So this sweet new gadget costs a bit of a pretty penny ($40) but you can’t put a price on a good laugh or attention grab when you’re a ham. Sit back, relax and use your lifeline (cough..your phone) for just one more thing … to open your beer. Drink on and prosper.

Opena – iPhone Bottle Opener from Annex Products on Vimeo.

By Cheryl Tieken

Friends, clients, fellow colleagues… The Client Services team would like to take a moment to share with you a glimpse of what our typical day looks like around JT headquarters.

The following is a video which speaks candidly to what a Project Manager, or PM as we like to call ourselves, goes through on a daily basis.

Many of you have already experienced us PM’s say a few of the little gems found in this video. And I can say confidently that there was undoubtedly a good dose of eye-rolling and slight frustration when we did.

It’s true, Project Managers have to be the hard-asses, the nit-pickers, the nagging girlfriends of a creative agency. But please know, we do it with care and with a goal of making everyone happy in the end.

So please dear friends, watch on.

Dreaming of your perfect date this Valentine’s Day? One of our newest clients, I Dream of U, is here to make those dreams into realities. Kiss your lonely Saturday night goodbye, click off that Lifetime flick, and get the heck out of that overcrowded club. Don’t worry; you don’t even have to relax your grip on that pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Not only can you find your dream date, but you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Just sign up, answer a few simple questions, and start building your dream person. You’ll be well on your way to adding in another spoon to that ice cream carton in no time.

I Dream of U is now holding a pre launch Facebook contest where five lucky winners can each win $500 toward their ultimate dream date! Just “like” the I Dream of U facebook page and write a quick blurb about what’s a deal breaker on your first date.  We’ve all been out with a few bad apples, so remembering why they never made it to date #2 should be a piece of cake. Maybe they felt chivalry was dead and picking up the check was so 90’s. Or maybe they took you to McDonald’s because hey, there are a lot of options on that dollar menu.  Whatever the case, take a second, think back, and submit something clever.

Enter your response before the contest closes and we might just kick in $500 to fund your Ultimate Dream Date.

Dream. Build. Connect.

By Travis Van Vechten

My name is Travis Van Vechten and I am interning here at Jacob Tyler because of my high-school’s month long academic internship. Every eleventh grader has to do one, and mine is here. When first coming to this internship I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that we were going to have a meeting first thing when I arrived. I got here early on the first day and my Uncle Charlie showed me around and introduced me to a bunch of people, or ‘creatives’ as they call themselves. Then, we went into the meeting with some of the people that would be working with me throughout the month. We talked about what I would be working on through out my internship. They decided that in addition to developing my own brand identity, it would be great for me to work on their VOTE by Design campaign to show me every aspect of what they do at Jacob Tyler.

I had no idea what this VOTE Campaign was when we first started but I learned much more when I went to the kickoff meeting for the project. This project, as all projects here, requires a huge team effort. Because of this, they have involved me in all of the meetings for this project, and they then inform me on the next steps that we will take. After the kickoff, the Project Manager scheduled assets, like a splash page and logo to be created. Now we’re in the first phases of design while we also work on finding sponsors and judges. Stay tuned for more next steps.

I am also doing a side project that focuses on learning the steps of branding. I am doing this by making my own “brand”. I have designed logos, written a creative brief, and created a profile picture for my future “fan page.” Also later in this project I will be designing and creating facebook applications so keep an eye out.

High Tech High is not much different from Jacob Tyler in the way that High Tech High is all project based learning. They are similar because both of their work flows are almost exactly the same. For example, here at Jacob Tyler a client would walk in and request a project. They team would break into “groups” and begin working. At school, the teachers would create a project and then present it to the kids. Similarly, we would then break up into groups and kick off the project. Whenever we work on a project at school there is a lot of collaboration that happens between students. Here at JT, everyone works together in some different aspect of the project so that they make sure to have clear communication throughout the process. They accomplish this mainly by having meetings and emailing each other.

So far, this has been a great experience at Jacob Tyler and I look forward to getting more involved in the projects to come.