other news

Futurate Relaunch the Premier Website for the ICT Community in the Voluntary Sector

Futurate today announce the launch of version 2 of the website for the ICT Hub - www.icthub.org.uk.

The site was initially released in 2006 as a major component of the Home Office’s ChangeUp programme for the voluntary sector, and the relaunch of the site is intended to reflect the changing role of the Hub, which is now under the direct management of The National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

“The ICT Hub website has become a central resource for the ICT community and everyone agreed that the introduction of NCVO branding also offered a great opportunity to freshen up the look and feel of the site. The high quality resources and sophisticated document management and calendaring functionality for members remains available, but presentation and usability has been significantly enhanced.”
Jonathan Grove, Managing Director of Futurate

The relaunch of the ICT Hub website is one of a number of forthcoming high profile releases from Futurate which include multiple sites for Shetland Museum and the redevelopment of inspiringlearningforall.org.uk on behalf of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

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Paint an Old Master in Minutes (no brushes required!)

Futurate today announce the launch of an innovative new website for art lovers of all ages - www.oldmasterflash.com.

www.oldmasterflash.com is a 21st Century tool for creating beautiful paintings in the style of great artists, beginning with the Italian 'mannerist' painter Guiseppe Arcimboldo.

Arcimboldo is most famous for the intricate portraits of his patrons and friends that he constructed out of objects such as fruit, fish, water, fire and other items.

The website offers visitors the opportunity to create new Arcimboldo style paintings through an easy to use web based painter that allows the speedy manipulation of over 50 ready-made image stamps. Site members can save a painting that is in progress, upload an image to use as a template for a new painting (for example a photo of a family member), display a painting in a publicly available galley, save their painting to their hard drive and rate the creations of their fellow artists (all without having to spend years in a freezing attic studio!).

www.oldmasterlfash.com is fun and a great way to learn. Plus, it’s completely free for everyone.

"we wanted to create something that was an innovative antidote to dry websites about art, by offering web users the chance to engage with historical artists in a different way. We also wanted to showcase our skills as creative web developers who could use leading edge technologies such as CakePHP and Flash to build innovative community focused websites. I think we succeeded". Jonathan Grove, Managing Director - Futurate

As membership of the site grows Futurate plan to extend the roster of artists that are on the site to include other world famous masters such as Picasso and Dali.

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Jenn Joins the Team

As part of a significant program of expansion, Futurate, one of the region's longest established digital agencies has appointed a talented new designer to join the team. Jennifer Fryer will be principally responsible for the creation of high impact creative concepts for Futurate's web, new media and print clients and she will also be taking an active role in the wider creative direction of the company.

Jennifer arrives after over four successful years as Creative Director at Web Marketplace Solutions where she led their creative team in the delivery of a range of web retail focused web projects for organisations such as Next and Cancer Research UK.

Jenn has a background in fine art, and before moving to the UK in 2002, she worked in New York for Ernst and Young and Viant among others.

"Its great to be working with such a talented and committed team and I'm really looking forward to helping drive Futurate's in new creative directions."
Jenn Fryer

Jenn joins Futurate at their brand new offices in Sheffield's city centre and her first major commission will be the production of design concepts for a major web project for The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.