I currently run my personal website and sloane on virb templates and I love it. Most importantly, not only can you set up the site in a matter of hours, but you can also manage the site yourself. If you haven’t had experience building a website, I’ll tell you that this is crucial. Marketing in the digital age has changed, and to be competitive it’s vital that you have the power to update your site and add new content quickly without having to wait for someone else to update it for you. Be sure to choose a template that includes a blog so you can easily generate current news and lots of great indexable content to drive more readers and customers to YOU.

Check out some creative sites below that run on Virb:

How our Students Stack up Against the World by Five Column Media
via Fast Co. Design

Bike-Opolis by Chris Korbey via GOOD

How Much Does the US Subsidize Energy? by DeepLocal via GOOD

Getting Around: Transportation Today by Jonathan Harris of Flamming Toast
 via Princeton’s International Networks Archive

Meet Dana Córdova (aka danacordova) - one of our most fancy contributors.  She has a great eye for design and her Fancy collection is particularly enjoyable…learn more about Dana in our interview below:

Fancy:
Tell us a little about yourself…who are you?  What do you do when you aren’t using Fancy?
Dana:
I am a project manager, designer and content developer in the publishing industry. For the past ten years I’ve largely worked in entrepreneurial environments creating contemporary art magazines such as New American Paintings and my own digital magazine, sloane.

Fancy:
Where do you live?  How do you feel your environment and community influence your style?  Is that displayed in your fancy collection?
Dana:
I have lived in Boston for many years now and although I have a lot of love for Boston, and it’s gotten a lot more hip in recent years, it does tend to have a less sophisticated aesthetic then other larger cities. I used to live in New York in college, so I find Fancy (and the internet in general) helps to fill that void I miss of being exposed to new things and trends before the rest of country. I am fortunate, however, to work in a sector of publishing that caters to the contemporary art market. So, being surrounded by lots of emerging and innovative artists is a huge influence on my taste and style.

Fancy:
How did you find out about Fancy?
Dana:
My husband introduced me to it—he’s a big techie and loves architecture and design —he found the Fancy app in the Apple App Store.

Fancy:
How did you put together such an impressive collection?
Dana:
Half I discovered from other Fancy users and half are gathered from my own online browsing. I naturally love to do a lot of research before I buy something so I’m always online searching, comparing and hunting. Then, I started sloane and those skills started to come in handy and I was able to turn that interest into a real tool others could benefit from. The project is currently taking a break, but I’ve found that building my Fancy catalog and Tweeting about various discoveries has been a great way for me to keep the brand and my curatorial aesthetic alive.

Fancy:
Who are some of your favorite people on Fancy?
Dana:
               

Fancy:
What are your 5 favorite finds on Fancy?
Dana:
                    

Fancy:
What is your favorite part of Fancy?
Dana:
There is a lot you guys are doing right technically, but more than anything I think the aspect that sets Fancy apart from others is the quality of the contributors. There seems to be a collective agreement to really attract people who are interested in curating their collections rather than just finding cool stuff. Being in the fine arts, I appreciate those who are aware of their taste on a connoisseurship level, so I like how you can really see a distinct style to a particular contributor.

Fancy:
What five celebrities would you like to see on Fancy and why?
Dana:

Images via Yes Please Mademoiselle

Tip via Design Work Life

I also love his fun, interactive presentations.

Courtesy of Esquire

Remote Control Switch enclose in Lucite Box

This is a Lamp, Courtesy Design Boom

Gold Pills