Posted By: Peter Wegren on May 22nd, 2013
Filed Under: Web Development
Greetings! My name is Peter Wegren and I am one of the most recent additions to the Top Draw team. I am a recent graduate of the Digital Media and IT (DMIT) program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and, naturally, I was very excited to have the opportunity to join a such great team at a well-established internet marketing agency here in Edmonton. During my academic tenure at NAIT, I took classes in web and graphic design and development, and, in the last year of my studies, I focused on web development. I am a self-proclaimed ‘typophile’, audiophile, and nerd with a penchant for most science fiction and fantasy-related literature and cinema. Well-formed code, elegant and/or engaging programming solutions, and anything else that indulges my order-focused neuroses are guaranteed to delight my nerdy tendencies.
My academic career did not begin at NAIT, but rather at the University of Alberta. At the time of my early acceptance into the Faculty of Science, my plan was to complete a bachelor’s degree and then apply for graduate studies in Physiotherapy. After declaring a major in Psychology, a change to Earth & Atmospheric Science, and three years of undergraduate studies, I found myself questioning my career trajectory and motivation to continue with my studies.
The DMIT program at NAIT was one that piqued my interest. It was an ideal blend of courses that catered towards my interests in visual design and science/technology. In the spring of 2011, after deciding to leave the U of A, I applied for admission to the DMIT program. Two years later, I have graduated from NAIT and am part of the team at TopDraw!
Being new to the web industry, my learning curve has drastically increased, especially since completing my program. I welcome all of the opportunities that come my way to learn from others who have more experience than myself, as well as to learn new tools, workflows, and programming languages. Beginning my career in the web industry has put into perspective how much I have yet to learn and will continue to learn as I work with others, and I am now exposed to tools and technologies that I have not worked with before.
Some wisdom that has served me well is: It is okay to be uncertain of your academic or occupational career path. It is okay to change your mind about what you want to do or should be doing as an academic or life career. Worry more about finding success in something that you are passionate about than something someone else suggested you should do.
Learning does not end with the completion of formal education; it begins with a career.
Peter at work on one of our most recent projects.
Posted By: Top Draw on May 10th, 2013
Filed Under: Edmonton, Events, News
Junior Achievement is the only organization that teaches entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness to students at all levels of the school system. This organization maximizes student potential by exposing them to real life business leaders that teach tangible, relevant, and relatable lessons in order to prepare them for success in the global economy.
Recently Top Draw web designer, Wendy Yeung, created an infographic to be used as a quick fact sheet regarding the impact that the local JA Northern Alberta and Northwest Territories office has made on young individuals. As illustrated by the infographic, JA Northern Alberta & NWT delivered programs to over 20,000 students in 2013 and is striving to achieve their goal of reaching 40,000 students by 2016, with added help from quality volunteers and financial support from our Alberta business community.
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Posted By: Tatianna Lazowski on May 8th, 2013
Filed Under: Edmonton, Events
For the past 32 years, NAIT has held an awards banquet for students enrolled in the Promotional Campaign Planning course. As part of the curriculum, students create campaigns for various clients and present their proposals to their peers and the course instructor. After the class presentations, the top teams are judged by a panel of industry professionals. Upon completion of the final presentation, the panel provides constructive feedback and determines the winners of numerous awards.
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Posted By: Cindy on May 7th, 2013
Filed Under: Edmonton
At Top Draw, we are fortunate to meet awesome folks who are not only great at what they do, they help make Edmonton a fantastic place to work and live. Two of those clients are Carolyn Patton and Oksana Gowin, whom we worked with while developing websites for ATB Investor Services and the Art Gallery of Alberta. Staunch supporters of the arts scene (as well as many other great causes) in Edmonton, these ladies recently asked us to lend our expertise in helping promote a special event of the AGA – Art on the Block. And we just couldn’t say no!
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Posted By: Adriel on April 29th, 2013
Filed Under: SEO & Online Marketing
No business or person is perfect. Even if you’ve done a good job avoiding trouble and staying on the straight and narrow, sometimes trouble comes looking for you. From an online perspective, negative comments, reviews or posts about your company or products can show up in several ways.
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Posted By: Adriel on April 23rd, 2013
Filed Under: Web Design
Image editing can be a real bear. For people who aren’t familiar with it, there are a lot of new terms to learn and the software seems complex and expensive. If you’re not a pro at Photoshop and you just need to capture, crop, or resize a few photos for your website, you might fall in love with a quick little program called Irfanview. *This guide is meant for photo editing beginners.
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Posted By: Nick on April 19th, 2013
Filed Under: SEO & Online Marketing
Google’s new enhanced AdWords campaigns aim to simplify and improve PPC advertising in a multi-device marketplace. Given this goal, you might think that targeting specific devices with your campaigns would be easier than ever… or at least not harder than it was before.
You might be surprised.
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Posted By: Tammy Lee on April 15th, 2013
Filed Under: Web Development
While cross-browser testing, you’ll run across mobile devices automatically restyling telephone numbers as hyperlinks. How do you handle this?
You’d think this would be a no-brainer to figure out but I decided to use google-fu to double-check that I was handling the inserted link correctly. I was a bit surprised by what I found – advice on how to disable mobile device telephone links!
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Posted By: Top Draw on April 10th, 2013
Filed Under: Edmonton, News
Exporting to over 35 countries around the world
It’s extremely satisfying to work with a company from its early years and watch them grow and prosper. When we first met the partners of LJ Welding Automation in 2006, shortly after they purchased the company, 99% of their customers were based in Alberta. They now export to over 35 countries around the world! This accomplishment recently won this welding equipment manufacturer a prestigious Alberta Export Award at the 2013 event in Calgary…and we just wanted to say congratulations!
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Posted By: Top Draw on April 9th, 2013
Filed Under: Edmonton, News, Web Development
Honored for the opportunity to work with ATB in the ambitious goal of creating an innovative online investment advice tool—MasterPlan—the pilot phase has just wrapped up and results are now being analyzed. Reflecting on what we accomplished to date—the concept, sheer scope and complexities of the project—provided a formidable challenge, but one that was eagerly welcomed.
This article sums up a recent interview with Rita Sly, Managing Director, Mass Market for ATB Investor Services about her experience working with Top Draw and creating MasterPlan.
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