text:
Wilmington, DE 302 353 4473
Visual Craft
Reliable Software Engineering
We create unique software solutions for client ideas since 2006. We provide expertise on every step of the product lifecycle, from discovery and product design to software development and support.
Our main areas of expertise:
We have established a work process that allows us to interact effectively with our clients at every stage. A clear flow helps the team deliver products of the highest quality within tight deadlines.
ng>Our services:
CTO as a Service
For SMEs
Whether it's a full-cycle engineering project or augmenting your existing team, we look for solutions to bring the most value to your company
Our experience in product design and established framework for quick validation has helped many startups to go from idea to multimillion companies
3 Germay Dr
20% Media
20% Real estate
10% Financial services
10% Legal
10% Manufacturing
10% Medical
10% Retail
70% Linux server
50% Magento
40% Shopify
10% WooCommerce
35% Symfony
20% ReactJs
20% VueJS
5% NodeJS
5% Ruby on Rails
15% JavaScript
15% Typescript
10% AJAX
10% Redux
10% SQL
5% C++
5% Go
Wonego, Home Junction, Viosk, VideoJet, Centerstaging, LeParisien, LesEchos.fr
TRET is a real estate website & a social network
Industry: Real Estate
The RealEstateTours is a real estate website & a social network combined in a single application that creates a business hub for those who sell, who buy the property, and those who provide all kinds of house-related services.
A client in the real estate industry approached us with the concept of creating a one-of-a-kind platform that would allow any real estate agent to capture new leads through tools that help one create great content to promote listings and share those with popular social networks. One place where users can find the most useful content, connect with an agent, buy a property and even find the best home service companies within their area.
Despite having many years of experience in the industry and a promising concept, the client was unable to find the right team of developers with sufficient knowledge of the real estate industry and great product design experience to build out this app.
Case Study: https://www.visual-craft.com/case-studies/tret
Videojet Software Portal
The Videojet Software Portal has been developed for the Videojet company as a multifunctional platform for efficient customer database management as well as for performing a wide range of operations with the software modules built for industrial printers.
Videojet Portal is a software management system used by clients around the world. It provides the ability to buy/install/upgrade applications for industrial printers, upgrade printer firmware and update industrial printer configurations. It is a large, rapidly evolving system with advanced functionality and flexibility requirements.
To meet the client's requirements we:
implemented a web application that automates software management, including applications and firmware installation/upgrades, app purchasing, licensing;
created a real-time dashboard for tracking printers' current configuration in terms of available software and firmware updates;
implemented a license generation mechanism for generating app licenses via Customer Dashboard UI;
integrate e-commerce system for purchases; create functionality for bulk download of WFM and Firmware packages;
built API for creating a wireless connection between printers and the Portal;
created flexible user permission set up mechanism; create localization functionality with the possibility to manage translations on the portal;
created a portal - internal extended logging system for analyzing processes on the Portal including any user action performed;
developed an advanced reporting system to obtain insight into current customers as well as printers and applications they own.
Home Junction | IDX Solution for Real Estate
Expertise: Web Development, UI/UX, DevOps
Home Junction collects data from more than 200 markets in 46 states to build custom applications for real estate agents and brokers.
The company provides IDX solutions that combine MLS data with Home Junction data layers. Besides standard real estate feeds, Home Junction offers unique data that enhances the buying experience.
The IDX tool includes data of historical sales, the standard of living, average income, and dozens of others. Agents use this data to help buyers make accurate purchasing decisions.
Home Junction offers a complex ecosystem with many plugins, themes, widgets, and tools. The main IDX solution was no longer usable due to outdated technology. Lack of support on mobile devices created user inconveniences and potential losses in the customer base. Our main challenge was to come up with a solution that would solve these problems and incorporate best industry practices, creating a tool that could be used as part of the ecosystem and independently.
Case Study: https://www.visual-craft.com/case-studies/home-junction
FutureOn
Industry: Energy
Country: Norway, USA
FutureOn emerges from Xvision - a part of EXP group with more than 15 years of being a state-of-the-art provider of visual engineering for clients worldwide in the Oil and Gas subsea domain.
In 2017 FutureOn launched a collaboration with Visual Craft as a remote team provider. It started with quality assurance. Later we had an opportunity to prove our expertise in web development, promotion, and support. And finally, our cooperation extended to FutureOn's main product, as we assisted in its development and integration.
We focused our efforts on taking over all the bulky resource-intensive tasks to let the FutureOn's core team concentrate on the priorities.
Case Study: https://www.visual-craft.com/case-studies/futureon
ALPE | legal ads in any French department
Les Echos is France's leading source of economic and financial information. It is available on the Internet, tablet, mobile and in newsstands. It deals with and analyzes all national, regional and international news with an impact on business life. Currently, Les Echos is a part of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton).
More than 12 years ago, Visual Craft team developed the initial version of the service called JAL for its previous owner. The partnership with the 3rd biggest newspaper in France started after JAL was acquired by Les Echos. At first Visual Craft team supported a legacy system and after some time we became a part of a big project, the aim of which was to reinvent JAL from the ground up.
Case Study: https://www.visual-craft.com/case-studies/alpe
Centerstaging
Industry: Entertainment
Launching a new facility in New York, CenterStaging wanted to have the old website updated to boost sales by introducing the brand to a new market. Having analyzed the LA and NY markets and our client's business needs, we discovered that the old version of the website was not viable from a business point of view. The number of converted customers was below the average.
The main reasons for the low conversion rate: the design of the website was outdated, which reduced the value of the brand; the structure of the website was too complicated, while the interface was not intuitive enough; there were numerous contact forms for different services, which confused potential customers.
As a result, the website couldn't provide a decent amount of new clients. Having approved our ideas with CenterStaging, we decided to completely redesign the structure and the user interface of the website. Our main goal was to make it simple, intuitive, and fun to interact with.
Case Study: https://www.visual-craft.com/case-studies/centerstaging
Platform for connecting entrepreneurs with vendors
Industry: Investment
Righteous Causes is a benefit corporation whose mission is to accelerate the social impact of founders by connecting them to human and capital resources.
There are hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs in the United States and millions across the globe working in the social impact space. However, many lack the necessary support and expertise to become successful. On top of that, most people view social impact and profit as clashing ideals.
Our goal was to create a platform that would allow early state entrepreneurs to connect with investors and vendors to make their idea a reality.
We developed a solution that would allow us to:
- set up accounts for founders, add and manage their profile information, provide the details of the project, connect with investors and consultants, negotiate the partnerships, communicate with all the parties, receive investments and allocate those to consultants.
- onboard investors, allow them to manage their profile information, review and filter startups, connect with the ones they choose, negotiate partnerships, fund the startups, and get access to premium accounts.
- engage consultants, provide tools to share their service information, packages, and details of the offering, connect with founders, negotiate, set up milestones, and receive payments for their services.
$10,000 to $49,999 (4) Less than $10,000 (4) $200,000 to $999,999 (3)
Web Development (8) Web design (2) Custom Software Development (2) Cloud Consulting (1) E-commerce Development (1)
Phone Interview (6) Online Review (5)
Web Development for Web Development Firm
"The team's work is top-notch."
Apr. - Aug. 2022
Apr 2022 - Aug 2022
A web development firm hired Visual Craft for web development services. They've assisted the client with an Angular JS and displayed US real estate MLS listings to make the listing appear on a map.
Technical Lead, MyOwnMLS
Thanks to Visual Craft's efforts, they've successfully delivered a functional map that has performed well in browsers and devices. The team has communicated well through email and Slack. They've been clever, talented, and organized throughout the workflow.
Other Industry
I'm the technical lead of a web development firm. We build custom websites and apps for companies of varying disciplines.
For what projects/services did your company hire Visual Craft, and what were your goals?
We needed help with an AngularJS progressive web app that displayed US real estate MLS listings. Our main goal was to make the listings appear on a map.
How did you select Visual Craft and what were the deciding factors?
Visual Craft was recommended to us by one of the MLS listing data providers. We took their recommendation seriously and reached out. We got a great feeling from a video call with them and hired them on a trial basis, which became a permanent basis until the project was over.
Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.
We had many video calls to discuss the project. We created tickets/tasks in GitHub for deliverables. We worked through many phases and bugs and scope changes with ease.
How many people from the Visual Craft team worked with you, and what were their positions?
We worked with two people from Visual Craft. A project manager and a developer. We mainly worked with the developer, except when we needed scheduling & planning permission etc.
Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?
The map was exactly what we asked for and performed well in all browsers and devices. Our clients love it.
Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.
Communication was always great and laid back. Communication was always through email or Slack.
What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?
Their web developer was extremely smart, talented, and thorough. The team's work is top-notch. I very rarely found a bug in his work, unless it was something I overlooked in describing the work we needed done. He made himself available in overlapping hours of our time zones with his.
Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?
If we could have known about vacation time off for the web developer with a little more advanced notice, that would have been helpful for planning/expectations.
Overall Score I have nothing but good things to say!
They were ready as soon as we were.
Thorough!
Web design Web Development
Website Design & Development for Courier Service
"Their team is very professional, friendly, and helpful."
Less than $10,000
Oct. 2019 - Ongoing
Oct 2019 - Ongoing
Visual Craft designed and developed a website for a specialty courier service. The client provided the site's content, and then Visual Craft integrated and optimized them to improve the site's Google ranking.
Owner, Bee-Kwik
The client was 100% satisfied with the site Visual Craft developed; it appeared relatively high in Google search results. The client's long-term, profitable relationships with large customers are attributable to the website. Visual Craft managed the project well and responded quickly to messages.
I am the owner and proprietor of a courier business that focuses on transporting products in water, like flowers.
What challenge were you trying to address with Visual Craft?
Visual Craft developed my first website in 2008, and we hired them again in 2019 to update it.
Visual Craft has designed and developed a new website from scratch that is accessible on mobile devices. Visual Craft added several visual components to the website, including photos of my vans and staff that I provided. Those photos feature local landmarks so customers can see where my company is located. They also optimized my content to improve my Google rankings.
Now, they serve as my ISP and perform routine web maintenance.
I worked with Andrey (Founder & CEO) and his development partner.
How did you come to work with Visual Craft?
I initially began working with Visual Craft after seeing another website they developed. I hired them to build my first website and then brought them on board for the new development project.
I spent £1,300 (approximately $1,700 USD) with Visual Craft. Additionally, I pay £150–£200 (approximately $200–$260 USD) every two years for maintenance services.
The web development project with Visual Craft was from October–December 2019, but our partnership is still ongoing.
Visual Craft's work has facilitated the creation of profitable, long-lasting relationships between my customers and me. I've had many customers come to me after seeing my website — we appear very high in Google search ranking. Since it is tough to be in the courier service industry, I am impressed with the clients I've gotten through my website. I am 100% satisfied with the website Visual Craft developed for me.
How did Visual Craft perform from a project management standpoint?
Visual Craft ran the project well — they were very clear about when they needed visual and written content for me. Because we were not located in the same country, we generally communicated through emails and had a few phone calls. They responded quickly to my messages.
Visual Craft's price really set them apart from their competitors. Not only that, but they were able to find a website host that was the best value for my money. Their team is very professional, friendly, and helpful.
I can't think of anything for them to improve.
I would tell any customer to immediately get a price quote from Visual Craft.
They were very prompt.
Custom Software Development Cloud Consulting
Cloud Implementation for Marking & Printing Equipment Company
"I can trust that anything Visual Craft does will be functional and of high quality."
Sep. 2016 - Ongoing
Sep 2016 - Ongoing
A marking and printing equipment company engaged Visual Craft to develop a software package cloud portal on Symfony. The team has also been implementing web server applications on the client's embedded printers.
1,001-5,000 Employees
Wood Dale, Illinois
Dennis Doyle
Director, Videojet Technologies
Through a well-oiled pre-release or pre-implementation testing process, Visual Craft has consistently delivered high-quality work on time and with minimal on-field errors. The team captures requirements and details well, proactively seeking information and clarification to avoid unnecessary rework.
I work for Videojet Technologies, a company that makes industrial marking products like printers, laser markers, and other types of technology that mark information on bottles, cans, boxes, and the like. My team does software development on embedded devices and cloud applications that support our marking products.
We engaged Visual Craft to implement a cloud portal where we could store software upgrade packages for our products. We needed to be able to install those upgrades onto our printers either via files on USB sticks or over the cloud directly through the internet.
We provided Visual Craft with a PowerPoint presentation of our requirements, which was prepared by our software architect at the time. Their team made use of Symfony, which is a web development platform that they had already developed other products and applications on in the past. We didn't know much about it, but they gave us demos, overviews, and examples of websites that they had done over Symfony. They've since been supporting and extending the features of the platform they developed for us.
Last year, we started a new project with them, which is an implementation of a web server application on our embedded printers.
There were initially three people on the team, but over the years we've expanded their roles. At one point we had 5–7 people from Visual Craft working with us.
We didn't have any internal expertise to do the cloud implementation side of the development, so we search around for agencies that could help us. Visual Craft was introduced to us through one of our employees in Duluth, and they came out on top of our selection process.
We've invested around $500,000.
We started working with them in September 2016. Our engagement is ongoing.
One of our main success metrics is on-time delivery, and Visual Craft has never missed any requirement or been on a critical path. They've always delivered on time, and it could be owed to how good they are at asking questions and getting as much detail at the beginning to avoid a lot of rework in the end.
The quality of their work has also been very high. We've seen only a few issues in the field defects. Their team has a good process of delivering and testing code before they release it to us and to the field.
Their project management is very good. The project managers are very good about managing the tasks and getting them done. We did struggle with one of them when it came to committing and taking risks, but I don't believe that was an issue with Visual Craft. It was just a matter of a person taking on a new role.
I can trust that anything Visual Craft does will be functional and of high quality. We only do testing prior to release and not really to verify what they've done, so we have a high level of confidence in their work. They're also great at pushing us for answers; they don't just sit and wait for us to get back to them. Their aggressiveness to get the work done helps us meet all of our target dates.
No, I don't think so. Everything we've wanted to improve upon, we've provided feedback for, and they've taken it up.
If you can, have a face-to-face meeting early on with Visual Craft to map out the project. This is vital to getting things going and making sure that everyone is on the same page. It's also very helpful in establishing a personal relationship with who you're going to work with.
Web Dev for Coding, Marking & Printing Equipment Co
"They have highly engaged, informative, and responsible project managers."
May 2016 - Ongoing
A coding, marking, and printing device company hired Visual Craft to develop a central information and customer services website. The team used MySQL for the database, PHP for programming, and AWS for hosting.
Norcross, Georgia
Fred Sabernick
Engineering Manager, Videojet
Visual Craft has successfully developed a website that transforms the way the client's printing devices are serviced. The team is highly knowledgeable, possessing a good grasp of the functionalities being required and the rationale behind them. They also proactively make improvements where necessary.
Videojet is a company with about $2 billion in revenue. We're part of the greater umbrella of the Danaher Corporation and we make industrial inkjet-style printers and lasers for the coding and marking industry. I'm an engineering manager and have been in that position since the mid-2000s.
We wanted to create a central website where we could post information about our printing devices. We also wanted to enable our customers and service people to interact with each other and download and upload maintenance software through the website. For this, we hired Visual Craft.
The primary deliverable was a functioning website for our video service team, which, apart from the overseas members, comprises over 400 people in the US alone. Visual Craft used a number of different technologies, including MySQL for the database and PHP for the programming. The site itself is hosted through AWS.
The experience was a critical driving factor in the development of the project, and Visual Craft worked to develop on-site functionalities that allowed customers and stakeholders to enter information about their printing device and receive any available software update for it. They created a system whereby device owners could determine if their printer was eligible for certain software and applications, which we sell on an as-needed basis.
We turned to Visual Craft for a second time to code a special application for our industrial printers. This app allows the devices to be accessed directly from the internet and is coming very close to fruition. We continue to turn to their team for some website maintenance and updates as well.
Andrey (CEO & Founder) was heavily involved in the beginning. Yuri (Project Manager) was our initial project manager, but we have switched to Andrew (Project Manager) for the second engagement. We also worked with Yaroslav (Web Developer).
My direct supervisor was the one who brought in the US representative of Visual Craft. Coincidentally, they used to be next-door neighbors.
We've invested something around $500,000.
The web development project began in 2015, but I personally did not become heavily involved until May 2016. Our partnership is ongoing.
As someone who works with the product on a day-to-day basis, I can say that the quality of the work is high. The website we developed is the first to ever allow our printing devices to receive updates through local downloads, on-site installations, or online. This self-updating function is something that we have yet to achieve with any of our past equipment.
We continue to make improvements and changes based on the customer feedback that we receive, but Visual Craft has successfully achieved our initial objectives.
Our first project lead was very knowledgeable not only about what we were doing but also about the rationale behind it. He always found a way to either improve or maintain certain pieces and features that we asked for. The web developer was also fantastic. He provided us with numerous instances where we could really examine the look and feel of the product prior to its launch.
We initially had meetings twice or thrice a week, but we eventually worked our way to meeting every other week or once every month when the development matured. Our primary tools for communicating were Skype and email. We also used the Atlassian suite to manage the project.
They have highly engaged, informative, and responsible project managers. That was the most impressive aspect of Visual Craft's services.
We developed on an older platform, which resulted in us needing to perform updates after the launch. It's okay, though, because I believe Visual Craft was most familiar with the older platform at the time of development.
Be sure to constantly communicate with the team. Have a clear project direction and collaborate closely with Visual Craft to get the best out of the engagement.
Website Refactoring for Advertising Company
"Visual Craft is a great partner to work with because they're familiar with our processes and methods."
Visual Craft was hired by a media firm to refactor their outdated site using Symfony, React, Go, and MySQL. The team managed to complete the site, and they're now maintaining and building new platform features.
Philippe Granger
CTO, Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien
Visual Craft's work has raised the company's turnover rate by 60%. With their support, the client has also decided to raise their SEO budget by 84%. On top of that, the team has made it possible to unify the customer database of the client's B2C and B2B platforms, leading to an ongoing engagement.
I'm the CTO of Groupe Les Echos-Le Parisien, a subdivision of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) group. I manage the team working on our advertising platform along with Visual Craft.
The first problem was that our platform was very old. In fact, it was built more than 10 years ago; Visual Craft created our old platform in 2010, and we bought it from its previous owner. During that time, we had to implement modifications in order to ensure the site would work well inside our IT infrastructure, which was quite huge, given that we were part of LVMH.
As a result, we had a lot of challenges, including a technical debt. Overall, we hired Visual Craft to refactor our website to ensure that it would meet our new SEO guidelines.
Visual Craft built our new platform. They started the refactoring process by creating a white paper. Since the site was intended for a niche market, they enabled the clients to publish legal ads in newspapers across France. They used Symfony for the frontend as well as React and Vue.js components. We also had microservices written in Go, which were done by another party and taken over by Visual Craft. We had a MySQL database, too.
On the UX part, we had an internal UX designer. We needed to create this part internally because we had legal obligations which made it difficult to explain the business part to a non-French native. However, the UX designs we made didn't always meet Visual Craft's technical standards so they came up with counter-proposals that meet best practices.
By December 2019, they were able to deliver the new website and it's now in maintenance mode. The team is also building additional features and adjustments such as color and graphic changes and adding newspaper partners. We're continually challenging them to rebuild the website because they know our business and our requirements. We're starting another project with them, possibly in 2022, related to a different ad platform.
We've worked with a team of 10 people from Visual Craft. We're in direct contact with Andrey (Founder & CEO), a project manager, two technical leads, and a developer. Their senior members are always present in our meetings. If someone isn't fluent in English, it's easier for us to communicate what we want to their senior members.
We decided to work with them again because they already built our previous website.
Visual Craft's part was around €800,000 (approximately $910,000 USD).
We began working together in October 2018, and it's ongoing.
We're the leaders in our market, making around €100,000 (approximately $110,000 USD) per day with the new platform. With their support, we've been able to publish a legal ad from seven days to an hour. We consider that a technical achievement because we have 600 newspaper partners. The team has also been able to unify our customer database for our B2C and B2B platforms.
On top of that, we've managed to increase our SEO budget from €800,000 (approximately $910,000 USD) to around €5 million (approximately $5.7 million USD). Above all, our turnover increased from €10 million (approximately $11.4 million USD) to €25 million ($28 million USD) per year.
Visual Craft is a great partner to work with because they're familiar with our processes and methods. If we have another project to run, I know that we can just sign a contract and ask them to do it.
Despite us facing some difficulties in making the frontend communicate with the backend, we knew that it was a normal occurrence when building APIs. It was good that they were able to do that because that was a large part of our project, accounting for about 50%.
No, they have no areas to improve.
Visual Craft is a great team with a lot of senior developers, but there needs to be someone on the client's side to manage them and make sure they don't go too deeply into the tech side. They're technical people and they love what they do. However, sometimes you need to make them focus on the business goal and not the technological beauty of what they're doing.
Web Overhaul for Nonprofit Organization
"Everything is done in a timely manner with good communication."
Visual Craft has overhauled a website for a non-profit organization. The team is tasked with designing the client's website and creating the company's logo.
Cyndee Knight
President, Hope Now Ministries
After a successful launch, the engagement has led to a significant improvement in web traffic and Google rank, exceeding the client's business goals. Visual Craft has communicated well to conduct regular meetings and provide progress updates. They are collaborative and responsive in the workflow.
We are a non-profit ministry serving widows and orphans in Ukraine. I am the President and sole operator.
VC revamped our logo, web site and look. Visual Craft did a great job.
We wanted to use a reputable and knowledgable firm in Ukraine, so they could really understand our mission to serve Ukraine widows and orphans.
We had a meeting to discuss our objectives and ideas with the key people who would be working on our project.
We had a project manager, coordinator, copy writer, designer and developers working on our project. Everyone from the president to the coffee lady were wonderful to work with.
After launching our site, we saw a large increase in traffic, and we were consistently in the top 5 Google search fields.
Monthly, weekly or even daily meetings could be arranged. After working together for so long, we now have monthly status reports. Everything is done in a timely manner with good communication.
The VC team is very easy to work with. They listened to our needs, and delivered a product we could use.
Every time small technical issues come up, VC is very quick to fix them quickly and effectively.
Overall Score Honestly, they are a great company to work with!
Very easy to schedule
Great company to work with!
Have already referred VC to many personal friends and acquaintances
E-Commerce Dev for B2B Marketplace
"We've never had an issue talking to them or getting them on a call."
Visual Craft customized an off-the-shelf website to create a B2B marketplace's MVP. Currently, they are developing the full-fledged version of the site, and they are working on more sophisticated features.
CEO, Wholesale Marketplace
Visual Craft's professionalism and responsiveness have impressed the client. They are easily accessible, and they have good turnaround times. Their high level of customer service and communicative approach have resulted in an ongoing partnership despite some staffing issues.
I'm the CEO of a tech startup.
We needed help building a B2B marketplace where retailers and manufacturers can buy products and transact with each other.
Visual Craft helped us build our MVP. They customized a basic and off-the-shelf website to allow e-commerce transactions to take place between B2B companies. We launched this version in 2019.
Since then, we've continued working with Visual Craft, and we're now moving to a full-fledged version of the site. They are helping us in further developing more sophisticated features on the platform.
At any given time, we have 2–3 resources working with us.
Visual Craft was referred to us. They gave us a reasonable quote, so we hired them.
We've spent over $25,000.
We started working together in January 2019, and it's ongoing.
Our product is just in the MVP stage, and it's very controlled. Many users haven't used it at the moment, so I can't give an accurate assessment of Visual Craft's work.
Visual Craft performed very well in project management — they're very prompt and easily accessible. They're also excellent in communications, and we've never had an issue talking to them or getting them on a call. Additionally, they're good with their turnaround times. We usually communicate on Skype.
The speed of their delivery is good, but it can be better. I think they're slightly under-resourced; our platform uses a particular language, and they only have one teammate who's proficient with it.
Visual Craft is quite professional and very responsive — they tend to do a good job.
They can have more varied resources so that projects can go faster.
Website Development & Design for Rehearsal Studio
"I think the design of the website that they came up with was brilliant."
July - Sep. 2021
Jul 2021 - Sep 2021
In order to drive traffic and sales, a rehearsal studio collaborated with Visual Craft for website development and design. The team built a site with a call-to-action option and performed SEO activities.
Burbank, California
William Kerlick
Business Manager, CenterStaging
Visual Craft delivered a stunning and user-friendly website, which helped generate online orders and revenue. The SEO activities helped the company improved the results even more. Furthermore, they were prompt and professional developers who created brilliant designs and met the client's needs.
Will Kerlick
CenterStaging has 12 rehearsal studios for musical performances and rents backline (musical instruments).
We hired Visual Craft to design and build our website. Goal was to have a call to action on our website and drive more traffic/sales through it. Visual Craft has also performed some SEO work for us.
How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?
This vendor was referred to us through a close contact of ours, Jay Bojan.
We had many meetings to determine the design and direction we wanted to go in. Visual Craft delivered on a stunningly visual website while making it easy for the customer to work in. We continue to meet and improve the website as our company grows.
How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?
We had a project manager plus a couple other guys helping us before COVID. Post-COVID we have a different project manager that has been extremely nice and helpful. We meet regularly and he is very professional.
After launching our website, we began to receive orders via online, which was not a revenue driver before. SEO work done by Visual Craft increased those results.
On average, we meet once or twice a month. Sometimes once a week if we're pushing something. Our project manager is always timely and professional.
I think the design of the website that they came up with was brilliant. We get compliments from our customers regularly.
In hindsight, we wish the website would have been built on WordPress. Our IT guy gets very frustrated when we can't get into the sight ourselves to make simple changes like employee position updates, new specs, etc.
Overall Score Love the staff and management. Brilliant people working there.
Although we are on opposite sides of the world, Visual Craft is always available to meet and reliable at that.
Cost is competitive, I'd say. Although since its not on WordPress we do end up paying for hours for simple changes, at times.
You won't find many websites out there like ours. It is visually stunning and suits us well.
I would absolutely refer them and will when the opportunity arises.
Web design Custom Software Development
Custom Software Development for E-Learning Company
"I was impressed by their customer service and responsiveness."
Jan. - July 2021
Jan 2021 - Jul 2021
An e-learning company hired Visual Craft to provide custom software development. They built a platform where students and teachers can interact via a chat function and make purchases through a payment system.
Stephen Zachensky
CEO, Blacksmith Skillshare Inc
Visual Craft's work delivered a high-quality and accesible platform with good performance. They led top-notch project management where they ensured to fulfill the client's needs and expectations. The team also praised their service and quick response throughout the project.
I'm the founder of an e-learning startup company. We try to enhance people's ability to enquire employability skills.
We needed someone who could help me build custom software for my company.
Visual Craft developed a site where students and teachers could sign up and interact through a chat function. The platform also has a payment system implemented via Stripe.
We worked with Andre (CEO), and he assigned us a project manager. In addition to that, there was a team of developers who received instructions.
They were referred to us by the business accelerator I was in. I chose them because we heard positive things about their work, and several people backed them.
We spent around $15,000 with them on this project.
We worked together from January–July 2021.
Our platform is accessible, and people have been signing up for it. The performance of the product they delivered is great, and it does everything we need with high quality.
They were excellent in that area; we had a dedicated project manager, and she reached out to me every time a decision had to be made to ensure that their work met my preferences, and if there were something I didn't like, she'd fix it. During our online meetings, they also shared their screen to show me exactly what they were doing, even in terms of estimates — they never did something without my approval.
In terms of communication, all of our interaction was via Zoom, Google Meets, and email — we had regular meetings.
I was impressed by their customer service and responsiveness. Their project management was also a strength; I'm not tech-savvy at all, and they always bridged the gap for me and explained terms I couldn't understand to get me through the whole process of building a tech platform without a tech background.
I don't think there's anything they can improve on — the site does everything I need.
Any advice for potential customers?
Have a budget in mind from the beginning and stick to it. Also, be specific about the features that you want on your software.
Web Development for Real Estate Company
"Excellent with constant communication throughout every stage of the project."
Visual Craft has created a website for a real estate company. The team has developed the site with real-time interactive client portals.
Pleasantville, New York
Richard Arias
CEO, Vestaport
Visual Craft has been a skilled and meticulous partner. Their excellent performance and engaging approach have showcased their communication, problem-solving skills, and creativity to exceed the needs and requirements of the internal team.
CEO of residential real estate company in USA, New York
Complete development of site with with real time interactive client portals
Extremely communicative and attention to detail.
Complete development from wire frame to completed functioning site and maintenance
5 + or more including project manager,developers,design team and more.
Excellent experience timely and very thorough
Excellent with constant communication throughout every stage of the project.
Value and level of work from all involved. Creative and solving problems in advance finding solutions you any obstacles that would presented itself.
No, a great company.


Brush Creek Community Partners coordinated a visioning process and an Urban Renewal Area Plan for Historic Manheim Park in order to strengthen the area and promote appropriate, sustainable redevelopment projects and incentives. A consultant team comprised of BNIM, Patti Banks Associates, and graduate and undergraduate students from University of Missouri – Kansas City volunteered to assemble technical data and facilitate a community driven visioning process. Three meetings were held with the Historic Manheim Park, Rockhill and Hyde Park neighborhoods. Together, area residents, business owners, and community leaders identified the goals and strategies recorded in the Manheim Park neighborhood.


If you are bullish on coffee, you can profit from a rise in coffee price by taking up a long position in the coffee futures market. You can do so by buying (going long) one or more coffee futures contracts at a futures exchange.
You decide to go long one near-month Euronext Robusta Coffee (No. 409) Futures contract at the price of USD 1,648 per tonne. Since each Euronext Robusta Coffee (No. 409) Futures contract represents 10 tonnes of coffee, the value of the futures contract is USD 16,480. However, instead of paying the full value of the contract, you will only be required to deposit an initial margin of USD 1,600 to open the long futures position.
Assuming that a week later, the price of coffee rises and correspondingly, the price of coffee futures jumps to USD 1,813 per tonne. Each contract is now worth USD 18,128. So by selling your futures contract now, you can exit your long position in coffee futures with a profit of USD 1,648.
In the examples shown above, although coffee prices have moved by only 10%, the ROI generated is 103%. This leverage is made possible by the relatively low margin (approximately 10%) required to control a large amount of coffee represented by each contract.
Leverage is a double edged weapon. The above examples only depict positive scenarios whereby the market is favorable towards you. If the market turn against you, you will be required to top up your account to meet the margin requirements in order for your futures position to remain open.


Life would no doubt be a lot easier if our children more resembled paintings than kaleidoscopes. Fixed and clear, a single image we can wrap our heads and hearts and best intentions around, without the relinquishing of control that a constantly mutable and messy real-life child requires. We parents often forget to allow the lens to turn, letting the colors and shapes reshift with new light and new gravity, to settle and form a different pattern. We resist giving up our static vision as our children age, holding tight as they glide away from our expectations and become their own people. And when our children have special needs, we tend to prioritize one prevailing pattern.
At least I do. Fortunately, for me, I have a child whose personality is regularly cartwheeling, despite my own white-knuckled grip. And thankfully, because he resists being simplified into one static, flattened view, my child is forever teaching me to see him as far more broad and dynamic than his needs and challenges.
Henry, my oldest son, sleeps on the bottom bunk in a pink and purple striped room he shares with his twin sister Charlotte, who regularly bests him in wrestling. He uses two basic moves for defense, which we call "the wet noodle" and "the caffeinated grasshopper," the latter typically accompanied by a wild helium laugh. In my predominant view, I interpret Henry's wrestling style as due to his diagnosed weak muscle strength and motor control…but it could also be that he's found it highly effective.
Henry is also often terrorized by his 2 and 1/2-year-old little brother, nicknamed Loki: God of Chaos. Shaped like a square, Loki is all kinetic energy and brawn, like a tiny pre-war Austrian pugilist with a blond bowl cut. But despite his brother and sister's respective yang-ness, it's Henry that usually determines the play. Henry's imagination and affable willingness comprise the backdrop for all of his siblings' foreground showstoppers.
At 9 years old, and about 10 pounds underweight, Henry is masterful at creating stories and conjuring words. He both delights and annoys his family by his use of Dadaism in everyday speech to counter traditional (and boring) conversations.
I've caught myself many times wondering whether Henry uses humor as a coping mechanism for where his sensory processing and motor skills challenge him. But it could also be that he is hilarious. What moves me especially about Henry's humor is how unexpected it is. How it seems to surprise even him – and how the more attention he receives about it, the less likely he is to exhibit it. You have to listen very carefully to tune into his frequency. The other day, my husband walked past him lying on the floor in the living room, hands folded behind his head, placidly staring up at the ceiling.
Henry jumped when his dad laughed, because getting a chuckle wasn't his intent.
As Henry has gotten older, after our years and years of successful occupational therapy, multi-sensory listening therapy, Wilbarger brushing technique and speech therapy, it's less important or even relevant for me to need to mention his challenges. So why do I reference it to nearly every new teacher, babysitter and coach? And why does it increasingly leave me with the icky feeling I've somehow betrayed Henry? I tell myself I'm relating important information because I am his conscientious, devoted mom, advocating for him at every turn. But doing this is also saying two things, both of which are false: Henry can't advocate for himself, and his needs are the most important thing about him.
My prevailing story about Henry is far more a story about me.
I have a teensy obsessive problem with fixing, which is enabled (and even celebrated) by our educational culture. But while I can help Henry navigate his challenges, I can't fix them. And, an even more radical thought: there's nothing that needs to be "fixed" at all. I've let the worry over what he does at a different pace take up permanent residence at the margins of our lives. This is not fair to Henry and it causes me to risk doing the very thing I don't want others to do — miss the fully hilarious, kind and sensitive brightness of my beautiful boy.
Recently I ran across some interesting research on prenatal testosterone transfer in dizygotic boy/girl twins. In English, this means that if fraternal twins are boy-girl, the girl is likely to receive some of her twin's testosterone in utero, which then has been found to have the effect of greater athletic ability, more spatial awareness, more aggression in play and competitiveness. Now, I don't know if my daughter's ability to do almost anything incredibly well, her athleticism and competitive drive is because of a hormonal supersizing she got during gestation – and I can't know, precisely. But this little scientific detour points out that my view and understanding is not nearly as broad or objective as I think it is. Charlotte could be the variable and Henry the constant. Or more likely – both are variable, in variable ways.
I tend to peer through my kaleidoscope as if it were binoculars, as if I were magnifying an objective, immutable picture of what is, without acknowledging that the picture is subjectively influenced by what is next to it. One twin next to the other, one child averaged against many. What is "gifted"? What is "special needs"? And what does it look like when a kid has a good helping of both? Certainly for each child, all of these definitions are less a box and more a spectrum of light, something that takes on meaning in contrast to something else, the way we interpret one color based on the colors around it.
Viewing Henry in full spectrum means releasing my hyper focus on his needs and challenges, and allowing his other many gifts to slip into the frame. For example, where Henry's body might not always cooperate with as much agility as he would like, his perseverance picks up the slack. Last July, we went with some friends to their pool where there was a big twisty slide at one end. While Charlotte and her friends raced to it and slid down into the pool, again and again, Henry would climb up, walk to the edge and debate it, then turn around and head back down. He didn't seem to care how many kids were behind him, cajoling him to hurry up and do it. He methodically, resolutely went up to it, debated, went back down, over and over. I couldn't bear to watch – all I could see was what he couldn't yet do. I wanted so badly for him to go down, to take on the slide that was made for a child his age. Later, the friend I was with swam over to me and pointed to the slide: there Henry was, going down it … for the second time, then the third, then the fourth. Months afterward, my friend told me that watching Henry that day helped her to quit smoking, trying and trying and trying again.
When I see my boy fully and dynamically, it's his sensitivity I see shining the brightest. Henry notices my eyes from across a crowded room and reads my emotions, slipping a hand in mine when he senses I'm upset. He stays on the edges of the group, which might make him harder to get to know. But if you are willing to walk to the periphery, get down on his level, take some time to talk about whether the Joker could best Two-Face (he could), or how far a bull shark can swim in fresh water (frighteningly far), he is all yours. At the periphery, where I think the sensory frequency of the world is not turned up quite so loud, Henry can adjust the dial, his antennae picking up many different stations across the airwaves.
When I was taking Henry to pre-K once, the June Carter Cash song "Keep on the Sunny Side" came on, and Henry instantly exclaimed, "That sounds like Grandmama Sara!" My mother, Sara, died when I was 14, so it was all I could do to keep my eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. "How do you know that, Henry?" She did sing that song, but it was not one of hers that I sang to my children and there was no way Henry could have known that Mom had always joked she sounded just like June Carter Cash (no tone, all gusto).
I almost had a wreck.
My oldest boy is not just himself a wonder, he keeps me from forgetting to wonder at the world. Loving Henry teaches me so much about suspending my expectations and letting the picture fluidly shift, so I can accept the gift of something far more beautiful than what I thought I'd see, hear something far more unexpected and mirthful, witness something far more tender in parenthood than I ever thought possible.
For Henry's part, he occasionally offers a bit of self-analysis.
Love, love, love this about my Henny Pen, he is exceptional.
WOW! I so love your attitude. I am a special needs mom, as well and can relate to a lot of the issues you brought up. I envy your outlook, though! Hopefully, I will come around one of these days.


For the third year in a row, the Westmead Research Hub is seeking submissions from Westmead researchers to bring an international visiting professor to Westmead for a 2-3 week program of seminars, meetings and other learning and collaboration fostering engagements.
Last year we were privileged to have Professor Eric CW So visit and be involved in a range of events across the Hub. Professor So's knowledge of Leukamia, Haematology and Stem Cell research provided valuable insight for both researchers and postgraduate students.


Chicago: "Ten O'Clock News," 01/30/1991, WGBH Media Library & Archives, accessed April 25, 2019, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_777826C8550C413B8475C4F02868DB04.
MLA: "Ten O'Clock News." 01/30/1991. WGBH Media Library & Archives. Web. April 25, 2019. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_777826C8550C413B8475C4F02868DB04>.


text:
Home world Shinzo Abe pledges his controversial move to change amid scandal
Shinzo Abe pledges his controversial move to change amid scandal
Vastavam web: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed today to press on with his controversial move to amend Japan's pacifist constitution, undeterred by a political scandal that has dented his popularity.Abe's political capital is dwindling due to a widening scandal over the cut-price sale of government land to one of his supporters, with the opposition suggesting his wife Akie may have played a role."I will thoroughly investigate and show the whole picture of what happened," Abe told the annual meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
"And I will fulfil my duty by rebuilding the (government) organisation so that this will not happen again," he said, reiterating his resolve to stay in power.Abe has denied any involvement by him or his wife in the case but protesters have staged rallies across the nation.Despite his fading popularity, Abe told the party gathering he was committed to changing the constitution, imposed by the United States on the defeated nation after World War II.
Abe said he wants to end the debate over the constitutionality of Japan's military, officially known as the Self-Defence Forces (SDF). The constitution says Japan renounces war and will not maintain land, sea or air forces.The military is well regarded by the general public, and there is widespread acceptance of the government's traditional view that they should be used only for self-defence.
Abe, however, in 2015 expanded the role of the Japanese forces to include the defence of friendly nations, prompting protests from scholars and voters alike that the change violated the constitution.
amid scandal
Japan PM
Previous articleTrump signed memorandum to limit transgender individuals from military service
Next articleUS, china economic officials agreed to communicate on trade issues
Britain must accept responsibility for truck deaths: Chinese paper
Pak urges global community to work towards ending 'persistent clampdown' in Kashmir
European Parliament's chief backs 3-month Brexit extension
Saudi Arabia dismissed threats of sanctions over Khashoggi
Pakistan Political analysts fear political uncertainty amid rigging allegations in Polls

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cast your mind back to your last holiday. How did you feel? More relaxed? More adventurous? Maybe even a little more romantic… steady on tiger!
Holidays don't necessarily change us, but they allow the positive qualities to have the floor for once. The weather's awesome, there's no work to worry about and the sangria's flowing… everything's just a bit better on holiday.
And it's the same for us. Your holiday self is you, but better. And you're pretty great already.
So, which part of you comes out when you travel?
When booking your next holiday, you always follow heart over head. You're gondolas at sunset and padlocks over the Seine. Your other half deserves the world - and you want nothing more than to give them the best of it.
Whether it's diving with whale sharks or trekking through a Sri Lankan rainforest, your next adventure is never too far away. More backpacker than package holiday, Bear Grylls has nothing on you.
Yoga mat tucked under your arm, Zen vibes follow you wherever you go. From the sugary beaches of the Maldives to the summit of Mount Olympus, your search for "perfect chi" has taken you all over the world.
A blindfold, dart and map of the world are all you need to pick your next destination. Where to next?
You're more about late nights in Las Vegas than tours around the Louvre. Your days never start before 1pm and you're always the last one to call it a night. Get the margaritas in.
You know your Beaujolais from your Barolos and you'd never be caught drinking a bottle of plonk. First and foremost, destinations are picked based on dinner time. Jay Rayner is your spirit animal.
While others baulk at the thought of a three-museum day, this is your idea of bliss. The Colosseum, the Berlin Wall, Hagia Sophia… you've done them all, twice. Your thirst for knowledge is unquenchable. You always go for the audio guide.
You've been down every water slide on the Costa del Sol, you're on first name terms with Mickey and the words "it's time for Kids' Club" are the ones you look forward to most on any holiday. Anything for the brood. We wish our parents were more like you.
Our tips will help keep your spending under control – without needing to scrimp on the things that make holidays great.
Ready to change the way you explore the world? These up-and-coming travel styles are just the ticket.
A little bit of strategic can double your holiday time so you can spend less time at the desk and more time abroad.
Whoever you are, wherever you're going, search and compare with TravelSupermarket to find the best deal for you!


Steel Dynamics Inc announced the addition of two new leadership positions, as well as other senior leadership changes.
Miquel Alvarez will join the company as its Senior Vice President, Southwest U.S. and Mexico, effective February 1, 2019. In collaboration with the company's other senior leaders, in this new position Mr. Alvarez will be responsible for the comprehensive business development and partnerships in the region, encompassing both steel and recycled metals. Prior to joining Steel Dynamics, since 2000 Mr. Alvarez served in leadership positions at BlueScope, a global engineered steel solutions provider and flat roll steel producer, focused on the global building and construction sectors. Mr. Alvarez's responsibilities included leading BlueScope's North American metal buildings business, with manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Mexico, as President of BlueScope Buildings North America, since 2017. From 2010 to 2017, he served as the President of North Star BlueScope Steel, responsible for BlueScope's only North American electric-arc-furnace flat roll steel mill. From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Alvarez served as President of Steelscape, Inc. (BlueScope subsidiary), a domestic supplier of metallic-coated and pre-painted steel. He began his professional career in Monterrey, Mexico working for a large steel processing company with locations throughout Mexico.
Glenn Pushis will become the company's Senior Vice President, Special Projects, effective February 1, 2019. In this new position, Mr. Pushis will be responsible for the successful design and construction of the company's previously announced, planned new flat roll steel mill developed to serve the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico. He has extensive experience in this capacity and has been instrumental in numerous construction projects for Steel Dynamics since its foundation. Since 2016, Mr. Pushis has served as Senior Vice President, Long Products Steel Group, responsible for the company's four long product steel mills. Prior to that, Mr. Pushis served as Vice President overseeing the company's Butler Flat Roll Division and six flat roll coating facilities. He has been with Steel Dynamics since 1994, holding various operational and leadership roles, and he was part of the team that constructed the Butler Flat Roll Steel Mill.
Christopher Graham will assume the role of Senior Vice President, Long Products Steel Group, effective February 1, 2019. In this role, he will be responsible for the company's four long product steel mills, which combined have approximately 4 million tons of annual steelmaking capacity, producing specialized engineered bars, structural steel, railroad rail, merchant and reinforcing steel bars, and other specialty steels. Since 2016, Mr. Graham has served as Senior Vice President, Downstream Manufacturing and President of New Millennium Building Systems, responsible for the company's steel fabrication and downstream manufacturing operations. Mr. Graham has been with Steel Dynamics since 1994, holding various operational and leadership roles within both the steel fabrication and steel operations, and was part of the teams that constructed the Butler Flat Roll and Structural and Rail steel mills.
James Anderson will assume the role of Vice President, Steel Fabrication and President, New Millennium Building Systems, the second largest domestic producer of steel joist and deck products, effective February 1, 2019. Mr. Anderson, will be responsible for the company's steel fabrication operations, comprised of seven manufacturing facilities, located throughout the U.S. and in Mexico. Since 2015, Mr. Anderson has served as the Chief Operating Officer of New Millennium Building Systems. Prior to that, Mr. Anderson was the general manager of the company's three flat roll galvanizing lines located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (The Techs). Steel Dynamics purchased The Techs in 2007, where Mr. Anderson then served as its Managing Partner.


Think your attitude towards your diet and exercise doesn't matter? Having a self-defeating, negative focus can send us spiraling down an unwanted path. Here are two examples of people who looked at their diet and exercise routines very differently, and what their results were.
Jane has decided that it's time to change her life, lose the extra fat, and get in shape. She has researched what to eat, set her goals, created a workout plan, and is ready to go!!
After several weeks of successfully following her plan and meeting her behavior goals, Jane attends a Friday night party where all of her favorite junk foods make an appearance. As much as she tries, she gives in to temptation and ends up overeating.
She decides that she'll start over on Monday.
Jane spends Saturday and Sunday eating whatever she wants and not exercising. The feeling of not being restricted feels so good that she even eats things she wouldn't normally eat. She drives through fast food restaurants even though she's not hungry. She feels guilty but tells herself that she'd better enjoy it because Monday she'll be back to her diet.
By Sunday night, Jane has consumed an additional 5,000 calories above and beyond her normal intake since Friday night, and has worked none of it off with exercise.
She has now gained back 2 pounds of the 5 she had lost in the last few weeks. She feels like giving up.
John has also decided that he's ready to get in shape and lose the extra fat. He set his goals, created his exercise plan, and is ready to get started.
After several weeks, John attends the same Friday night party with the same tempting foods. He ends up overeating during the course of the party as well. He leaves the party and realizes what has just happened.
He thinks to himself, "Oops." Instead of beating himself up, he realizes that next time he should eat ahead of time so he's not as tempted. He decides it's no big deal, forgives himself, and re-commits to his goals.
John decides to get right back on track immediately.
John spends Saturday and Sunday following his normal routine. He works out and eats just a little less at each meal to make up for his indulgences at the party. He focuses his thoughts on his accomplishments, how great he feels after a healthy meal and a workout, and forgets all about the party foods.
By Sunday night, John has still met his calorie deficit for the week, even after the party, and is down by 1 pound.
Jane had a self-defeating, negative attitude. John stayed positive and framed his mistake as a lesson.
Jane gave up. John kept trying.
Jane was focused on her diet and exercise as something she HAD to do, deprivation and maybe even a punishment. John stayed focused on how great he feels and all the positives that eating healthy and exercising brings him.
Deep down, Jane didn't believe she could do it. John never questioned for a minute that he wasn't capable of success, even after a so-called failure.
Don't count Jane out! Her story may not be over if instead of beating herself up for her weekend and weight gain, she adopts John's attitude and starts over. After all, starting over is better than the alternative of giving up, even if it feels frustrating.
This is exactly why the mental aspect of health and fitness is so incredibly important. Positivity is essential to staying on track and changing your life for good. Negativity will pull you down until you can't sustain your habits anymore.
Do you stay positive in your fitness routine? How has it helped you?
I was in the exact same position as Jane on Christmas Day and the day after the night before. I felt guilty and I had let myself down and decided to start on 1 January. But I tried to be positive after reading many of your articles. I didn't derail myself and said there is no better time than the PRESENT.
Instead of sabotaging myself any further I was back in the gym and eating plan yesterday.
Well put!! This is a great site to keep you focused when maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Keep up the good work! Week five-lost 15 lbs!
At 55, I still see that fat kid every once in a while but oh so rare now! 🙂 I used to do a lot of negative self talk but have really been working on that that past few years. Makes such a HUGE difference!
I became very depressed after being sick and layed up in the hospital. Like Jane I told myself all my hard work has gone waste. A month later I pushed myself to get back on track but I am still enountering an obstacle, I keep having a craving for chips. Its just chips and nothing else. How do overcome this craving?
What I do when I'm trying to break a processed food habit is find a healthy, whole food alternative that I really like. Then, I don't worry about calories, and I eat it whenever I have a craving. At the beginning I'm eating quite a bit of food, but after a few days, the cravings dissipate, and after a week, they are practically gone. Frozen grapes and salted mixed nuts are key for me.