We want to remember.
5 months until launch of the new SmugMug. The entire company gathers for a meeting to discuss major developments in the design and engineering of the new SmugMug. The team commits to a mid-summer deadline for launch. Design Director Vilen Rodeski and Lead Sorcerer (aka Engineer) Brian Strong lead the charge.
33 days until launch. A chance to blow off steam and have fun. All of the images used in the new SmugMug's marketing pages were shot in-house by someone on staff. Many got scratched along the way, including this one. Pictured L-R: Sorcerer Bobby Yang, Director of Marketing Denise Gamboa, Designer Craig Murray, Sorcerer Lee Shepherd, Quality Assurance Tester Janet Bracewell, Butters, Sorcerer Kevin Harrington, Customer Support Hero Eric Trimble, Design Director Vilen Rodeski.
28 days until launch. With the months until the unveiling of the new SmugMug quickly turning into weeks and then days, Chief Geek Don MacAskill moves the new SmugMug out of "test" mode and into a top-secret, but live mode of access. "It's live! It's live!" he exclaims. For the next 28 days, our team will hammer away, continually refining, building, and fixing features along the way. This is it. We're almost there. Pictured L-R: Brian Strong, Don MacAskill and Iria Tam, Emily Chen.
11 days until launch. Much of the SmugMug Sorcery (aka Engineering) team works in a semi-open area called "the Pit." Co-Founder Chris MacAskill can be frequently found huddling with SmugMug staff looking to brainstorm or work through a difficult problem. Pictured L-R: Brian Strong, Evan Deffley, Chris MacAskill, Vilen Rodeski, Yuping He.
11 days until launch. The mastermind behind the new SmugMug, Brian Strong, is shown here on video, talking about the inspiration behind this major engineering effort. It started as a a germ of an idea and ultimately took 2 years to redesign SmugMug from the ground up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xvcm3ba8nw
5 days until launch. Before SmugMug, Chris MacAskill worked with Steve Jobs, and the lessons from that time continue to inspire us. He reflects, "I miss Steve Jobs. It's 2 in the morning and his words are on the wall and in the design of the machines we use. We dream of a launch on Tuesday (July 30) even he'd admire."
4 days until launch. With 100+ visitors expected to attend our July 30 launch event in person, plus thousands more watching via live stream, we order gorgeous new Metal Prints from Bay Photo Lab to line our walls. The new group photo in particular elicits laughs. There's always someone frowning, isn't there? :) Pictured L-R: Head of HR Erin Strong, Office Manager Stephanie Drazic, Denise Gamboa, Toni MacAskill, Katherine Cheng, Nick Wrzesinski, Michael Bonocore, Kevin Harrington.