Study Breaks College Media Presents Must-Read Marketing Strategies for Utilizing the Popular Technology Known as GIFs in Email Marketing, Social Media and Web Graphics


Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 06, 2015

A Brief History of GIFs:

The GIF has been adding motion to still imaging since 1987. In the beginning, GIF animation was reserved for the pros; the only people building them were clip art enthusiasts and pre-social media innovators looking to take their content viral. But as the development of sharing technology launched video content into the forefront, more and more GIF images started popping up within Internet space (thanks to a mixture of supply/demand and improved GIF generator technology). Today, companies like Cinegif and Cinemegraphs.com are making it easy for small businesses to build beautiful GIF images designed to upgrade a marketing campaign or support a new wave of premium web advertising.

Marketing with Gif:

-Email Marketing-

Looking to cut through email marketing noise? Perhaps a well-placed, high-res GIF image is just the answer for spicing up one’s ROI. With email marketing growing at about a 20% annual rate, marketers are looking harder than ever for techniques to instantly separate themselves from the rest of the competitors in their field. A unique, flowing image certainly fits that bill. In fact, companies like Coca Cola, American Apparel, and HubSpot are already rolling out GIF animation in their email marketing structure.

-Social Media-

One of the most advantageous components of modern day GIFs is how multi-dimensional they are. Video clips, memes, and multiple photography shots can all be edited to form one marketing tool. When GIF builders stumble upon a trending form of Internet culture (memes last year, for example), they can adapt their GIFs to meet that model, share it on social media pages and greatly increase their chances of promoting viral content. (Take, for example, Experian Marketing Services, a company claiming it’s seen 72% of its clients whove utilized animated GIF’s or cinemagraphs experience higher transaction-to-click rates.)

-Web Graphics-

Maintaining an updated web graphic is important to most businesses looking to stay on top of a fast-paced industry. After all, one isnt likely to view a clearly outdated site and claim, “Wow these guys really have it together!” But designing online eye candy is more important than just saving face. Recruiting GIF technology to one’s site could boost ad revenues, as ad men are continuously intrigued, fascinated and won over by both aesthetics and improved click-through rates.

Study Breaks College Media provides a one-stop solution for small businesses, providing them with big marketing strategies and delivering college students.

Study Breaks magazine is an award-winning line of monthly entertainment magazines for college students with a mission can best be explained through its slogan: We are college life. Published by the hassle-free printer and publisher Shweiki Media Printing Company, it is distributed in five Texas cities (Austin, Houston, San Antonio, San Marcos and Lubbock). (Studybreaks.com)







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Dwell Media and New York Magazine Announce Partnership


New York, NY (PRWEB) May 29, 2012

The International design authority Dwell Media and the ground-breaking weekly New York Magazine today announce a historic media partnership. This fall the two independent media companies are teaming up to celebrate architecture and design in New York City with the creation of a co-branded print publication and a week-long design festival to be held Oct 1-7.

The partnership combines the strengths of Dwells expertise on modern design and architecture with New Yorks authoritative and influential voice on urban culture and New York design to create a new annual celebration of architecture and design in New York. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York chapter has coined the month of October as Archtober, calendaring programming, tours, and talks dedicated to architecture. Dwell and New York will be kicking off Archtober month by hosting its design-related events and home tours in Manhattan and Brooklyn that first week, the goal being to make October the premier month for celebration of architecture and design in NYC.

The joint publication is being co-created with the Dwell and New York editorial teams, led by Amanda Dameron and Wendy Goodman respectively, and will feature designer profiles, unique projects, and sneak peeks of the home tours, as well as a festival guide. The total distribution will be 150,000, tapping a portion of each titles New York area subscribers and newsstands. The co-branded issue will be included with Dwells October issue and New Yorks September 17 issue. Advertising and sponsorships will be sold by both organizations.

Dwell Media President, Michela OConnor Abrams: It has always been part of our plan at Dwell Media to bring a world class event to New York City similar to what we have done in Los Angeles with Dwell on Design each June. New York magazine was the perfect partner for this endeavor as both of our brands celebrate great design and embrace new challenges. We look forward to developing a unique and enduring partnership that delivers a fresh perspective and new ideas to New Yorks design community.

Coming on the heels of our successful new stand-alone magazine New York Design Hunting, this partnership with Dwell Media is an exciting opportunity to further our impact in the design world, says New York Media publisher Larry Burstein. This is the first time in recent years that weve teamed up in this way with another magazine, and doing so with an influential brand like Dwell the results are sure to be phenomenal.

The home tours in Manhattan and Brooklyn on the weekend of Oct 5 will sell a limited number of tickets available for purchase at http://www.dwellhometours.com. Grohe is committed as Official Sponsor, and the Grohe Live showroom on Fifth Avenue will be the ticket pick-up location for the Manhattan home tours.







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NewSchool of Architecture and Design Announces New Global Design Education Opportunities Through Collaborations With Domus Academy in Italy and Media Design School in New Zealand


San Diego, CA (PRWEB) November 14, 2012

NewSchool of Architecture and Design(NSAD) is pleased to announce new global design education offerings being developed in collaboration with two internationally recognized leaders in design: Domus Academy in Italy and Media Design School(MDS) in New Zealand. NSAD, Domus and MDS are all members of the Laureate International Universities network. The new offerings, starting in the 20132014 academic year, include an interior design bachelors degree program with an emphasis on global design, offered through the newly created Domus Academy School of Design at NSAD, and an opportunity for students enrolled in NSADs digital media arts program to obtain a certificate of study from MDS.

The new global design offerings build on NSADs strong tradition in architecture programming and complement the schools newer programs in digital media arts and construction management. They are part of an ongoing effort by NSAD to enhance its current offerings through global study opportunities in design-related fields such as interior design, graphic design and product design.

This is an opportunity for San Diego to become a center of global design education and innovation in design-related fields through our membership in the Laureate International Universities network and collaborations with members of the local design community, said NSAD President Steve Altman. We are excited about the prospect of enhancing our current program offerings by providing preparation in fields that are closely aligned with strong job-market demand. We are also committed to meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse and global society, whether that means working for companies in San Diego or around the world.

To reinforce its commitment to existing and new programs, NSAD is planning to establish three schools within its academic structure: The School of Architecture, which will teach the core curricula of architecture and construction management; The School of Digital Arts, the first program of which is a revitalized Bachelor of Digital Media Arts with certificate options through MDS; and Domus Academy School of Design at NSAD, which will house the additional global design education programs NSAD plans to develop, starting with the interior design program.

The Domus Academy School of Design at NSAD brings the quality and innovation of Italian design education leader Domus Academy in Milan, Italy, to the United States. Domus Academy in Italy, one of the top-ranked design schools in the world, has been recognized for its emphasis on advanced design methodologies capable of anticipating needs and trends in a continuously evolving society.

The NSAD bachelors degree program in interior design, being offered through the Domus Academy School of Design at NSAD, will prepare students to work in a global design environment. To mark the start of this collaboration, a visiting professor from Domus Academy in Italy, Paolo Giachi, is currently teaching a topics studio at NSAD on retail design with an emphasis on interiors. Giachi is a distinguished designer with more than 16 years of experience in designing luxury retail stores for fashion brands such as Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Jimmy Choo in locations around the world.

In other global design offerings, a collaboration with Media Design School in New Zealand is focused on revitalizing the NSAD digital media arts program. The first phase of this effort provides students in NSADs program the chance to obtain certificates through MDS in the specialties of either graphic design or interactive design (Web and mobile design). These offerings are scheduled to start in 2013-2014, along with opportunities for NSAD students to study at MDS. Additional new program possibilities are being explored in collaboration with MDS with the goal of providing students with in-demand skills in digital-related specialties such as game art, game programming and animation.

Domus Academy and MDS have received global recognition for their design and digital arts programming. In 1994, Domus Academy received the prestigious Compasso dOro award for the quality of its academic and research approaches, and in 2009, the academy was nominated for the third time by Businessweek magazine as one of the best design schools in the world. MDS is New Zealands most-honored higher-education institute for its digital and creative technology qualifications and recognized around the world for its high-quality digital arts programs, particularly in the areas of animation, interactive media, game development and design.

NSADs collaborations with Domus Academy and MDS are facilitated through the educational access and resources offered by the LIU network which includes more than 60 accredited campus-based and online institutions of higher education serving more than 740,000 students around the world.

About NewSchool of Architecture and Design

NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD), founded in 1980, is located in San Diego, California. NSAD is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). ACICS is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. NSADs Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Executive Master of Architecture programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). NSAD also offers a pre-professional Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, a Master of Construction Management and a Master of Science in Architecture. NSAD was ranked among the top 10 undergraduate architecture schools in the western United States, according to the DesignIntelligence report Americas Best Architecture & Design Schools 2012. For more information, visit http://www.NewSchoolArch.edu.







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Impact Media Using Responsive Web Design as Smartphone and Tablet Use Grows

Wilmington, NC (PRWEB) June 05, 2012

Nearly everyone has shared the same frustration: You connect to a website from your smartphone or tablet, and the formatting is so small or distorted that you decide to look elsewhere.

That’s where Responsive Web Design, rated by Net Magazine as one of the two most important web advances in 2012, comes to the rescue!

Impact Media – http://www.ImpactMediaNc.com – one of the most innovative website design firms in the Cape Fear Region, is using Responsive Web Design to help its clients garner new business from the web, particularly from the growing number of people searching from mobile devices. Responsive Web Design involves a new mindset when it comes to website architecture and web development techniques, and Impact Media is one of the North Carolina firms leading the way.

What’s Responsive Web Design?

“Responsive Web Design is not just about adjusting screen resolutions and resizing images,” as Brian Tucker, President of Impact Design notes, “but really about a whole new way of approaching the web development process, one that’s more fluid in nature.”

Responsive Web Design contends that a website should have the technology to automatically respond to the user’s hardware and preferences. This eliminates the need for a different design and development phase as each new smartphone or tablet enters the market.

Just as importantly, Tucker believes that the use of Responsive Web Design can improve all facets of a website’s performance – from being able to find a site, to how easy it is to navigate, to the number of site visitors who convert into customers. (The Boston Globe’s website is one of the best examples of Responsive Web Design.)

Mobile Searches Expected To Surpass Desktop Searches by 2016

The latest statistics demonstrate that Responsive Web Design is much more than a trend. A recent BIA/Kelsey Report suggests that mobile search will soon become the preferred and most frequently used method of scanning the web.

According to the study, mobile and desktop search will be equally popular late in 2014, before mobile eventually becomes the leader in 2015. By the end of 2016, mobile searches will account for at least 113 billion queries – compared to 85.6 billion from desktop devices.

More Mobile Searches Makes Mobile Marketing Even More Crucial

Tucker notes: “Making sure that your website is optimized for the mobile market – that you have a mobile strategy and that your site is appearing on mobile searches – is also crucial to your success online. In light of the rapid increase in smart device use, we’re changing our Internet Marketing techniques to serve our clients better, and we’ll continue to adapt as the way that Americans use the Internet changes.

In addition to Responsive Web Design, Impact Media is involved in the development and marketing of mobile apps for the IPad and Android markets.

Impact Media Solutions is a full service Web Design and IT company in that offers real business solutions to companies and organizations along Coastal Carolina, as well as regionally and nationally. The firm’s cohesive team of web developers, graphic designers, web copywriters, and network engineers constantly embrace emerging technologies to provide next-level affordable solutions to their clients in Wilmington, Jacksonville, and beyond. Their phone number is (910) 679-4471. More information can be found on their website: http://www.ImpactMediaNC.com.







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Thermostat Rebrands Oberon Media to Become Iplay


Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) August 07, 2012

Thermostat has recently designed the brand identity of Iplay, a global leader in the distribution of interactive game entertainment for such partners as Microsoft, Yahoo and AT&T. The new brand identity follows a name change from Oberon Media by adopting their consumer game portal name, Iplay, as their corporate name to simplify their brand while increasing awareness.

The new Iplay identity communicates the companys mission to offer a broader range of interactive entertainment and digital content to a larger target audience, beyond traditional casual gamers. Thermostat focused on the three core attributes of Iplay, content, curation and connectivity to create the new brand.

When we sketched out ideas and picked apart the brand attributes, a simple brand mark appeared to represent all three attributes, says Shawn Rosenberger, principal and creative director of Thermostat. The design of the new mark represents content, curation and connectivity with an orbiting group of letter Is that expresses connectivity. We use the RGB color spectrum graphically to represent all digital media content and curation by how the shapes overlap and form a new shape of a play button in the center. This was an extensive integrated brand identity project consisting of the logo, business system, game intro animation, advertisement, sell sheets, tradeshow graphics and more.

We made the strategic decision to refresh our brand identity to represent some fundamental and positive changes weve made at our company recently, said Steve Hammer, Vice President, Marketing, Iplay. Thermostat did an excellent job in capturing the true essence of the Iplay brand with their creative interpretation of our business objectives and core strategies. Shawn and the entire Thermostat team proved to be true business partners during the entire creative process.

For additional information on this news or to learn more about Thermostat, please contact Shawn Rosenberger at 510-644-3333 or visit http://www.thermostatcreative.com.

About Thermostat

Thermostat is a creative change agent to help clients align perception with positioning and build brand equity. We go beyond just taking a brands temperature, but strive to create significant change in your industry. While we specialize in emotive brand identity and package design, the overall result is a comprehensive and exciting brand story. Our clients range from technology, business services, wine and spirits, food and beverage and other consumer goods.

Contact:

Thermostat LLC

Shawn Rosenberger

Phone: 510-644-3333

shawn(at)thermostatcreative(dot)com

http://www.thermostatcreative.com

Tags: Thermostat, Iplay, gaming, media, entertainment, rebranding, brand identity, logos







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New Website Design Created by Blue Fire Media Gives Local Attorney More Reach


Kalamazoo, MI (PRWEB) July 25, 2012

Residents of southwest Michigan that have been unsuccessfully seeking social security disability or supplemental security income (SSI) and are now turning to legal help can visit the new website of Samuel K. Silverman, a local attorney specializing in these types of cases. The website, created by Portage, Mich.-based Blue Fire Media, went live July 2012.

The new website for the law offices of Silverman provides information on what to expect before and during the process. There are videos provided that help answer any initial questions and a long list of testimonials from other pleased individuals that have worked with Silverman. On top of offering adequate information, the new user-friendly site is easy to navigate page to page and offers readable content without any loud, distracting graphics or color schemes. The site can be visited by entering this URL into the address bar of your browser, http://www.skslawyer.com/.

Silverman offers years of education and experience to his clients. He attended the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1993 after completing his undergraduate at Arizona State University. Then he continued his education in Michigan where he studied at Wayne State University eventually earning a Master of Laws degree with a concentration in labor law in 1997. Silverman began practicing law in California from 1993-1995, and after continued his work as an attorney in Michigan where he has been ever since.

Clients choosing Silverman can expect prompt, professional service. Silverman guarantees direct contact with him from the beginning and ensures he will see cases through from start to finish. Silverman has made hiring his Social Security Disability attorney services affordable for potential clients and only handles social security disability and SSI cases.

Silvermans new website has been created by Blue Fire Media (BFM), a Portage, Mich.-based company. BFM provides web design services as well as web marketing and SEO. For more information about their services and previous projects, you can visit http://www.bluefiremediagroup.com/.







Layer One Media Expands to Chicago


Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 06, 2012

Digital agency Layer One Media recently opened the doors to their new 5,000 sq. ft. loft space in Chicagos West Loop neighborhood. Established in Milwaukees Third Ward, the agency has created and developed strategic digital marketing tools, intrepid concepts and user experiences for local and national brands such as Dean & DeLuca, GE Healthcare, Kohler, Sargento, Northwestern Mutual and Subzero.

Layer One Media specializes in providing services and ideation to enhance online involvement and interaction. President Brody Buss, Director of Business Development Ryan Janecek, Creative Director Jason Reimer and Director of Operations Scott Hill lead the charge for the competitive third coast player positioned to remarkably extend and diversify their client outreach.

Layer One Media has dedicated two years planning the expansion, seeking to collaborate with agencies, connect with clients and brands, and to support campaigns that will leverage and increase the companys national presence. The studio has already begun developing relationships with agencies with projects in the pipeline including a high-traffic Facebook app for a major consumer brand.

As a boutique digital shop, in order to grow we need forward thinking partners, clients and opportunities, states Buss. Chicago has great advertising agencies that are those forward thinking partners, but they might not have all the digital resources to deliver and thats where we would like to come in.

Layer One Media prides itself on utilizing non-traditional digital marketing tactics for diverse brands across several industries. The company implores proven communication methods, compelling design and technology to engage users and create memorable online experiences true brand impressions. From audience insights and competitive vulnerabilities they make decisions that are grounded in facts and real opportunities for their clients. Capable of fully integrating and collaboratively executing digital concepts, Layer One Media helps clients execute in a measurable way. Measurement and insights are at the core of what they do without sacrificing big ideas and award-winning creative.

The Chicago market is perfect for a creative, niche, ahead-of-the-curve, digital shop like ours, says Buss. Having access to collaborate with agencies and brands in a bigger market allows us to focus on what we do best. As Layer One Medias President, Buss has led the agency since founding it in 2000. Buss is a forward thinking visionary with an ambitious drive for fulfilling and sustaining business growth. He began his career in digital technology recognizing the importance and demand for a digital-only agency with an eye for design. Using a pragmatic approach and a broad understanding of current and emerging technologies, Buss implements business growth strategies, intuitively recognizes the needs of his clients and strives to help them achieve their objectives by building a team of innovators and technologists around him.

For five years Director of Business Development Ryan Janecek has managed the companys client and partner relationships and has helped Layer One win and maintain some of their key clients including Kohler Company, Dean & DeLuca, GE Healthcare, Sargento and Northwestern Mutual. He has extensive experience in technical and solution-orientated sales as well as a long history managing large accounts for fast growing companies and corporations in the technology sector including Cisco Systems, Inc.

Layer One Medias Creative Director Jason Reimer brings over 15 years of design and creative direction to the company. Hes provided creative branding and strategies on active lifestyle brands including Trek Bicycles and Nike Cycling. Reimer joined the company over a year ago and has cultivated Layer Ones team of user experience planners and visual designers to create compelling, branded digital experiences for their clients.

Director of Operations Scott Hill has been with Layer One Media for over two years in charge of production, process, quality and finance. With nearly two decades of management experience in technology and new media, Scott has a unique understanding of management and production strategy in progressive, ever-changing industries. Aside from leading the producer team and attracting top talent to the agency, Scott also leverages his business experience to help deliver strategy and digital tactics for key clients.

*****

Founded in 2000, Layer One Media is a digital creative agency with offices in Milwaukee and Chicago. Their accomplished digital team redefines their clients marketing trajectory using proven strategies, user-centered design and innovative technologies to activate and build meaningful connections with consumers and business-to-business audiences for clients such as Kohler, GE Healthcare, Northwestern Mutual, Sargento and Dean & DeLuca. The company applies sophisticated intelligence to align with clients goals helping them understand their obstacles, reveal opportunities, connect with new markets and increase their business.

Layer One Media, Advancing Brands Online.







One Hundred Dollar Media Now Offers Affordable Media Production


Oakdale, LA (PRWEB) July 16, 2012

Media productions are no longer just for big corporations. One Hundred Dollar Media is providing low cost media production that is affordable to medium and small businesses. It is true that most small business owners feel that commercials, media/video productions are simply out of their budget. Many business owners take one look at the price tag and realize that their budgets do not allow for the high cost of advertising. This is why they need the services of One Hundred Dollar Media for low cost effective advertising. They ensure that even if their customers have a very modest budget they can still advertise through media productions.

One Hundred Dollar Media is offering high quality video productions to promote small and medium businesses. The fact remains that every business has to have sales to survive. How do they get sales? The business must advertise to let the public know what service or product they have to offer. A company officer stated, If you fail to advertise you are gambling with your business. Videos are some of the most powerful forms of advertising, because seeing is believing! One Hundred Dollar Media produces high quality, low cost video productions to fit any companys budget.

The company slogan is Big Productions at a Small Price. The company is a one stop shop for all advertising and marketing needs of business owners. One Hundred Dollar Media creates video commercials, media productions and video banners. The productions include live actors, voiceovers, animations, text, jingles and music as specified. They also provide web and logo design. The company customizes projects to best promote a customers product or service. One Hundred Dollar Media not only produces videos but they assist in promoting the customers company. Their prices are very competitive and Basic Business Productions start at $ 150.00, add-ons are available if necessary. This means that both medium and small businesses can take advantage of low prices and advertise effectively through video productions. Turnaround time on projects is approximately 24-48 hours, depending on project requests. A company representative stated We produce before you pay, meaning companies or individuals get to see a pre-production of their project prior to their final production. This eliminates re-editing and incurring additional costs. This keeps customers budgets low and within their means. It also ensures that customers will never have to pay until they are completely satisfied.

One Hundred Dollar Media not only services businesses, but also individuals. They provide productions for personal events; such as birthdays, proposals, weddings, engagements, graduations, family reunions, holidays etc. These productions start as low as $ 30.00 and are very reasonable for non-commercial events. Weddings are especially popular and video productions are a great way to make a wedding even more memorable.

One Hundred Dollar Media will not only provide media productions for their clients but they will also assist them with learning internet marketing. They have a network of marketing platforms with business partners to ensure customers have the best marketing services available. The company works with affiliates; such as, Trumpia to set up SMS video texting and BombBomb.com to set up Video Emailing. The best Graphic Designers in the world are utilized by One Hundred Dollar Medias production team to ensure high quality, low cost advertising projects. The company use products from Adobe After Effects Master, Andrew Kramer of Video Co Pilot and they buy production footage from the movie power houses like TL3 Media.

One Hundred Dollar Media is a brand new company that began in May 15, 2012 launching their website at this time. They have done productions for Macys, McDonalds, Stone Street Capital and are now building the website for the USA Track & Field Team for the 2012 Olympics Games; which will be held in London, England.

Future plans for the company are to add a do-it-yourself feature onto the website for webmasters and individuals who like to make their own productions. They are also in the process of setting up an outlet for Churches to provide live webcasts from their worship services. This means that anyone that could not make it to church that day could still worship via their computer or mobile devices. Members can pay their tithes and offering on the churches website. This will allow people whom are sick, in nursing homes or overseas to be able to worship with their favorite church. Many small churches will now have the leverage to compete with the mega churches that dominate regular television with their national broadcasting capabilities. Now regular churches can broadcast around the world for as little as $ 500.00 per month.

New technologies have changed the way of marketing and it has opened doors for companies like One Hundred Dollar Media to deliver great products to everyone. Mobile websites are the best way for all businesses to capture new clients without paying big bucks to advertise. All business owners should check out Googles statistics on video and mobile advertising and make a comparison to television advertising versus the web, the results are amazing. Just to give a little insight on the numbers, according to E-Marketers, there are an estimated 399 million websites in the world based on their 2011 survey and the rate of growth is around 30 new million websites built each month. If those numbers dont grab you look at the stats of online purchases being made since 2009 until today. The advertising golden rule is to follow the people and you will find your money.







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Photocrati Media Acquires NextGEN Gallery


Boulder, CO (PRWEB) June 19, 2012

Photocrati Media is about to get even better. As part of Photocratis ongoing effort to seamlessly provide the best integrated WordPress solutions for photographers all under one roof, we are excited to announce Photocratis recent acquisition of the highly popular NextGEN Gallery WordPress plugin.

Developed by Alex Rabe in 2007, the NextGEN gallery plugin is now the dominant image gallery plugin for WordPress. With more than 5 million downloads, NextGEN Gallery is also one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time.

We are very excited about bringing NextGEN to Photocrati, says Erick Danzer, founder and CEO of Photocrati Media. It means that we can really create the advanced functionality that photographers are looking for with our WordPress themes.

Blending Photocrati and NextGEN also means that Photocratis team of experts is available to improve and advance NextGENs core functionality and interface. We are very committed to continuing the development of NextGEN Gallery as a free GPL plugin, and were dedicated to maintaining NextGEN as the most popular gallery plugin for WordPress, says Danzer.

The Photocrati Team is also looking forward to interacting with the NextGEN community. There are many talented developers who have contributed to and launched extension plugins for NextGEN. We hope to build an even stronger sense of community and interaction around the plugin, both with users and with the developer community, says Danzer. In fact, Photocrati is currently seeking beta testers and contributors.

NextGEN Updates by Photocrati

NextGEN users can expect some exciting updates throughout the year. The Photocrati team plans to: improve and streamline the existing back-end interface; add an interface to create and manage galleries directly from posts and pages; work with Automattic to make NextGENs architecture compatible with the WordPress VIP environment; and to make a range of smaller fixes and security patches.

Coming soon, a Pro version!

Later this year, Photocrati will also launch a premium upgrade for NextGEN, called NextGEN Pro. NextGEN Pro will offer a range of beautiful new gallery display styles as well as fully-featured ecommerce functionality. Some of the plans for NextGEN Pro include: alternative slideshow displays; alternative filmstrip displays; alternative thumbnail displays; caption and filmstrip skins to adjust styling; fully-featured ecommerce for all gallery types and including print and price options; digital downloads; and shopping cart and PayPal integration.

NextGEN + Photocrati WordPress Theme = One amazing package

The Photocrati Team is already hard at work merging NextGEN and NextGEN Pro into the popular Photocrati WordPress theme. Soon, Photocrati users will have all the functionality of these plugins seamlessly available in the Photocrati theme, without losing any of the options or gallery displays currently available.

Photocrati will have more big news soon. Follow Photocrati on Twitter or sign up for NextGEN updates via email.

About Photocrati.com

Photocrati Media is a digital media company that specializes in WordPress themes for photographers, SEO for photographers, and other resources for photographers. Photocrati Media also runs Best of Wedding Photography an elite, invitation-only association of the best wedding photographers in the world. Photocrati Media proudly sponsors the Photocrati Fund a $ 5,000 grant for photographers working on important environmental and humanitarian projects.