We recently facilitated an on-site hackathon at a client's office, where the KeyLimeTie team came in and produced the event for them and served as facilitators while their employees developed their ideas. We decided to have a bit of fun with it, knowing that everyone needs a break after long hours of intensive coding and brainstorming.

What if Angry Birds were real?

Angry Birds has been called "the new Super Mario Bros." I'm hard pressed to find someone with a smartphone who hasn't played it. Since Rovio sells the plush Angry Bird characters, we decided to make the game a reality.

The setup is surprisingly simple, though it took me a little searching to get it right. Instead of building a slingshot, we opted for a three person water balloon launcher. To make the bricks, we first bought 1/2"-thick foamcore from a craft store, but it proved to be too flimsy when we put the relatively heavy plush pig on top of it. Since we wanted the game to be a bit of a challenge, we had to find something else.

While walking at the Yorktown Mall near our office, I found Brilliant Sky Toys & Books. They happened to carry exactly what I was looking for; Melissa & Doug Jumbo Cardboard Blocks. These blocks are similar to ones I remember in play areas when I was little.

These blocks are heavy enough to pose a challenge when struck by a plush bird launched from a distance. In addition to the difficulty of hitting a narrow target (you're essentially playing a 2D game in a 3D world), this means that our Angry Birds game isn't a walk in the park. It's more fun because of the challenge.

We set up the large Angry Birds course at the client, and for about an hour took turns hurling plush birds at plush pigs. A lot of shots missed, and the participants experimented with different techniques of holding the birds, different strengths on the slingshot, and other techniques. We even tried to spread out the target to make it wider, but that actually made the game more difficult. In the end it appears that it's easier to focus on one target than it is to have several in front of you.

Here's What You Need

Want to build your own Angry Birds game? Here are links to the products we used to assemble it.

• Plush Angry Birds & Pigs
• 90 Yard Water Balloon Launcher
• Melissa & Doug Jumbo Cardboard Blocks

Did you build your own? Tell us!

If you try this or another version of a physical Angry Birds game, we'd love to know! Tweet us at @KeyLimeTie or email us at info@keylimetie.com.

We're thrilled to announce the release the Naperville Running Company app for Windows Phone, based upon our earlier iOS version. The Naperville Running Company app allows users to calculate their run pace, view recent store news, upcoming events, and receive alerts on things related to the store. If you have Zune installed on your PC, you can download the app from the Marketplace.

Microsoft invited KeyLimeTie COO Brian Pautsch (@brianpautsch) and CIO Peter Morano (@petermorano) to attend an intensive, week-long Windows Phone development accelerator where Microsoft made their WP7 developer trainers available to assist with projects, with the aim of releasing apps to the store that week. With Microsoft pushing development on the platform aggressively, KeyLimeTie is seeing more opportunity to reach customers on this intuitive platform that is a natural extension of the team's .NET development capabilities.

Need Windows Phone Development?

If you are interested in your own Windows Phone app, please contact KeyLimeTie at 630.598.9000 or sales@keylimetie.com. Follow us on Twitter at @KeyLimeTie.

We're happy to announce the release of KeyLimeTie's latest iPhone app, Official Lava Lamp by Lava Lite, LLC. The app allows you to design your own virtual LAVA® Lamp and watch the lava flow while listening to relaxing and invigorating background sounds. App users can also save lamp designs, share them with friends on Facebook and Twitter, and even browse Lava Lite's online catalog of actual Lava Lamps for purchase.

If you have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad running iOS 4.0 or later, you can download the Official Lava Lamp app on iTunes.

KeyLimeTie and Lava Lite were featured in this July 19, 2010 Crain's Chicago Business article, and Lava Lite's digital forays have been mentioned in industry publications including Home World Business. KeyLimeTie is pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with an iconic American brand like Lava Lite.

The Lava Lamp is one of the most recognizable cultural icons of the past 40 years and has become synonymous with the hippie movement of the 60s and 70s. What the public doesn't know is that Lava Lite sells more Lava Lamps each year now than it did in the 60s and 70s combined. Lava Lamps are more recognized and loved than ever, and have very strong brand awareness and staying power with young consumers. An iPhone app was the next logical step for Lava Lite to extend their brand onto the popular mobile platform.

Need an app for your company?

We're happy to discuss how you can use a mobile app to extend your brand like Lava Lite did. Give us a call at 630.598.9000, and make sure to follow KeyLimeTie on Twitter.

KeyLimeTie's Chris Pautsch was quoted in this week's issue of Crain's Chicago Business in an article about apps for the Holidays. The piece, Apps for the holidays: organizing in a busy season and some fun, too, highlights how people are using mobile apps to help them shop, organize, save, and even see a little more enjoyment during this special time of year.

Nate Pautsch as a reindeer in a "holidized" photo.

Hallmark Channel Ultimate Holiday App

The Crain's article also mentions a new app in KeyLimeTie's portfolio, which we developed in partnership with Manifest Digital. iPhone users can download the Hallmark Channel Ultimate Holiday App to experience "365 days of holidays," create a gift list, and the most fun feature of all, "holidize" your photos and share them with your friends via email and Facebook. Look for the iPad version coming soon.

Ultimate Holiday Gets it Right

Branded apps are difficult to get right, because the temptation is to advertise and be self-promotional. The Ultimate Holiday app provides interesting content (365 days of holidays), useful features (My Gift List) and entertaining features (Holidize My Photos) in addition to promoting the Hallmark Channel's schedule and having a Coca-Cola sponsorship. This branded app keeps the promotion light and fun, creating a positive experience for the user and affinity toward the Hallmark Channel.

Need an app for your company?

We're happy to discuss how you can use a mobile app to help boost your brand by providing users entertaining content and fun experiences. Give us a call at 630.598.9000, and make sure to follow KeyLimeTie on Twitter.

Allstate iPad App at the Chicago Blackhawks Mad Dash to Madison 5k Run, September 18, 2010.

A couple weekends ago my wife participated in the Chicago Blackhawks Mad Dash to Madison 5K run. While walking through the event with the kids, I stopped by the Allstate tent. To my surprise, the event staff was using the iPad app KeyLimeTie recently created for them. Until this point the app has been in testing, and it was rewarding to see it being used in the field.

Allstate's event marketing team is a frequent presence at cultural and athletic events around the country. Their reps staff booths that encourage people to get competitive insurance quotes in exchange for premiums and sweepstakes contest entries.

Going Paperless for Lead Capture

Until recently, Allstate has handled their contest entry/lead capture with a simple paper form. While these are quick and easy to fill out for the public, they take time and money to enter into their database after the event. The solution: KeyLimeTie worked with the Allstate Innovation Lab to produce an iPad app that lets people register a sweepstakes by filling out their contact information and completing a brief survey. By using the app, Allstate anticipates they'll save significantly more cost in data entry than the app cost to produce.

Why did we use the iPad? This handy device is the right size for the general public. Using iPhones or iPod Touches would make entry difficult, as non-users could have more difficulty with the keyboard. Plus, the larger devices are more difficult to steal at a booth in a congested area.

Need an iPad app for your company?

If you're interested in something similar, or another application alltogether, please let us know. We're happy to discuss how you can use an iPad application to help boost your brand, increase productivity or shave cost. Give us a call at 630.598.9000, and make sure to follow KeyLimeTie on Twitter.

Lately we've been playing with QR codes in various applications, both for clients and for ourselves. Most recently, we created KeyLimeTie t-shirts to wear at events or casually in the hopes of sparking conversations. The shirts themselves needed to be fun while providing a way for people to connect with KeyLimeTie rather than just seeing our name. A QR code was an intriguing solution, but could we do it with a twist of lime?

We took our basic code and made a few modifications, even going so far as to embed it in our logo. Because QR codes are optical and based on contrast, we merged our striped tie logo with the code and produced a visually appealing, yet still functional QR code.

We then tiled the code throughout the tie graphic to make it appear as if the entire tie was part of the QR code. Because the graphic retained the standard registration, alignment, and version markings in the widest part of the tie, the incomplete codes throughout the remainder of the tie are ignored. And since the lime and grey colors provide enough contrast against the dark background, the QR code is easily scan-able despite the coloration.

This was the most intriguing approach for presenting our QR code, however, we chose not to use it for the first iteration of the t-shirt. We'll look for additional opportunities to use it in other materials in the future. Considering the immediate recognition of a standard QR code, we opted to use the basic code on the front and an artistic play of our name on the back.

More Creative QR Codes

If you're interested in creating your own, you can also find entire communities devoted to QR arts, such as the QR Arts gallery and fan page on Facebook. It's amazing what you can do to one of these codes while maintaining the code's readability.

Have a use for mobile landing pages?

If this article sparks your interest and you see a need for mobile landing pages and QR codes for your company, give us a call at 630.598.9000. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

We're happy to announce the release of our latest iPhone app, a pace calculator and customer engagement app for the Naperville Running Company called "NRC Runner".

You can download the app today on iTunes. Here's what the app can do:

• Pace Calculator that lets you either tell the app your desired distance and anticipated time to calculate a pace, or key in a desired distance and pace to determine how long your run will take.
• Events Calendar that keeps you up to date on the events Naperville Running Company sponsors and participates in throughout the year, so you can join the fun.
• Special offers, store news and sale information so you can stay up to date with your favorite running store.

Here at KeyLimeTie, we take our running competitions seriously—so seriously that we just completed the MC 200 Madison to Chicago 200-mile relay a few weeks ago. Naperville Running Company is our one-stop shop for all the gear we need, and we're thrilled to work with them on the app.

Let us know what you think!

Need your own app or mobile website?

If you're looking to get into mobile and like what you see, give us a shout. You can contact us via email or phone at 630.598.9000.

We're happy to announce the launch of a new web site for our friends at the Naperville Running Company. They're a great running shop in downtown Naperville and they've made quite a name for themselves. Not only do they sell a wide range of running supplies, they host regional races and have even been selected as the #1 running store in the country by Formula4Media, hosts of the 2009 Running Event trade show.

This isn't just any other client for us, though. Here's the backstory:

Tracy and me during the MC200.

Last summer I was in a pinch to find the right shoes to run 20 of the 200 miles in the MC200 relay from Madison to Chicago. KeyLimeTie had a team and I had just bitten the racing bug. Their store was the only store to take the time to get to know me, my running history and my goals when they sold me a pair of shoes.

This year, Naperville Running Company turned to us to build them a new web site. We're quite happy with the results, and are glad they are too (especially because Team KeyLimeTie will be needing a lot of running gear for this year's MC200 race)! Also, be on the lookout for the Naperville Running Company iPhone application in the iTunes store at the beginning of June.

Legendary Chicago and suburban sandwich shop Pop's Italian Beef & Sausage came to KeyLimeTie when the company needed a new web site. They wanted a site that visually communicated the BIG taste of their adored sandwiches, and KeyLimeTie served up just what they ordered.

The new Pop's Italian Beef site proudly displays their classic features bold visuals with their featured items and provides an updated motif around their classic logo, bringing Frank Radochonski's vision up-to-date on the web. As fans of Pop's Italian Beef ourselves, we're thrilled with the opportunity to give them a fresh look online.

In support of their continued focus on green initiatives, Sloan Valve contracted KeyLimeTie to design and develop a Water Savings Calculator for the iPhone platform. We’re pleased to announce the app is now available through the iTunes App Store as the team at Sloan heads to Phoenix, AZ to exhibit at the GreenBuild Conference & Expo, where former Vice President Al Gore will be delivering the keynote address.

Sloan shared with us their desire to bring this unique utility app to the iPhone so that architects, engineers, and contractors who select plumbing fixtures will be informed of the water savings—both financial and volume—that Sloan products provide over industry benchmarks. KeyLimeTie used this information to develop a simple iPhone application that allows users to enter criteria about a building and its occupants, along with preferred Sloan fixtures. The app then generates statistical information regarding the amount of water and money that can be saved by utilizing the selected Sloan products.

This unique mobile application makes this information easily accessible in the field, and reinforces Sloan’s position as a leader in ecological building practices.

Sloan will be exhibiting the iPhone app this week at the GreenBuild Conference & Expo. Congratulations, Sloan, on the release. KeyLimeTie is honored to have been a part of this project.

Click here to download the free Water Savings Calculator on iTunes.