iD News and Blog

Positively Outrageous Service

On the heels of the 2009 summer camp season, our team huddled together in our office in Silicon Valley and we hit on a major theme moving forward.  2009 was a tough year for many companies–and this was true for lots of camps out there–computer camps, sports camps, any type of summer camp, really.  We fared better than most.  Some camps are no longer standing.  We’re still standing–and we might say, thriving.  And we’re appreciative.

We made a little money.  We tightened the belt while still running amazing camps.  But we still had this feeling that we wanted to take our company to a whole new space.  We thought, “We worked hard to survive the Great Recession, so how can we thrive in 2010?  What are we going to do differently to take it to another level?”

One of our initiatives?  POSITIVELY OUTRAGEOUS SERVICE.  Southwest Airlines is one of my favorite companies…and we already have a bit of a whacky culture anyways.  So, we stole the POS acronym from them.  (Full disclosure.)  But I cannot expect my staff to provide POS if I don’t live it myself.  Today, I made Cuban coffee for the team and went around the office with a cart.

We don’t want to feel good about what we’re doing.  We want to feel great about it.  Most of our moms, dads, campers and staff know that we have a passion for service, but we always think we can do better.  In this case, I think my team was excited about the fact that I would go out of my way to make them coffee, and serve it to them personally.  They didn’t ask for it, and didn’t expect it.  And that’s the basis for how we define POS.

OK, back to POS.  Here are some things we already do.  We’ve been doing things this way since iD was born.  It’s just part of our DNA:

• We don’t have a phone tree.  When you call us up, our benchmark is to pick up the phone within 3 rings.
• I personally don’t have an office.  I sit with the client services group.  It keeps me in the know, and close to our clients.  It allows me to listen, and to act fast.
• When a client emails us, I expect the email to get answered the same day. Max 24 hours.
• Out at camp, we expect personalized diplomas from our staff.
• We expect our summer staff to assist with luggage for our overnight campers.
• We expect our technology instruction to be energetic, informative, and unlike anything the students have done before.

These are simple examples of some of our current expectations–and things we do very well already.

So, where do we want to go this year?  Here’s what Positively Outrageous Service means to us:

• We know we want to routinely perform “the unexpected.”  (Think delivering coffee at 3 PM on a random afternoon!)
• We want people to talk about our organization and our brand.  (The CEO of iD made coffee and carted it around!)
• We don’t want to pre-define POS in concrete terms.  It limits our creativity.  (What will I come up with next?)
• We do, however, want to illustrate samples of POS for our internal departments and summer staff, so individuals can visualize what the possibilities are.
• We want our employees to feel empowered to deliver POS–to take some risks and have fun along the way.  (It was fun today.  It gave people a reason to laugh.)
• POS can come in many forms, but the bottom line is to thrill the client in new and unexpected ways.  (It is OK to thrill your employees too!)  Sometimes it might cost a few dollars to make a client happy.  But it is not about money.  Is is about going the extra mile on behalf of the client or camper–and not treating them like another number or commodity.

POS, to us, is something that comes to our team naturally.  It doesn’t bend us in unnatural ways.  We can only deliver POS if we already have a strong culture of service–and if all the people in the company “get it.”  So, be careful who you hire!  We have an awesome foundation already.  The team has to want it, and understand it.  And be smart enough, and sensitive enough, to deliver it.

I am meeting with my client service group weekly to ask each individual how they have delivered POS.  I want to see the proof.  I want the stories.  And I want people to talk about us.  This attitude extends out to our summer camps as well.  The spirit of service is partly why we survived 2009, and will thrive even more in 2010.  A lot of companies talk about great customer service.  Most of it is blah blah blah, right.  Truly, few companies get it.  We do.

And, if you have any doubts about POS, please remember this.  You can always call Captain Curry.  The Captain heads up our Client Services group.  Really.  Don’t believe me?  Give us a call.  We’ll pick up in 3 rings or less.  If we don’t, I owe you a coffee!

Hope to see you out at camp!

Sincerely,

Pete I-C

 

Tags: computer camps, summer camp, Summer Camps
Posted in CEO's Blog, Summer Camps | 4 Comments »

 

 

Super Mario Bros. Theme on Guitar!

Hey guys! I know these types of videos are all over the web but this one comes from my good friend and guitar prodigy, Gabe Deutsch and it is pretty rockin’:

Learn more about the Mario Bros. Theme song here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._theme

Learn about it’s composer, Koji Kondo, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dji_Kond%C5%8D

Rock on Gabe!

 

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

 

 

Looking at Typography

Hello iD readers! My name is Marta and I’m part of the design team at iD Tech Camps. I started out with iD back in 2004 as a  summer camp instructor for  Web Design & Flash^® Animation at our Stanford University location. Fast forward to 2006 and beyond and I found myself a full-time employee at the iD headquarters doing what I love…being creative and having fun. So from here on out, I’ll be writing blog articles that will give you some fun tips and tricks of the trade about design, photography, Photoshop, Illustrator and creativity in general. Let’s get started, shall we?

SO, WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT TYPOGRAPHY?
Whether you realize it or not, typography is an integral part of design. Not only does typography play a practical role in design, such as how easily a viewer can read and understand the information at hand, typography plays an aesthetic role as well. Different fonts can actually convey a specific feeling depending on how you utilize size, kerning, leading and styles.

CAN YOU SEE IT?
Did you know that typography is practically everywhere you look? Many common logos depend on the look and feel of the type within their logo design, and even though the everyday viewer may not see it, subconsciously the logo can send a message. Here’s some cool logos have hidden things in them.

Can you see the arrow in between the letter “E” and “x”? This is no accident; the arrow represents the speed and precision of the FedEx Company.

All you sports fans out there probably know that the Big Ten conference has eleven schools, but when the Big 10 name has been around forever, what’s a tournament to do? Add the number 11 in the logo of course. Can you see it hidden around the letter “T”?

Here’s a logo that had me surprised. At a quick glance the Sun Microsystems logo looks like just another logo. Take a closer look and you’ll see it’s quite complex. If you look carefully at the diamond shape in the logo, you’ll eventually be able to see that at any angle the word, “SUN” is apparent…all while only using the lowercase letters “u” and “n”!

THE BASICS
1.)     Specific parts or measurements make up every letter in a font. The most common ones include:

• Ascender
• Caps Height
• Median
• X-height
• Baseline
• Descender

2.)     Most font types can fall into these categories:

• Serif: Fonts that have serifs or “tails” at the end of each letter. These fonts often are used to convey a feeling of prestige. They are also common in most large areas of printed type, like books and magazines, because the serifs create an invisible line for the eye that allows for better legibility.
• Sans-Serif: Fonts that do not have serifs or tails at the end of each letter. These fonts usually convey more of a modern feel and are used on digital mediums since they are easier to read on screens and look better when placed at very small sizes.
• Script: Fonts that have a handwritten or fancy feel to them. Most often used as headings since they become difficult to read as font size decreases.
• Dingbats: Fonts that incorporate images in place of each letter. These fonts can be great tools for adding clipart into your designs since it’s easy to resize them without losing the quality.

3.)     Some Important Typography Lingo:

• Font Styles: These can include such styles as Regular, Italic, Semi-Bold, Bold, Condensed (and many more). Not all fonts have a wide range of style options, but if you can find one that does it will give you more variety in your design, while keeping a consistent look to the text. (Myriad and Adobe Caslon Pro are good examples of fonts with a wide range of styles.)
• Kerning: Adjusting the space in between two letters.
• Leading: Adjusting the space between lines of type.

4.)     Quick Tips When Incorporating Fonts into Your Designs

• Use only 1-2, (at most 3) different font families when designing a piece that incorporates a lot of text that is crucial information for a viewer. (ie: a newsletter, informative poster, website, postcard). Too many font families are often distracting to the viewer.
• If you choose to use more than one font family, it’s a good idea to use one for all of your headers or titles, and then use one for your body text.  Don’t mix them up between headers and body text.
• When designing for the web, remember to keep in mind the age-old rule of thumb and use web safe fonts if you want your type to be HTML text. If you use a crazy, new font, your layout design may look great on your computer, but view it on another computer that doesn’t have that specific font and your layout will look completely different.
• Try using a font family that incorporates a wide range of styles. Styles are the options you have to make your text look Regular, Bold, Italic, Semi-Bold, Black, Heavy and the list goes on. Many free fonts can look neat as headers, but if you use them in the text body, they don’t always give you the ability to use different styles within the font family that you’re using.

There is a wealth of knowledge to learn about typography. Many beginning designers often over-look typography because it seems like an afterthought. Want to learn more about typography? Check out iD’s Web & Graphic Design Courses or the iD Visual Arts Academy. You’ll be sure to learn about typography basics in these courses!

In the meantime, what are some of your favorite examples of typography in our everyday world? Do you find interesting typography in logos, posters, billboards or magazines? Have you seen any really creative ways to manipulate text? Have you created any really cool examples of typography? Leave a comment and let the iD world know what you’ve seen or created!

 

Posted in iD Tech Bloggers | 2 Comments »

 

 

Candy Sushi

Howdy iDer’s – It is (the other) Pete, AKA Activity Pete or iDPeteV (on Twitter).

My job is to try to make camp fun while the Campers are not on the computers, and to do this, I really have to think up cool games and activities that are truly unique and interesting. Sometimes, though, I rely on the incredible iD staff to come up with creative solutions to some of the challenges I put forth – I call these challenges “Nachos.”

The staff at Internal Drive Tech Camps comes from around the world and are amazingly talented. Beyond teaching Digital Video, Digital Photography, Video Game Creation, Role Playing Game Design and so forth, these (mostly young) adults have secret lives as artists, teachers, designers, programmers, soldiers, leaders and more. I realized very quickly that simply telling them what to do neglected to acknowledge the skills that they already had – instead, we (Bryan and I) developed Nachos to give them an incentive to share their talents.

One of the Nachos was called the Lunch Lady, which required staff to make a non-ice-cream dessert for or with their Campers. We had some fantastic submissions, one of which I’m sharing, but first there is a HUGE DISCLAIMER:

(pause for dramatic effect)

The Lunch Lady Nacho was only one of *many* Nachos and it happened to request an event that included eating food that can be considered junk (although there are alternative recipes that are healthier). iD Tech Camps *always* encourages Campers and staff to eat and live healthy. In fact, SEVERAL of the Nachos were all about eating well and exercising every day. So remember, this recipe is a special treat that I believe is more fun to make than eat, but that’s my opinion!

I believe Chris from the Arizona State University computer camp (forgive me if I’m wrong) submitted this awesome project, along with some of his pics. A pictorial recipe for 6 different variations is found after the break.

Candy Sushi

6 Simple & Fun Recipes after the break… (more…)

 

Posted in Summer Camps, iD Tech Bloggers, iD Tech Camps | 8 Comments »

 

 

As appeared in My School Rocks Magazine – Camping Goes High Tech by Resa Goldberg

January 2010

by Resa Goldberg

Twins Ross and Scott had such a great time at iD Tech Camp last summer they immediately began talking about going back this year.

Their mom’s condition that they help pay for it would have silenced most kids. Not Ross and the Scott. But they didn’t consider opening a lemonade stand or washing cars. No, though only nine years old at the time, they contacted a local business in need of website development services—-skills they had just picked up using Dreamweaver software in summer camp!

They completed the project for Wrightstown Used Auto and Truck Parts in August and were subsequently paid $700. Since then, the fourth graders have been busy with schoolwork and, of course, planning their next camping adventure at iD Tech.

“We talk a lot about how our summer camps develop technical skills for the future,” says Pete Ingram-Cauchi, co-founder of internalDrive, Inc. (iD Tech), in his Nov. 23 blog. “(Ross and Scott’s project) is proof that you don’t need to wait until college to start putting those skills into action.”

Ingram and his sister, Alexa, founded internalDrive, Inc. in 1999 in Silicon Valley—with help from Kathryn Ingram and Paul Cauchi—offering courses in virtual reality, cinematography, digital video, web design, programming and multimedia in California at Santa Clara University, CS Monterey Bay and UC Irvine. “We had to prove to our corporate partners that kids could pick up these topics and that age shouldn’t be a discriminating factor of whether to support this program or not,” says Alexa.

Today, iD Tech hosts weeklong day and overnight sessions for kids ages seven to 17 who want to create video games, design websites, build robots, learn programs, film and edit digital movies, among many other activities. The camps take place at 60 prestigious universities in 25 states in the U.S. and Canada, including UNC-Chapel Hill, Emory, Vanderbilt, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Stanford and UCLA. iD also offers special programs for teens at selected locations, which they call the iD Gaming Academy; the iD Visual Arts Academy and the iD Programming Academy.

Instructors are graduate and undergraduate students in computer science, film, programming, education and engineering—often from the same universities where the company hosts its summer camps. All instructors or counselors are 18 or older. While a good part of each day is indeed devoted to camper’s chosen focus, iD Tech does blend traditional summer camp activities such as sports and other outdoor activities, talent shows and movie nights, with its technical courses. The websites suggests that boys, in particular, might enjoy surfing in the Pacific Ocean in the morning and then building a website in the afternoon.

“It’s true that kids don’t have to be brainiacs or nerds to attend these camps,” says Ross and Scott’s mom Hope. “My boys are just average kids, who have a variety of interests, and who also happen to have a passion for computers.”

Girls are not an afterthought at iD Tech. In fact, the company offers a variety of courses that have curriculum tailored to what girls want to do. Take for example the courses in graphic design, fashion design and filmmaking. The website also highlights several stories of girls who attended iD Tech camps and went on to become extremely successful in their chosen industries.

“Now look at all the targeted tech programs for kids of all ages,” says Alexa. “Students are learning to mod the games we originally played as kids…taking them to new levels and dimensions.”

This season, iD Tech is offering several new courses that will appeal to both boys and girls. Those include iPhone App Development, Digital Photography & Photoshop, RPG Game Design & Graphic Arts Hybrid and StarCraft Half-Life 2, among others.

This summer, Ross and Scott will be taking Video Game Creation – Arcade & Platform and Role Playing Game Design & Graphic Arts Hybrid at Princeton University. In the meantime, they were thrilled with the opportunity to be this month’s Rockin’ Reporters. They caught up with iD Tech cofounder Alexa Ingram-Cauchi where they found out everything you ever wanted to know about iD Tech Camps.

RR: What were you like when you were a kid? Were you a computer nerd?

AI-C: Both Pete and I loved sports and excelled at school. Our Uncle was a VP at Atari and introduced us to our first video games. I won’t date myself, or maybe I already did.

RR: What gave you the idea to start iDTech?

AI-C: We realized the need for hands-on summer technology where students could use cutting edge technology from key industry companies like Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk and more. Having grown up in a family of educators, we saw first-hand the struggle schools were having maintaining up-to-date technology. We wanted kids to become engaged in technology at a young age as well as get a sneak peek into universities like Stanford, Princeton, UNC. iD Tech Camps by internalDrive was born.

RR: How did you start iDTech? Was it hard?

AI-C: I won a business plan competition at the University of Washington. The sale of that company provided the seed money to pursue a family run business. My mother, Kathryn Ingram, and I pulled in some valuable resources…tapped Pete in Spain, and jumped in with both feet and never looked back. Hard is an understatement. Every day was an extreme challenge, but one we welcomed with each passing morning. Very few people can say they love what they do and wake up each morning welcoming whatever new challenges awaits.

RR: What is it like to run a company with your brother?

AI-C: Great! I wouldn’t have it any other way. We play off of each other quite well. Then again, we have always gotten along and have pushed each other to excel and be the best we can be personally and professionally.

RR: How do you decide what courses to offer at iDTech?

AI-C: Software and hardware products always reflect what the professionals use. We use Autodesk’s Maya in our 3D courses, Sony DSLR cameras in DV courses, Adobe Photoshop to make photos more elaborate and the list goes on. We have several new programs—Our Academies are introducing a couple new and exciting courses –one where teens can learn to develop arcade style games using the XNA framework from Microsoft. Another course incorporates iPhone App development which includes the Apple development environment Xcode and Cocoa. You won’t find these courses anywhere else.

RR: How do you decide on the software for iDTech?

AI-C: Cutting edge, usability, relevance…we use what the professionals use…Maya, Final Cut Studio, Photoshop. Students mod the hottest titles like Starcraft and Unreal Tournament 3.

RR: How do you pick the locations?

AI-C: We look to introduce locations that have an established reputation for higher learning. The location needs to be safe and inviting. Who wouldn’t want a sneak peek into Harvard, Princeton, Stanford or UNC?

RR: How do you decide who gets to be a counselor?

AI-C: A rigorous interviewing process, coupled with stellar recommendations. Must pass all background checks. We want people who are experienced and serve as mentors to the kids….He or she may be a professional graphic artist who uses Photoshop or a game programmer who uses Maya in his daily life outside of camp. These are the best people to have teaching our students. They have practical knowledge and enjoy relaying this knowledge in a fun and creative manner.

RR: Have you thought about having on-line courses during the school year?

AI-C: Our primary focus is on our core business, summer camps. It takes us about nine months to pull off a three-month summer program. This company is highly involved and every detail has to be planned and executed to perfection (e.g. latest software releases ghosted on thousands of computers in order to pull off the courses seamlessly.) We have recently launched our iD365 which is a monthly webinar focused on relevant topics such as Google Sketchup. See http://www.internaldrive.com/yearround-learning/ for more details. This is a complimentary service provided to iD alumni and students enrolled for the current season.

RR: Have you ever thought of offering a course in designing game consoles?

AI-C: We just unveiled a new Academy course “Programming for Game Consoles” which allows our students to develop arcade style games using the XNA framework.

RR: What kind of jobs can iDTech prepare kids for?

AI-C: Game Design, Engineering, Web Design, Computer Programming, Gaming Athletes, Videographer, Director, Photographer, iD Tech Camps counselors, Regional Managers….and the list goes on.

RR: What are some big things iDTech kids have gone on to do?

AI-C: Published games, published related books, directed feature films….Visit the iD Basement to read some great stories http://basement.internaldrive.com Julian sold games at age 10. Ian sold a book….

RR: Do you have any advice for kids who what to start their own business?

AI-C: Come up with a sound idea. Don’t be afraid to bounce it off several people. The key word is “several.” Had we listened to everyone who said we couldn’t teach kids these topics, we would have never opened our doors. We constantly take feedback and improve and develop our ideas. Take a leap of faith and believe in yourself. If you don’t, nobody will.

 

Posted in UNC Chapel Hill, Villanova University | No Comments »