Archives for 2014

QA Graphics Introduces Stem Framework

February 25, 2014

February 25, 2014

QA Graphics, Iowa interactive design firm, is pleased to introduce Stem, a framework and proprietary content management system that the company has created and is now using as they develop custom interactive applications.

QA Graphics continues to seek ways to provide customers with more affordable solutions. Over the course of six years of providing custom applications, QA Graphics wanted to find a way to provide custom applications while using a consistent framework. To do that, the company developed Stem. This framework and proprietary content management system is used by the development team to efficiently and consistently develop custom solutions.

QA Graphics is Hiring

February 22, 2014

QA Graphics is hiring! We are looking for a marketing coordinator and an HVAC BAS UI developer to join our team. If you know of anyone that may be a good fit, please pass on the job descriptions. view openings here.

3D Graphics on the Rise

February 12, 2014

The use of 3D graphics and video marketing is continuing to grow. That’s no surprise. But there’s 10 marketing stats shared on B2C’s site that may surprise you. View all 10 here.

• Visitors will spend an average of 88% more time on your site if there’s video.
• 85% of surveyed executives stated that they view business videos, and 65% typically view the company’s website after watching.
• By 2016, experts estimate that at least two-thirds of the world’s mobile viewing will be videos.

QA has been at the front of this trend. Our 3D team has been busy busy providing graphics and animated video solutions for marketing, training and education purposes. We continue to make additions to grow our dedicated render farm so we can easily expand our rendering capabilities based on workload. We just expanded our render farm again last month, upping our rendering power. In the 3D world, the faster we can render a design, the faster we can deliver it to our customers and keep video marketing moving.

Sustainability Mythbusters

February 12, 2014

We loyally read the environmental news site, Environmental Leader, here at the office. I recently came across “Sustainability Mythbusters” a series of 6 articles provided by Schneider Electric’s Global Sustainability Services team. The series explores common misconceptions related to the topic of sustainability and presents a business case to “bust” each myth. In Part III, they address the myth that it’s too expensive for businesses to be sustainable, when in reality, it’s too expensive not to make change to be more sustainable.

At a time when budgets are tight, it can be daunting to think about investing in building renovations or products for building efficiency. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do if you don’t have a large scale plan in place. You can start implementing strategies that don’t require a major investment. See if you can identify how to reduce energy, water usage or waste at the office. Implement recycling programs and energy saving initiatives. Get both management and your occupants involved so everyone is working towards a more efficient building. Everyone can make a difference if they change their direct energy usage habits, including plug load usage from phones, tablets, lamps, computers, heaters, fans etc. If done effectively this can contribute to a more efficient building and cost savings will reflect that. Use this data to evaluate and consider investing in longer term strategies. The article states that up to 30% of utility costs can be reduced if you invest in better controlling automation and optimize consumption. Continue to implement short term goals while maintaining a longer outlook for the future and follow ROI in these changes.

AHR Expo 2014 – Graphics Trending

February 3, 2014

Several of us attended the AHR Expo last week in New York. Despite the blizzard conditions, the show was a great turnout! It was great to walk the show floor, visit with clients and check out their booths. I was pleased to see our graphics on display in a number of them.

After going through the hall it’s clear that high-end visualization has become the industry standard. Everyone continues to support 3D. Even the smallest controls vender company has software capable of using high-end graphics. And now we’re expecting to see that level of visualization on our mobile devices as well. This has been becoming a trend in many industries and BAS is no different. Customers want the ability to access data and see a high-end level of graphics on their phone and tablet.

This need for visualization is ultimately driven by the end customer. We had a number of similar conversations at the show; end customers are asking for more realistic graphics to better represent the equipment and systems they have in place, as well as for more realistic user interfaces. This isn’t anything new to QA, we’ve been driving graphic trends for years, providing graphical solutions for many throughout the industry, including Carel, Daikin Applied, Tridium, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Trane branches, etc. I expect that list will continue to increase by the time AHR 2015 comes around. The numbers may not be traceable for the ROI with enhancing graphics, but by pleasing your current end-users it will continue to draw in more customers. So what should drive the decision to implement high-end graphics? Staying ahead of your clients’ expectations and taking your visual assets to the next level.