Solstice Investment Research

I've known investment analyst Paul Howard for years, and when his new company, Solstice Investment Research, needed a new web site in 2009 he reached out right away. He and his partner, Melanie Ryerson, were excited for Solstice to show some forward-thinking and brand intelligence, and revolutionize the use of web and mobile technologies, in a field that has traditionally been stodgy and slow to change. It was a fun challenge for us, and we started drawing up plans for a modern and engaging company identity, and a powerful and dynamic web site built on Free and Open Source Software and the Drupal content management platform.

A few weeks ago -- just before the summer solstice -- we launched solsticeresearch.com!

Branding

When we started, Solstice had an established business and clientele, but did not yet have a visual identity. Heather and the team at Bad Feather worked closely with Paul and Mel to create the Solstice brand, including print assets like business cards and letterhead, and their new online identity, which became the foundation for the web site theme.

Solstice Research

In addition to the blog, the heart of Solstice's offerings to their clients are their resources and publications. We worked with Paul and Mel to craft a delivery model that would let users see the depth and breadth of content offered by Solstice, while remaining intuitive to navigate and use. This iterative process resulted in an elegant interface, with plans to grow as the company grows.

Access Control

Solstice needed a tiered-access model for the site, with full access to research and publications restricted to their core clients. We also identified site features that would be rolled out to users in the future, but would not be part of the initial launch. Separately, one of the central challenges on this project was the tight regulation of the investment industry, which dictated -- among other things -- that the entire site must be behind a registration wall for the first year after launch. 

Combining all of these factors, we were left with a fairly complex set of access control requirements for the site. This was a fun challenge, and we worked closely with Solstice, and the industry regulators as an important stakeholder, to iron out the related architecture and interface. On the Drupal geek side, that involved implementations of hook_nodeapi, hook_db_rewrite_sql, hook_form_alter, hook_file_download, and many custom access control-related functions.

We look forward to taking the wraps off the full site in a year, when the registration wall will no longer be required!

Mobile Theming

Paul and Mel made it clear from the get-go that the investment industry lives on their Blackberries. We worked together to develop a plan for a standards-based mobile theme that would allow their clientele to access the site wherever and whenever they had mobile connectivity. Mobile devices see slimmed down and restructured site content, with elegant and simplified layout and styles. The mobile tools and features modules contributed by the Drupal community made this process fun and painless.

What's Next for Solstice

We look forward to another round of fanfare at the 2012 summer solstice, when the Solstice web site will be ready for it's next evolution. Congratulations, Paul and Mel on the new web site and all of your work to date, and here's to another successful cycle around the sun!