QA Graphics Provides Energy Dashboard for Farmington Hills City Hall
Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) qagraphics.com
February 22, 2013
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The City of Farmington Hills, in Michigan, is using QA Graphics’ Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard® to educate staff and the public on the City Hall’s sustainable initiatives.
Farmington Hills’ City Hall went through a major revitalization project, constructing a new building in 2008. The building earned the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. To inform the community on these sustainable efforts, Farmington Hills looked to QA Graphics to develop an Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard. The dashboard is an interactive application used to highlight the building’s performance and educate about the sustainable features. The solution has been in place for over a year now. Displayed on a touchscreen in the main corridor, it serves as a central communication resource to demonstrate the City Hall’s commitment to sustainability.
“The solution looks great and is very user friendly,” said Nate Geinzer, Assistant to the City Manager, The City of Farmington Hills. “QA Graphics did a great job with the visual content. The interactive demonstrations are the most used feature on the dashboard, showing how the geothermal and solar panel systems work.”
QA Graphics Hires 3D Designer
Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) qagraphics.com
February 20, 2013
QA Graphics, an Iowa based interactive design company, is pleased to announce the hiring of Aubrey Orisek. Aubrey has joined QA Graphics as their newest 3D designer. The company continues to experience steady growth and has created this new role to keep up with the increased demand for 3D design services.
As a 3D designer, Aubrey will produce compelling photorealistic 3D renderings, animations and photo composites. She’ll create realistic product representations for clients and also assist the interactive design team in producing 3D graphics and animations for a variety of touchscreen applications and other multimedia.
QA Graphics Helps Longwood University Educate the Public about Biomass Heating Plant
Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) qagraphics.com
February 15, 2013
Longwood University, located in Farmville, Virginia, looked to QA Graphics to create a 3D animated video to educate students and the public about the campus’ biomass heating plant and demonstrate the university’s commitment to sustainability.
Longwood is the only public institution of higher education in Virginia and one of only two state agencies that burns biomass for heating fuel. The university has practiced sustainability by heating with biomass fuel (sawdust) for nearly 30 years. In 2011 Longwood opened a new biomass heating plant, which provides almost 100 percent of the campus’ heat and hot water.
To educate others on the campus’ sustainable efforts, Longwood University’s Energy Manager, Kevin Miller, sought out QA Graphics to develop an animated video that would visually demonstrate how the fuel-efficient plant operates. Longwood had worked with QA Graphics previously, purchasing their BAS graphics module for the university’s Tridium system. Having been impressed by the quality of the BAS graphics, and having a good working relationship with the sales staff, they also looked to QA Graphics for help with this video as the company has over six years of experience helping organizations create awareness about sustainable initiatives through solutions like animated videos and their Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard®.
Tridium Names Nino DiCosmo as President and General Manager
Tridium announced today that Nino A. DiCosmo has been appointed the President and General Manager of the company. Before joining Tridium, Mr. DiCosmo was a Senior Vice President and General Manager of New World Systems in Troy, MI. QA Graphics is excited for their partner Tridium and the exciting changes that this addition will bring.
View the full announcement.
Colonel Smith Middle School Uses Energy Dashboard
Architectural Product magazine’s article “Buildings that Teach” discusses how schools are increasingly using educational dashboards to provide sustainable education. The article describes how Colonel Smith Middle School, a net-zero building, is using our Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard.
The application is shown on a touchscreen in the school as well as mobile devices so that students can access the information for classroom projects and see real-time data throughout their day.
QSR One Source 2012 Vendor Guide
QSR Magazine’s year-round vendor guide, One Source, was published this month. The guide helps restaurants connect with key vendors ad see profiles of new innovations that can improve business. Check out QA Graphics in the Advertising and Marketing services category.
QA Graphics Helps Maid-Rite Go Digital
P.O.P. Design has done an article on the digital menu board that QA Graphics has created for Maid-Rite. Franchise locations will feature this new menu board in place of their static signage. Read the article.
Learn more about QA Graphics’ digital menu board solutions.
Photo-realistic Graphics are the Future for BAS
Published: February 2013
Author: Cade Engle
This article is also published in the February issue of Automated Buildings.
Photo-realistic Graphics are the Future for BAS
It’s a visual age; where even when watching TV we want to be immersed in our movies or feel like we’re sitting in the front row at the football game. As graphics capabilities evolve, we expect the same in the building automation world. As a control system graphic designer at QA Graphics, I’ve personally seen this trend take shape.
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Symbol libraries and stock images used within the industry have significantly advanced. QA Graphics has led many of these trends, driving the industry to higher graphics standards. They created custom symbol libraries for six of the largest control manufacturers, most recently having provided 3D image creation and super templates for Johnson Controls Inc.’s Metasys® Graphics+ graphics package and the 3D graphic library for Tridium’s Niagara AX Framework® 3.7.
I do see a large interest in the industry for system graphic development using existing stock graphics, but I have also increasingly seen an interest of clients wanting more realistic features. There have been limitations as to what custom can mean, but as control systems evolve, it’s allowing more capabilities than ever. Building operators want the equipment they are looking at on screen to look just like what they are actually seeing in the mechanical rooms. Years from now, we’ll probably be able to check system controls by viewing a fly-through of a fully custom designed, photo-realistic mechanical room.
Hiring Office Assistant
QA Graphics is hiring an office assistant. Our current office assistant has accepted a new position within the company. This position is full-time and will be located at QA Graphics’ office in Ankeny, Iowa. Learn more.
Virtual Tours & Fly-Through Examples
This video showcases different fly-thoughs and virtual tours that QA Graphics has created for inclusion in our interactive design projects. We use cutting-edge technology to provide an eye-catching 3D visualization of virtually anything. You can captivate viewers and provide visualization of a building, office space, environment, product lines or whatever you want to showcase.
2013 AHR Show Only 3 Days Away
The AHR Expo is just 3 days away! Come check us out at booth #860. We will be demonstrating our Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard and mobile capabilities. Also see examples of our latest BAS design services. Looking forward to some sunny weather!
Learn more about AHR EXPO.
