Design Case Study:
Labenz & Associates

One of our first clients, Labenz & Associates is a proactive, hands-on Midwestern accounting firm. Jan wanted a website which would give her clients a various array of imagery in and around her city, Lincoln, Nebraska. Aside from Nebraska's obvious nod as the agricultural heartland of America, Jan also wanted to include other aspects which she felt her clients might find appealing: politics (the state capital building), sports (University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium), and the arts (Joslyn Art Museum).

This was done to create a sense of community among Jan's clientèle. Jan believes regardless of her potential clients' individual or business background, interests, or locale, her firm is their best choice, and we used this ideology to create her website. The color of her firm's letterhead is blue and grey, which is the main color theme in the site. Because she requested a rather simple rollover, we used a counting machine ticker above and below the buttons to reinforce the accounting theme.

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Design Case Study:
McKinney & Associates

Chad came to E. Mochila from the desert city of Albuquerque and wanted a site which was a far cry from the traditional colors of the landscape outside his window! His logo is a unique mix of teal and lime green, which we thought would be a great color scheme to emulate in the header of his website as well. We took a traditional desert view in New Mexico and tinted it the same green hue as his logo. Conversely, we also added a true photo of the city's most iconic buildings, the Albuquerque Plaza, to add an element of professionalism.

We again utilized this color scheme within the buttons. Notice also, in the rollover, we created the orange box identical to that in his logo to let the visitor note which page he's about to visit. This is another website in which Chad already had a logo intact, and we worked closely with his previous designer to have a finished product which everyone enjoyed. We're proud to have such a unique site under our wing!

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Design Case Study:
Betzer & Critchfield, CPAs

A top nationwide, yet private Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation accounting firm, Betzer & Critchfield wanted to tout their greater Denver locale. However, they also wanted people throughout the nation to feel welcome coming to their door. The best way to do this was use a silhouette of Denver, a city in which not all their clients live, against a definitive, detailed panorama of the Rocky Mountains, imagery which most anyone can recognize.

In doing this, E. Mochila also wanted to strengthen the very aspect of Sheri and Eric's business. Because this firm's primary business is one that requires strength and a strong foundation in their investigatory work, the power and presence of the Rocky Mountains was a perfect metaphor for Betzer & Critchfield's work.

Not coincidentally, the mountains also naturally match the colors of Sheri and Eric's letterhead and logo. Not only did we adhere to the exact colors in their online brochure, we also transcribed the Testimonials page using the same coloring as it appeared in their newsletter. The oval shape of their logo was used in the rollover, as well.

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Design Case Study:
James P. Leeper, CPA

Jim's expertise is in oil and gas accounting and taxation, and his location in the Lone Star State gave us a great start in the design of this website. A self-proclaimed "cowboy," we wanted to build Jim's website with a western theme, which is why we chose the oil well, the Texas flag.

After we saw how well this turned out, we could not resist adding a footer of a cowboy hat, which Jim loves. We chose a script style for the navigation bar, which was laid out horizontally. For the rollover, rather than a simple highlighting of the words themselves, we chose to add a blue spur. Please also note the color theme throughout the website. We used a tan color for the border of the entire website and header beneath his title, as a western earth tone, but then continued with blue, red, and white, the colors of the Texas state flag.

Lastly, please visit Jim's About Us page. Put up your dukes! Jim had this photo taken of himself with his "partner," which we outlined, eliminated the unsightly background, and placed right next to his bio with a fabricated white background. This way it actually appears as a part of the page rather than a square photograph.

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Design Case Study:
Edward Sixt, CPA

Ed had one of the more unique office buildings we've seen in our tenure building websites for accountants. That's why when he asked us to create a logo for his firm in addition to the website, we had an easy suggestion! We used a photo of his office to create a logo which is an exact replica of his building, right down to the light fixture above the door!

His location in western New York State also gave us an idea to use three photos which everyone can recognize: Niagara Falls, local corn fields, and Appalachian foliage. Our designers used a unique bleeding method to integrate all three photos into one panorama. Furthermore, we wanted to emphasize the waterfalls, so we made the buttons themselves a playful continuation of the waterfall.

This website required some of our most attentive design work yet, because we had to take several vastly different themes and try to blend them into a singular design. The end result was perfect: we managed to align all the themes in the header and in the designs of the buttons themselves, while using warm coloring to keep the visitor on another main aspect of the website: Ed's accounting expertise!

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Design Case Study:
Evers & Fox, P.C.

One of Atlanta's rising stars because of their keen attention to personalization, individualism, and professional advice, Evers & Fox wanted a website which could use their existing letterhead to exude this philosophy. E. Mochila has found that warm, inviting imagery of a locale is an effective way for a prospective client to immediately form an "association" with the firm before ever stepping in the door.

The hue of the sunset in the Atlanta panorama also happened to be a compliment of Evers & Fox's letterhead color. Furthermore, after Lori Evers had mailed a true copy of the firm's letterhead, we used our high resolution scanners to make the website "appear" as if it was written on a real hard copy, as if the site was a personal newsletter to each client.

The rollover of this website was a play on the ampersand in the logo, as we duplicated a specific piece of the logo, made them appear to overlap, and used them as a "check mark" on each button. This "checklist" approach to these website pages was also a way for prospective clients the impression that each page is essential in visiting the website.

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Design Case Study:
David McReynolds

An avid mountain climber, David wanted a website which could integrate both his professionalism as a CPA and his passion for the outdoors. Given his many trips to Yosemite National Park, David’s own digital photographs proved to be a wonderful basis for his CPA website.

We took two photos of Yosemite and carefully blended them to appear as a panorama of the park. The silhouette of the climber is actually David’s son, which we used above a photo of the sign on David’s office door to appear as if David’s expertise in his CPA services are like "throwing a rope" to assist his clientèle.

The light blue shade of the bright California sky was a great basis for the remaining frame of the website, both as the color of the website itself and as the rollovers of the buttons. The eagle which appears in the left border is also an statue which all his clients see the minute they enter his office. We created a silhouette to keep the emphasis on the header, yet highlight David’s patriotism.

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Design Case Study:
Leaf Cole LLP

One of San Diego's most prominent firms, Leaf & Cole LLP, wanted a professional, flat presence much like what one would find at a high-end financial firm.

Using gradated pinstripes with a soft green shade and burgundy lining, we created a trifecta of complimentary colors against the logo´s ampersand.

The character of the ampersand was used to create a unique theme both in the header and as the body of the icon swoops through the buttons into the text.The red triangle, which was present in their antiquated website, is used as the button rollover.

Furthermore, in order to bring out the professionalism of Leaf & Cole, we placed their logo on a "mirror", which reflects at the base.

Because of the breadth of their Service and About Us pages, a footer was necessary not only to reinforce the logo in a watermark, but also to allow for navigation at the end of the text.

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Design Case Study:
Dennis Coomes, PC

One of our most personable clients, Dennis was interested in a stately web design and approached us with a unique logo: six triangles with a red and black theme. With this, our design team set out to integrate the firm's letterhead with Dennis´ home, Kansas City, the "City of Fountains." We began with a striking night photo of the city's most famous fountain, the J.C. Nichols Fountain, against a beautiful, lighted skyline. Next, we decided to use a thick, white border around Dennis' logo to "float" the logo as if it were tabbed above the photo of Kansas City.

For the buttons and the rollovers, the triangles in the logo were an obvious choice as "pointers" for the buttons. When you move your mouse over the buttons, the color of the triangles change from black to red; the same shade as the original letterhead. Because this website was designed a bit narrower than others we have developed, we used a subtle, grey pinstripe in the background to reinforce a professional design and to keep the eyes centered on the website.

We succeeded in our task. Just a few weeks after launch, Dennis was approached by a CPE provider to do on–site training for his employees based on the look of the site – and was shocked to learn of the small size of the firm. The professional image the firm wanted is exactly what they received, and we couldn't be happier.

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Design Case Study:
Kaufman & Nichols, CPA, P.C.

Because of Kaufman & Nichol´s location in two states, we focused on two things with this website: A focus on creating a unison with Overland Park, Kansas and Independence, Missouri. Therefore, rather than using one panorama of something vaguely iconic to both cities, we decided to use a collage of photos close to the heart of each locale.

Furthermore, since the ampersand dominates their logo, we decided to use this as a repetitive theme throughout the website. Notice that the rollover of the buttons highlights the logo, as well as the "seal" which was created by our team beneath the buttons and on the lance to the right. By creating this lance to the right, we were able to "center" the verbiage in a way which keeps the focus centralized on the text.

This balance and use of colors, and harmonizing the different office locations to bring their firm a singular website was essential to the firm´s main Mission: Peace of Mind.

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