use at an upcoming trade show. While the pieces were from the same company, each product its own logo and colors. Our job was to make them look like part of a family. The result was two pieces with short cover flaps to reveal a second panel, with swooping curves that connect and carry throughout.

Midtown Scholar
The Midtown Scholar has an amazing, massive, astounding (words fail) new space. Now they have a new logo to go with it!

Boot Invites
What do you get when you have a western-themed party, a letterpress sitting around from 1886, and a client open to something “different”? Introducing the boot-shaped invitation, hand-letterpressed and die-cut right here at Fathom.

Common Sense Adoption
Common Sense Adoption Services was moving from Mechanicsburg to Camp Hill. They tapped Fathom for a new logo and identity materials—to capture the excitement of the move as well as the spirit of their services. Fathom took the “c” and “s” and knit them together to create a new visual family: at once both protective and interdependent.

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.
Good things CAN come out of Washington! Take this capital campaign brochure Fathom created for Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church. It captures the history of this historic church while also conveying optimism for the future. Incidentally, the piece also incorporates what is called a gloss aqueous dull strike-through varnish. Ask us about it sometime (!). Through the Episcopal Church Foundation, Fathom creates capital campaign brochures for churches throughout the nation, and we are pleased to have been doing this work for over a decade.

Johnson & Griffiths Studio
Fathom recently completed work on the website for Johnson and Griffiths Studio. The entire site is one giant page, and by clicking on a section, visitors slide over to the content, triggering the theme colors to shift. It’s pretty cool. The site is also easily updated by the client, via WordPress.

You could be next!
Fathom serves clients of every size, from individuals and non-profits to big organizations. Give us a call, and let’s create something great!