But what gets less electronic ink is the question of voice. What does your website sound like? Who are you speaking to? How do you think they feel about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it?

Voice is a content issue, and it’s one of the most important questions to answer during your site development process. We spent a lot of time on this issue with PAE Consulting Engineers.

PAE is not your typical mechanical/electrical engineering company. PAE is all about sustainability, innovation, quality and fun. They want people to know this above all else. And they want other people who care about those things to come and work with them. Communicating this message clearly was our most important objective on this project.

To accomplish our objectives, we focused on several things. First, we gave the site’s content the personality of the people in the firm. It’s professional, but it also is relaxed. It showcases how much the firm cares about its employees… how it understands that the staff is the firm. And the staff tends to be young, involved and innovative. The copy reflects these facts and makes a case to other like-minded, team-focused individuals.

The site’s content architecture also was created in a way that allows PAE to create a web-based presence in the world of sustainable design. The Sustainable Design Center allows PAE to feature its work, knowledge and relationships within the sustainability movement. At launch, the Center offers a good foundation of information, but the strength of the approach lies in its ability to continue to expand over time.

So, I guess the message is: tools are important, but please take your time with your content. Take stock of who you are as an organization, then try your best to capture that within the words you use on your website.

Developing and designing marketing and communications materials for A/E/C firms is fascinating. And since both Lisa and I spent a number of years working in the A/E/C industry before we began our own firm, we bring both an insider’s and an outsider’s view to the work.

One thing we have found to be true, regardless of whether we are working for architects, engineers or builders, is that the most effective communications keep the message clear and accessible. The key to achieving this objective is understanding exactly what you want to say and to whom you wish to say it. You already know what you do really well. We’ll help you find the best way to tell people about it. That’s what we’ve done for our current A/E/C clients.

Bridging Past and Present || The firm Yulan Studio has been working with the longest – and the largest A/E firm we work with currently – is WSP SELLS (formerly Chas. H. Sells, Inc.), an East Coast firm with offices that stretch from New Hampshire to South Carolina. We have been working with WSP SELLS – which is well known as one of the Northeast’s premier bridge design firms – since the days when we were still managing HNTB’s New Media Group. And after forming Yulan Studio, WSP SELLS became our first client.

Over the years, we have helped WSP SELLS with services that range from identity and branding to interview support to public participation. And of course, websites and interactives. The firm’s most recent version of its website began life as a multimedia CD. We had developed the business card-sized CD for WSP SELLS to use for tradeshows and marketing. Then, they decided they would like to have it adapted to become their website.

Providing the Needed Solutions || Other A/E/C firms we’ve provided marketing communications solutions to include Missouri’s Larkin Group, an environmental and aquatics engineering firm and Kansas’ Affinis Corp., a transportation engineering firm. In addition to designing websites for both Larkin and Affinis, we have worked with them to develop tools such as direct marketing materials, proposal templates, brochure systems, award submittals and several public information websites.

One of our most recently completed A/E projects was our work with Stroud Engineers, a civil and mechanical/electrical firm located in North Carolina. Stroud needed a website that told their story – reputable firm, good projects, and a chance to live on the beautiful North Carolina coast if you choose to work for them. Actually, Stroud made it clear that one of the main reasons they were doing a website was to attract employees, and they wanted it very clear that they were located in coastal communities. That’s why the beaches are so prominently featured in the homepage design. The client liked the end product, but, sadly, no trips to said coast were in the project budget.