This holiday season we took our creativity to the kitchen with the making of SolFood - an eclectic cookbook that takes readers through our love affair with food and the recipes that inspire us. We had a blast compiling and sharing our favorite drinks and dishes - we hope they excite your palate and spark your culinary imagination! We’d love to hear your response to the book and cherished recipes. Happy Holidays from all of us at SolDesign.

Download your copy now!

We recently blogged about our partnership with Peachstate Insurance and our creation of a Toys for Tots video to help deliver hope to children this holiday season. We’ve been promoting the video since the beginning of December, and we’ve had a great response. The more that people view and share the video, the more the word is spread. Please help children in need this holiday season by sharing this with everyone you know.

You can view the video here:

Today, we’re honored to announce that the Soleil Laurel Canyon website won the 2010 Gold Marketing OBIE award for “best website”. The OBIE awards have been taking place every year for thirty years now, and have grown to feature over 100 building, remodeling, marketing and personal achievement categories. They are the premier awards in the new home construction industry.

In 2009, Southeast Capital Partners approached us and asked us to design and develop the Soleil at Laurel Canyon website. The active adult community needed a fresh look and feel to accompany the development’s new messaging. We built the site on a WordPress blog platform, allowing non-HTML users to update the content quickly and easily without having to deploy an expensive, confusing content management system. The blog platform is searchable and quickly indexed by the major search engines. We utilized video, a custom home search module and additional features to help online home buyers find their dream community.

Soleil Laurel Canyon boasts resort style living, yet our client also wanted to evoke a lighthearted, fun feeling to show that life doesn’t stop at retirement. We used Soleil’s existing logo and print collateral for design inspiration, and to give the site a touch of playfulness, we created a flash piece that mixes phrases like “They always told you… act your age”, with images of older adults living the life they’ve always wanted.

The colors of the site are vibrant to give it an energetic feeling, while the large photos showcase the gorgeous amenities. Features like the virtual tour and “Send an Ecard” give users an interactive glimpse into the life in the community.

We’re thrilled that our partnership with Evolv and Southeast Capital Partners led to this prestigious award—this was a project that we were passionate about and that we had a lot of fun with as well.