It's getting darker, there's a nip in the air and creepy things are going down, and I'm not referring to the filming of 'Warm Bodies' just around the corner… it's Halloween at Dynamo!

Another (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend has just about come and gone and have a lots to be thankful about this year, maybe more this year at Dynamo than ever before. Here's my 2010, top 3 things I'm thankful for @ Dynamo:

1. My team rocks! Seriously, I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many talented (like really talented), interesting and just downright awesome people chez nous. It makes working, even in the most challenging circumstances, a true pleasure.
2. My clients rock! Our roster of clients is a good as it's ever been. I'm personally working with some amazing clients that challenge me (creatively, strategically and technically) on a daily basis, all the while placing total trust in me to not only get the job done, but to exceed their expectations. It would be hard to ask for much more.
3. My partners rock! Alex, Bob, you guys are best  and I'm so proud of the work we're doing together. I wouldn't want to be doing it with anyone else.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Video clips on product rollover or enabling user commenting? What feature to add next? We let the dogs decide. 

Wanna guess who won?

The holiday Dyna-tree is standing tall, we've got Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas" on repeat, and baby it's freaking cold outside. That's right, the holidays are upon us and we're as busy as ever, furiously crossing off our studio to-do's along with our holiday gift-lists in anticipation of the feasts, fests, and funs to come. The above graph demonstrates just exactly where we at Dynamo will be having our happy holidays once the studio stops a-buzzing.

And if you don't mind us asking, where are the holidays taking you this season?

Today is Blog Action Day, a change.org initiative designed to "unite the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance".

This year's issue is Climate Change.

With everything already written about the subject, and with all of the posts being added today, it's certainly easy to find information and insight about climate change - but deciding what to do with that information isn't as simple. We can bike around the city, refill our water bottles, replace our light bulbs - and yet still be left wondering what tangible impact our everyday actions have, and who we can throw our support behind to really increase our personal power in the fight for awareness and big-picture impact.

And so, in this spirit, we friendly folks here at Dynamo would like to direct your attention to an endeavour very close to our hearts (and, yes, a project of ours): 12000km.org.

Many of you may know by now that...

Usually, the only thing we have on display in our giant, street level studio windows are the Dynamo designers lucky(?) enough to have snagged a window seat. But starting this summer that's all changed, as you may have noticed by our previous Dynawindows project. This month we're featuring ten pieces from Costa Rica based artist Margriet Zwart, originally hailing from Ontario.

I discovered Zwart two summers ago in the tiny surf town of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica and I immediately fell in love with her gritty, playful, and eco-friendly style. When I went back this summer I asked her on a whim to be the first featured artist in our Dynamo Artist Series. She agreed, we stuffed two duffel bags full of her beachwood masterpieces, and now the Dynamo studio windows have come alive with her wild rendition of jungle, surf, and colorful creatures...

I was doing a bit of hard drive clean up this morning and I came across this video we quickly put together for a company retreat last year. It was a collection of images and video clips from our move into our new space last summer. For anyone that missed our old office or haven't had a chance to see our new one, this will give you a fun little preview.

It's getting to that time of the year when many companies institute a "summer hours" policy, encouraging their staff to enjoy the weather and longer days. Summer hours are typically great for overall morale and can be useful in retaining and attracting talent.

We've had a "summer hours" program at Dynamo for sometime. It started off as a typical "start a bit earlier each day in exchange for leaving at noon on Friday" kind of arrangement. That system worked pretty well for us for a few years, but we thought we could do better. 

Whilst many a man and woman is whistling away their precious lunch time with long walks on short roads or choosing their favourite tie for the upcoming Dodge Decal Design awards, we here at Dynamo can be found in our stark-raving white studio space practicing the beautiful art of ANUSARA YOGA.