News

ArtLoopOpen.com is now accepting applications...!

Submitted by luke.anderson on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 21:43

Breakthrough is proud to have been a development partner for ArtLoopOpen.com, a new website designed by Fuzzy Math in support of an exciting approach to public art in Chicago.  Art Loop Open is an art contest, coming this October, that will encourage hundreds of thousands of people throughout the Loop to experience downtown as a museum and vote for their favorite artist to win $25,000.  Brought to you by the Chicago Loop Alliance (the people behind the giant eyeball) and the Chicago Artists' Coalition, Art Loop Open will bring contestants' installations to venues like the Palmer House, Macy's, the Oriental Theatre, and at least half a dozen other high-profile spots around town. 

But first, the CLA and the CAC have to find the art and the artists who will make it all possible.  That's where the website came in, and Breakthrough was there to help Fuzzy Math make it happen.  Designed and built in just a few weeks, ArtLoopOpen.com launched on July 7 with an attention-grabbing design, information about the contest, and a list of venues.  Built in Drupal, the site uses the GMaps module to show off the locations in an embedded Google map and allows site admins to update content quickly and easily when new venues join the fun. 

Just last week, Stage 2 of the site began with the unveiling of the artist registration form.  Throughout the month, artists will be submitting their applications to become one of the roughly 200 artists chosen to display their work in Chicago's Loop-wide public art fair.  Drupal's Webforms module is making the submission process easy for artists throughout the city, and the curating process manageable for site administrators at the CLA & CAC.  If you or someone you know is an artist who would like to be considered for Art Loop Open, we encourage you to try out the form and wish you all the best as a contestant in this year's most creative and exciting public art festival.

Selected artists will be announced in mid-September, and you'll be encouraged to vote for a winner in the last half of October.  Come back here and ArtLoopOpen.com for more updates and details!

2010 Shaping Up to be an Amazing Year

Submitted by doug.wilson on Fri, 07/30/2010 - 14:03

In the first half of 2010 we have watched our team grow by almost 50%!  After a flat 2009, this is a great change for us and fortells an exciting period in the growth of our company.

As a management team, we have restructured this year and are throwing ourselves into the challenges of managing this growth by not only figuring out the best way to productively onboard and deploy staff, but to grow our services and improve our support structures at the same time.

Believe me, it's a whole set of new challenges than the ones we faced years ago when my biggest problem was how to invoke the methods of a flash application when it was hosted by a thick client custom MFC application!

We'll be announcing a new position, the Director of Development Services, in the next few days.  In addition to our Director of Operations and the Director of Product Engineering, this will round out the management team at Breakthrough and I believe create the positions needed to manage and sustain our growth and quality over the next two years.

Let me know how we're doing.  I'd love to get your feedback.  As always, you can reach me at wilsond@breaktech.com.

Even more new employees!

Submitted by doug.wilson on Fri, 07/30/2010 - 13:51

Breakthrough would like to welcome Anna Trivinio, a developer we have had a long-standing relationship to Breakthrough.  She is joining us as a senior .NET developer.  Additionally, Mina Saleh Ziabari is joining us as a business analyst.  She has been contracting with us for a couple of months and we have both decided to make the relationship permanent.

We also would like to welcome Orrin Watson as a new project manager.  Orrin has had tremendous experience as an indepenedent developer and after running his own firm successfully for several years, has decided to join a firm whose culture and committment to the customer compliments his own experiences.

Welcome aboard, Orrin, Anna and Mina!

Breakthrough Welcomes New Employees

Submitted by doug.wilson on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 00:10

Breakthrough is pleased to announce the hire of four new employees:  Sandy Machugin has joined Breakthrough as our Marketing Communications Director and a junior business analyst.  Mina Saleh Ziabari has also joined our BA/QA team as a business analyst.  Juan Boyce starts this week as a PHP developer and Drupal developer, and Nate Kragness (yes he is Josh's brother) has joined us as a new .NET developer.

Welcome aboard to the newest members of the Breakthrough staff!

Breakthrough Creates New Facebook App

Submitted by doug.wilson on Thu, 12/17/2009 - 12:46

Breakthrough has released the first version of its first FAcebook app, called Fruitcake.  This app allows users to pass a fruitcake, accumulate contacts for our client and requires our client, Tonic Blue Communications, to donate one dollar for every fruitcake passed.

Sometimes we can leverage socal media for marketing purposes and stil do good at the same time.

The app was created by Breakthrough staff in Evanston in conjunction with the Tonic Blue Design team.  Congratulations to Tonic Blue on an innovative approach to social media marketing!