Outlier Team Members Take on the Portland Shamrock Run

Channeling their inner Prefontaines (sorry, you know a running post would have to go there) in the name of charity, two of our Outlier staff members will be hitting the pavement this coming weekend at the 2012 Portland Shamrock Run. Outlier teammates Diana Lien and Ryan Armstrong will be participating in the 8k and 15k, respectively. Proceeds from the 2012 race will go to Doernbecher's Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon.

This year's event is completely sold out with 32,000 participants running and walking their way through races that range from a 1k fun run for kids 12 and under to the more arduous 15k that weaves its way through the Terwilliger Hills (owowowow!). The Shamrock Run is a traditional event that takes places in cities across the United States. This will be the 34th year that Portland has held the event.

In addition to being a pretty spectacular web designer and developer, Ryan has also become the Outlier team's main running man, having completed his first half marathon at this year's Portland Marathon. He is using the Shamrock Run as part of his latest training program gearing up for a full marathon this summer and will be squeezing in the run before jumping a plane to represent Outlier at DrupalCon 2012.

Outlier's lead graphic designer and current office pull-up champion Diana Lien credits her longterm love for fitness and the desire to try something new as reasons she will be lacing up her kicks for this year's event:

"I've always enjoyed the outdoors and physical activities like rock-climbing, hiking, swimming, etc.," says Diana "but I didn't start racing until 2011. My first race was the Race for the Roses, and the 2012 Shamrock run will be my second. I do it because training keeps me in shape and energized. And I love a challenge. These races constantly make me want to improve performance: time, distance, rank. I'm definitely looking forward to the run!"

We are too, Diana! We look forward to cheering on our intrepid runners as they brave the Oregon elements this Sunday morning. Go team!

On the Move in 2011!

It seems like only yesterday we were packing up boxes, moving into the new Outlier headquarters and bidding farewell to our old office space. But here it is—the end of 2011!

From new digs and new team members to exciting client work, it's been a whirlwind of a year. In the process we’ve sharpened our skills and polished our craft—from websites and traditional marketing projects to large scale systems designed to help clients handle complex business processes, our work over the past year inspires us and pushes us to do even more in the new year.

Here is a brief sample of some of the highlights for the Outlier team in 2011!

• E-Commerce site Labnetinternational.com includes a product catalog designed to be accessible and intuitive for Labnet customers and international distributors. Outlier also creates a backend designed for simple content management for Labnet staff to use.
• It's true what they say, variety truly is the spice of life! The team is thrilled to dig into new projects for longterm client Sheldon Manufacturing: first, a new energy widget that calculates money savings from the purchase of new low-energy products. The widget operates based on user's location and is coded for easy embedding of the sales tool. We get another fun project with the creation an interactive educational tool designed for both students and professionals. The new tool features dozens of interactive slides and a quiz at the end to test users' newfound knowledge.
• Outlier has a record year with our own projects, too! In spring of 2011 Outlier launches the SproutNOVA ad network; the new affiliate network targets the scientific community, providing writers and product suppliers a place to connect and share knowledge.
• Speaking of science, Outlier website LabGrab.com has more than 600 articles posted in 2011, making the site one of most popular online resources for finding science and industry-related news. New features are also added, like the new Grab More Science app, allowing users to personalize news choices based on their interests. Fun!
• Last but not least, Outlier continues to expand our professional skills and services in 2011: from deepening our knowledge of content management system Drupal to new marketing materials (like the new Outlier website!) and even adding a new Outlier team member to round out the group. Marketing & Communications specialist Kathleen Martin jumps in to assist the team with writing and marketing duties in summer of 2011 after completing an MBA degree from Portland State University.

As we reflect on the past we also look forward to the challenges and excitement we’ll surely find in the coming year. Thank you to all our clients who helped make 2011 a success, we look forward to growing with you in 2012!

Happy New Year from all of us at Outlier Solutions!

Our 2011 Website Revamp

How do you like our new look? Our lead web designer, Ryan, generated the homepage portfolio concept to challenge and intrigue first time visitors. Jed moved things into high gear perfecting the javascript driven movement, and quick view of the portfolio. Diana picked up the graphic work, and collaborated with Ryan to select just the right fonts using Typekit. This launch marks our third outlier website in 6 years.

If you know Ryan you know he is a fan of footers that deliver lots of information. In this case we get our Twitter feed, a blog teaser, our Flickr feed, a quick contact form, and our beloved mascot -- the multi-tasking, four-armed dino, Outty. Outty is using the doorway to deliver new tweets, emails and photos.

We have been asking for feedback and opinions high and low so new features and tweeks are in the works. Ok, I also really like the three column layout of the blog. Great job Outliers.