(Note: Megg would like to add that no food was injured in the making of this blog post.)

1) Our items could not combine for a total of more than $15

2) There had to be some international products

3) We were given 15 minutes to shop

After running around like crazy people, these were our finds:

Daniel:

Distilling oneself into a handful of international groceries is a more accurate depiction of the core of our very being than I had initially expected.

Organic Aloe Vera Juice from South Korea – I try to buy organic whenever I can as well as try new things from around the world. And aloe reminds me of surfing and the ritualistic aloe treatments for the post-surf sunburns.

Quinoa from Peru – How can you go wrong with an ancient super crop that’s been harvested for 3000-4000 years in the Andean region of South America? Plus, as a pseudo-vegetarian, it’s important to get essential amino acids and this is one of the few crops that provides all of them.

Castile Beauty Soap Dominica – Oddly, all the best soap packaging seems to come from the Caribbean islands so I had to pick up this olive oil infused castile soap from Dominica, “the nature island.” The smell reminds me of soaps we used to have in Hungary as a kid and the location of origin takes me back to the rainforest.

Hungarian Paprika from Hungary – This is probably the most well-known export of my home country and it should be used like salt in everything from omelets to Csirke Paprikas, my favorite dish of chicken bathed in a paprika-based sauce and surrounded by gnocchi.

Udon Noodles from Japan – Equally good in stir-fries and soups, Japanese noodles always seem to have a touch of class to them. I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese culture and a trip to the far island is at the top of my list of upcoming travels.

Teriyaki Nori Seaweed from China – While the brave eat this like a snack chip, I typically stir it into miso soup to give it a flavor that reminds me of swallowing ocean water on a good day of surfing.

Achiote Paste from Mexico – I love the rugged landscapes of Mexico and this traditional seasoning paste made from an inedible fruit’s seeds is essential for cochinita pibil. It’s also a natural dye often used as a substitute for food coloring.

Yerba Mate from Argentina – Buenos Aires is still one of my favorite cities for their art and design culture, and if you’ve ever been there you know that Mate is something of a religion, constantly being sipped at all hours of the day and night out of gourd cups with metal straw filters. It’s also extremely high in antioxidants and has a natural energy boost without the caffeine crash typical of coffee.

Rachel:

I bought food and beverage products to represent myself because I LOVE to eat.

Cornbrights from El Salvador – These are just a bit over the top, but they look happy and fun which I think conveys my personality. They’re also corny so that’s fitting as well.

Octopus from Mexico – I’m a scuba diver and have gone on long underwater searches for octopus in faraway waters.

Ginger Beer from Jamaica – Hello! I’m a Ginger!

Spotted Dick from England – It’s a British pudding (“dessert” for Americans). I bought this because I’m an Anglophile and because it was weird. I’ve spent a lot of time in England and have still never tried it.

Dinosaur Sippy Cup – Above all, I’m the mother of my one-year old son, Baylor, who loves straws and dinosaurs.

Jenn:

I wasn’t so good at finding products of international origins. BUT I did a great job finding items that had more than one application. I think I win as far as least amount of items, though I think Megg beat me on cheapest haul. Super fun field trip!

Toy – I love to eat (not that I’m a good cook) and I used to play house as a kid. I had one of those life-sized kitchen sets that I loved. “Playing house” also represents how I’m more of a relationship-type person. I’d much rather have a few close friends than hundreds of acquaintances.

Yeo’s Chrysanthemum Tea Drink (Malaysian brand) – I can say a lot of with this drink. It’s Asian; my favorite color, yellow; and my favorite kind of tea, chrysanthemum, which I love to drink while eating Dim Sum.

Melitta European Indulgence Coffee – It’s from the US; I couldn’t afford the import coffee on my $15 budget. But the point is that I’ve always wanted to visit and live somewhere in Europe. Very determined to make this happen.

Bubble Sword from China – This thing is awesome like me! Soft bubbles juxtaposed with a sharp ninja sword. It mirrors my sweet persona and love for post-hardcore/metalcore/screamo music. People are usually surprised with what I’m calmly listening to at work with my headphones on.

Megg:

I’m still really upset that the purple pony piñata was just barely outside of our $15 budget, and I still think that guy should’ve been more open to haggling. But all in all, this was really fun, and I don’t think Fiesta knew what hit ‘em.

Ball – I love red and usually it’s hard for my playful, energetic self to sit still. I can be rather bouncy.

Clown Candy – It’s ridiculous like me, and it reminds me of how much I wanted to be in the circus when I learned how to juggle in 4th grade.

White Tuna – What a ridiculous name for a cactus fruit. I wish I had thought of it. I saw this awkward, somewhat frumpy fruit and connected with it. Us weirdos have to stick together.

Broncholin Throat Drops – I have been asthmatic my entire life and I get a lot of upper respiratory infections, so I couldn’t walk out of Fiesta without something to soothe my ailments.

Mardi Gras Masks – This item couldn’t have been more perfect for me. 1) I come from just north of Galveston where Mardi Gras is a big deal 2) I was born in February 3) I’m really into theatre and these reminded me of the symbolic double masks and 4) My mom always encouraged us to paint everything as little kids. Rocks, masks, faces… nothing was safe. It helped me grow into the creative person I am today.

Lauren:

I had way too much fun with this. Also, I can use everything I bought. Except for the Estefania book, which I can’t read because it’s in Spanish. Oh well. It’s still fun to look at.

Coffee from Germany – It’s fitting that I’m starting with coffee because I start pretty much every day with a cup of coffee. I love it. The brand I chose is German, but I mainly liked how fancy it looked.

Chocolates from Mexico – Like most girls, I absolutely adore chocolate. This particular kind from Mexico is really awesome too. It was way denser than American chocolate and had a great taste. It also contained within the wrapper stickers of endangered and extinct animals, which was way too cool.

Oatmeal – I eat oatmeal pretty much every morning. I used to hate it, but I love it now. It’s filling and awesome and goes great with coffee.

Tea – The tea in the picture is representative of the kind of tea I drink in real life. (Apparently, the kind I got was some kind of herbal tea, which I’m not fond of.) I really love iced tea, as a true southern girl, and I’d drink it every day if I could.

Pen – You probably can’t see it in the picture, but the pen I got is just your standard black pen. It’s representative of the fact that I’m a writer and I can’t leave the house without a pen somewhere on my person. Seriously. I have a problem.

Red Marker – This is to symbolize my love of editing. I went a little dramatic here – I obviously do not mark up everything I read with a red marker, but in my younger days, I did. Today, it’s purely symbolic.

The book Estefania – I can’t go anywhere without taking a book; I love to read and it’s what I want to make a career out of one day. Also, I love that Estefania seems to have a strong female lead, which I can never resist – even if I can’t read this particular instance of it.

Mask – The mask was partly for fun, but also because I love to dress up for Halloween, which I love and kind of wish happened more than once a year. Besides, it was $1 – how could I pass that up?

The city has more independent bookstores than almost anywhere, lots of gallery spaces featuring up-and-coming artists, huge museums with world-class exhibitions, farmers markets and community gardens, sidewalk cafes and inspired restaurants of all shades next to food trucks, endlessly shimmering lights of millions of people spiced with multi-culturalism.  The hills and mountains directly in the center of the metro area are as lush as a tropical jungle with giant walls of plants flowing off of buildings and forests of palms, firs, orange trees and every plant in between swallowing blocks whole while the endless Pacific stretches infinitely, erasing all thoughts of self-importance.

The trips were highlighted by the meeting of lots of inspiring and creative people, massive cookouts of bountiful local foods, day after day of surfing frigid waters with acrobatic dolphin flying, getting lost in urban hikes up and down miles of secret stairways, and feasting at hole-in-the-wall restaurants with no signs – an LA unlike any of my preconceptions and previous experiences.

Your Names and Titles:
Melanie Fricke – VP Product Strategy
Shea Gordon – Marketing Manager
Sara Smith – Copywriter

Where are you located?
Headquartered in Austin, TX

Why Austin?
Beautiful – love the hills, outdoors, and the people

How many people does your company employ?
We have 15 home office staff in Austin and then 125 locations across the US

What does your company do?
We provide IT solutions to small businesses using the franchise model. Our franchise locations become the outsource IT department for small businesses (5 to 99 employees) in their local community. We are the best IT solution provider serving the small business market.

Who are your clients/customers?
Small businesses (5 to 99 employees)

Why did you choose Creative Suitcase?
We were looking for an agency that could bring fresh ideas to the rather boring concept of IT.

What results have you experienced with us?
We have launched a national Tech Makeover contest which engaged more than half of our franchisee system to start marketing again. Over 20,000 contacts received our direct mail campaign. We received 163 stories into the contest. We were featured in over 72 media outlets and have now been fortunate enough to make a radical difference for a non-profit that provides assistance to special needs children. The franchisees united in this national effort and CMIT was able to give back in a big way – awarding The Monarch School of NE with a $75,000 Technology Makeover.

What has been your greatest success?
Getting over 50 franchisees to participate in our Tech Makeover was a huge win for us. We are seeing our franchisees come on board with the new marketing efforts we are generating. Another big win was telling the Monarch School that they won – they jumped up and down and even cried.

Top 5 items in your suitcase (your favorites)
Travel destination: Australia
Take home souvenir: Wine
Web site: www.techcrunch.com
Austin original: Waterloo

Rather than wasting space trashing the dozens of terrible examples of shopping sites, in this edition of Dear Company we’ll focus on you, Patagonia, a great example of a company that’s got it right.

Your brand is known for extreme product quality, an almost unbelievable commitment to customer satisfaction, and for being a leader in sustainable practices. But beyond just selling products, your brand stands for a philosophy that takes into account environmental and social responsibility, even at the expense of profits and you spread that corporate philosophy through your athlete ambassadors as well as your non-profit work.

Let’s do a breakdown from landing to checkout to see what makes this site a valuable example:

Home Page:
Your home page welcomes visitors with clear presentation of the core values as well as news, features, and alerts. Instead of a list of products and buy buttons, the page focuses on reinforcing brand identity through beautiful photography of ambassadors in inspiring locations, secondary highlights of related projects such as films and environmental initiatives, and tastefully presented promo links to sale items and new products.

The page is clearly structured with obvious navigation to the principal areas: Store, Environmentalism, Blog, and The Tin Shed, a micro-site focused on the history and multimedia content related to the company.

All four areas are equally valuable depending on the users interest, but for our purposes we’ll look at the Store experience.

Main Shop Page:
The Shop navigation drops down to easy sub-navigation to distill the thousands of items into a more manageable subset based on categories. It then immediately shows a full list of available filter options to further adjust the product list with variables like size, price range, type of product, and others – giving the user clear understanding of choices and empowering them to make the selections that match their interests. The filters can be turned on and off quickly to create different subsets of products.

The main content area features more beautiful photos that not only showcase products in action but also reinforces philosophy and connects the user to featured item sets. Below these there are sortable product thumbnails with useful info such as colors and ratings.

Product Detail Page:
Consistent, quality images with clean white space makes lots of information easy to understand while the sidebar filter system shows your selections and breadcrumb navigation shows how you got there.

All images are placed on the left side with thumbnails to additional views, zoom functionality, and even video links to learn more about products. Below that the site recommends additional products based on one’s selections and those of others.

Right side shows product information, rating, available options, and a clear Add to Cart button. Adding to cart shows the user that an action has taken place and displays an item in a dropdown at the top of the page.

Links to sizing charts, guarantees and return policies encourage confidence in buyers and easy share buttons enable visitors to become active marketers for your brand.

Product details reinforce brand philosophy by showing the sustainable features of the item as well as a “Product Footprint” which goes into great detail of the manufacturing process through video and other media, offering full disclosure and transparency.

Checkout Process:
The Review cart process organizes all items clearly and enables editing, saving, and removing of items. Whereas many sites attempt to make it difficult for customers to remove items, your checkout process enables editing and removal even deeper in the checkout process, showing a commitment to the customer and cutting down on buyer’s remorse.

Aside from the typical checkout through the site itself, the customer can choose between several alternate checkout options including Paypal and Amazon, giving them greater control with their shopping preferences.

The rest of the checkout process is just a few simple steps with all fields clearly labeled and accompanied by instructions when necessary. The breadcrumb style progress bar shows where one is in the process and enables going back to previous steps if necessary.

Thanks Patagonia!

1. Your Project: what is it and why does it matter?

You’re passionate about your project, whatever it is, and we need to understand why. Give us the elevator pitch, making sure to describe what you’re doing, why it’s interesting, and who would want to know about it.  This gives us a starting point for a more in-depth conversation that helps define the project and set it on the right track.

2. What’s the point of all this anyway?

Think through the various ways in which you envision your project’s design existing. Together we can walk through the various uses and how your audience would interact with the design representation of your project. Thinking through all the angles presents us with a holistic view of the necessary functionality required and gives us an understanding of user behavior and your intended connections to those users.

3. Show don’t tell

Spend some time doing research on design sites and blogs to see what you like. The more you look at, the more examples you can save for a discussion with us and the more likely we are to understand why certain aesthetics resonate with you. Even if you just like a small piece of something you’ve seen, it’s very helpful towards focusing our creative efforts.

4. Tell don’t show

Now let’s try the reverse of #3. Make a list of words that you feel represent your project. Words that you’d feel happy to hear others say about what you’re doing and how they relate to it. Any design we create will have to stand up to those descriptors.

5. Place some borders and then break through them

It’s good to establish some parameters and boundaries with reasons for why they exist. But it’s equally good to break through a lot of those boundaries and throw some new ideas in there to balance things out. These more experimental ideas combined with what we think is appropriate tend to provide new perspectives that will lead to the right ideas.

6. Be collaborative

Spend time in conversation working through ideas and talking about your project. You never know what will spur the right idea. Imagine yourself in as many of your users’ shoes as you can and walk in them for awhile.

7. Be logical and efficient

When it comes time for feedback and revisions, it’s wise to be as efficient and specific as possible. Clearly itemizing your thoughts and questions in written form helps organize the revisions process and avoids mistakes and oversights. Consolidating your feedback into a single document and double checking it before presenting to a designer make the process a lot more efficient than if you were to send a message or call every time you have a change or suggestion.

With the above in practice, it’s almost guaranteed your relationship with your designer will be fruitful and yield more authentic and appropriate design.

Now give us a call and let’s start the discussion!

Our founder, Rachel Clemens, is also a founding partner of SwapYourShop along with former Creative Suitcase employees, Jennifer Wright and Mackenzie Walsh, and partner Josh Peichoto. Recently, Rachel submitted a panel submission to the 2011 SXSW Interactive Festival. The panel made it past the first round of scrutiny and is now up for voting as part of SXSW’s Panel Picker. Help Rachel out by voting for her submission and telling SXSW what you think of the panel idea. Here’s the description:

Bartering Life: The Trend of Online Exchange Services
Today’s transactions have reverted back to a pre-industrial barter and trade system, with a technology twist. With the growing trend of online exchange websites, users are searching for ways in which to live, work and consume without paying for the experience, product or service. ‘ This emerging type of online transaction is viewed as smart, frugal and environmentally sound. The act of barter and trade is nothing new, but with technologies allowing us to tap into a vast amount of resources in a matter of minutes, the exchange transaction creates an entirely new way in which online users choose to consume. ‘ This panel will discuss the appeal of online exchange services, why they’re becoming increasingly valuable, how they’re transforming the way users consume and how one can use these online services to consume at a low to no cost.

Questions Answered:

1. What is the appeal of online exchange services and products?
2. Why are exchange services becoming increasingly valuable in today’s world?
3. How are exchange services transforming the way in which users are consuming products and services? And at what cost?
4. How can we use technology to connect large user bases who have good or services to trade?
5. Where is the future of online exchange services going?

Head on over to SXSW’s Panel Picker to vote now!