The tasks and projects with which I am involved are great.  The office environment is pleasant.  I do feel I must briefly mention the entertaining differences between men and women.  I have worked for so long with only women.  It has been wonderful and full of conversation.  Now I am embarking on this new journey which, ironically, is predominately male.  Wonderful?  Yes.  Conversational?  Only when necessary.  It really amuses me.  One is certainly not better than the other.  It’s just a simple observation.

I really do have so much respect for these BlackOut men.  What a talented group of people.  What a magnificent opportunity.  I feel truly honored and blessed to be a part of it.

Then began the emails of log-ins and passwords to set up for the various programs with which I would be involved.  That was even exciting to me.  The orientation of information was interesting and overwhelming all at once.  But I was prepared for such things.  Lunch at the Steamtown Mall was rather sad in viewing all the closed stores and emptiness, but that is for an entirely different blog.  I finished the day with a new respect for all the inner workings of any small business.  I am constantly guilty of taking many things for granted.  The daily activities of this impressive web design company is the newest on my list.

The rest of the week was great.  The staff is friendly and quite.  A perfect atmosphere for me.  I was given different tasks to complete like building analytic reports for the various companies that BlackOut assists.  It was all new to me and I enjoyed each moment of learning.  The week ended on a high note because I was able to attend a meeting to iron out details for the up-coming art auction for First Friday Scranton.  What wonderful events BlackOut is involved with.  I look forward to being a part of this company which is active in bettering my native Scranton.

For now, I want to end by saying that being the new kid on the block is proving to be a very special and humbling experience.  I have held my current full-time position for the past three years and I now know what needs to be done at any given moment.  I hope to eventually gain that kind of confidence at BlackOut.

Adriana is interning with BlackOut over the summer and, from time to time, she’ll be sharing her thoughts on her experiences here to provide a different perspective on the work we do.

NCOC staff will attend the the Eighth Annual Continuity Insights Management Conference, April 12-14, and will participate in a panel discussion, “Business Continuity Professional: The Next Generation,” on Tuesday, April 13, from 2-3:15 p.m.

BlackOut designed informational fliers with details on joining the NCOC as a member organizations or industry participant, as well as the goals of the center and how to contact them for more information.

The Continuity Insights conference will be a great opportunity for the NCOC to introduce industry professionals to wealth of services they offer and we’re proud that they chose BlackOut to help them make a lasting first impression.

The website provides information on the NCOC and its goal of furthering the organizational continuity profession. Site visitors are funneled through specific channels to help them find the most appropriate and most useful resources to meet their needs.

BlackOut integrated into the site a unique collaborative environment that facilitates communication and collaboration between local colleges and universities, continuity professionals and students or adult learners interested in continuity careers and training.

See the results at The National Center for Organizational Continuity.

Recently, to help promote MetroAction’s upcoming business training seminars, BlackOut produced a series of print postcards that carry all of the pertinent information on the seminars and registration. The cards will provide a high impact, informative piece of collateral that MetroAction staff can distribute to their network of clients and referral partners.

NCOC will serve as a clearinghouse for information and resources on the business continuity industry, a field that strives to prepare businesses of all sizes for disruptions to infrastructure and operations caused by catastrophic events.

The goal of the NCOC will also function as a training and research collaborative, connecting workers with the high-demand organizational continuity skills they need and providing networking opportunities for continuity professionals and institutes of higher education.

The first phase of our work with NCOC involved developing a logo that encompassed the mission and message of the Center. Our designers worked to create a logo that spoke to the Center’s core goal of empowering workers to handle any situation or circumstance.

The logo was only the first part of our engagement with NCOC. Check back for more news on the Center in the coming weeks.

We produced for DeCoverly Kennels a full-color informational postcard suited for distribution at industry conferences. The cards describe the value of a DeCoverly Kennels hunting dog both in the field and at home while incorporating photography of their beautiful setters.

The DeCoverly team will take the cards with them when they attend the Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show this weekend and we’re proud that the postcards fully convey the DeCoverly tradition of excellence.

In conjunction with the Great Valley Technology Alliance Business Plan competition, BlackOut offers its logo design and branding services, free of charge, to competition winners. We help these upstart local companies develop a custom brand and logo that allows them to put their best foot forward as they enter the marketplace.

We developed a branding package for Cognition Media and its product, Minerva. The Cognition plan was prepared by University of Scranton students Joseph Casabona, Matthew Pfahl and Kristen Said and involves the design and development of a content management system specifically for high schools to manage their websites.

After a few design iterations, these are the logos we settled on with the Cognition team. It was a pleasure working with Cognition and we wish them continued success in the future.

The Hexagon Project is part of Interdependece Day activities in Scranton. Interdependence Day aims to “acknowledge the inevitability and significance of interdependence in our time, and set out to build constructively and culturally a global civic society.”

Reflecting that theme, the Hexagon Project invites school students respond creatively to global issues and design unique hexagon art. More than 300 hexagons will be on display in the MAC exhibit.

Interdependence Day 2009 will be celebrated on Thursday, September 10, 2009. The Hexagon exhibit opens Friday,
September 4, 2009, and will remain on display through October.

We designed a new site that reflects the full range of Valley’s logistics services including warehousing, transportation and distribution. Valley needed a web presence that was innovative and elegant. See the results at the Valley Distributing & Storage Company site.