Azul 7 announces the launch of the Pairings Food and Wine Market site. The market focuses on the pairing of food and wine, while promising to help their customers enjoy this combination as it was meant to be. Pairings will open on May 18th in Minnetonka, MN.

Azul 7 announces the launch of the On Board Midwest website. On Board Midwest is a coalition of people, businesses, elected officials and organizations who support the proposed high-speed rail line project, which would connect St. Paul to Chicago. The goal of On Board Midwest is to inform people about the rail line project and help them understand how it will enhance the lives of Minnesotans. Follow On Board Midwest on twitter and facebook.

University of Minnesota Presentation

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Catherine Gillis, Azul 7 director of marketing and business development, has been elected to the board of directors of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Marketing Association. She will serve a two-year term. Gillis will be the associate vice president for sponsorship and assume the position of vice president of sponsorship during her second year.

The American Marketing Association is the international association dedicated to advancing the field of marketing amongst professionals and students. The Minnesota chapter, with 750+ members is one of the largest in the United States.

I will be speaking at this year's MinneWebCon, the University of Minnesota's web conference, on April 6th, 2009. This is the second year of the conference, providing a full-day of continuing education for web professionals. My session, entitled "It's the Little Things", will cover user interaction and design, and how the smallest of details can change your users' experiences.

This presentation will focus on trends and best practices in design and development conventions for user controls and how they affect the user experience—negatively or positively. Through the course of the session, we will discover various problems affecting smooth user interaction. Then I will identify ways to enhance controls and layouts in order to both speed up required user tasks and make them easier to use.

There are many other great sessions this year and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing and hearing from so many smart colleagues.There's limited space available and it's filling up fast. Head on over to the MinneWebCon site and register to attend today.

Azul 7 staff members Joe Sonka, Liina Lundin, Katie Hamilton and Paul Armstrong are "doing it for the kids" at 12pm this Friday, February 27th. The foursome will be participating in the Downtown Council's Skyway Open which benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities.

Azul 7's offices are located at 510 Marquette, just off the Westin and Gaviidae skyways. Come find us for a free Azul 7 golf ball.

The current economic climate has most of us feeling insecure and uneasy. Chances are good we all know someone close to us that has been affected in one way or another. The grim economic state encourages increased pessimism and feelings of defeat. It creates the perfect opportunity for the negativity to consume you.

The perfect storm has been brewing of blind trust, innocence, hope and optimism for too long. As is human nature, we can only take that stance for so long before we eventually give up hope. This breaking point is a fairly normal and reasonable human reaction, especially for those who have been directly affected by the downturn.

However, I believe, this is an opportunity to recapture your freedom. Utilize this tool that we simply underuse and forget about in tough times. Be smart and well-prepared, but use this opportunity to extend yourself. It will be our human nature to become reserved, protective and overly cautious, all of which should be avoided.

We became such a successful nation by our ability to think outside of the box, or rather, outside of the whole damn warehouse. Be strategic, but be creative. Don't let the hesitation of failure keep you from taking a step forward, that step is often what will put you back on track.

Follow your passions and push your boundaries, for that matter, make new boundaries. Take this opportunity to redefine yourself. Take a stance and believe in it. The same would be true with a great idea, figure out a way to make it work. Don't let economic misfortunes destroy your spirit. Our spirit is what got us to the summit of success that we now fall from. Just make sure you don't fall too far before you begin your climb back up.

An opportunity is simply that. It doesn't become a good or bad one until you do something with it.

I just started teaching a class at the College of Visual Arts (CVA) in St. Paul. The class is Graphic Imagery; a sophomore-level foundation class for graphic design and illustration students. I can hardly believe I qualify as old and experienced enough to be an instructor. Didn't I just get done with school? What? That was almost nine years ago? Gulp. The offer of the adjunct faculty position thrilled me. And scared me.