It’s been a few months since we opened the doors to our new Fi office in San Francisco. We’ve added some new faces; we’re next door to some of the biggest technology and Internet companies in San Francisco; we’re even closer to our longtime client Google; and we’re excited about 2012.

We talked to a few of our digital producers at Fi San Francisco and wanted to fill you in on what it’s like to produce digital projects on the West Coast. 

Talent is Growing
In November, Chris joined our San Francisco office as a Senior Producer, working side-by-side with our growing team of creative designers, interactive developers, UX designers and even our CEO David, who relocated to the San Francisco office in late 2011.

If you ask Chris, he’ll say matter-of-factly that he’s a bit of a tech nerd. He’s the guy who loves, among other things, tracking new and exciting developments with HTML5 and CSS3, as well as the innovators behind those experiences. “Fi was always on my radar. When I heard they were opening an office in San Francisco, I wanted to be part of something new and have a real say in shaping the agency’s West Coast identity and voice, with clients and internally too.”

Meticulous attention to detail and clear, cogent communication are two keys to his effective style. “To be a great (and successful) digital producer, you have to walk a fine line between those elements. For example, a designer doesn’t necessarily need to know that a client has cut their project budget. By the same token, the client doesn’t need to be bogged down with each and every detail related to the production of their project.” But it’s the pursuit of balance in his life that keeps Chris sane and productive, with a focus on both a healthy mind and body.

Winning with Zeitgeist

If you love the interesting nuggets of information and interactivity on Google Zeitgeist 2011, you should say hello to Senior Producer Bryan. He worked closely with the creative, strategy, technology and copywriting teams at Fi and Google on the project. Since launching on December 15, 2011, the site has been the subject of international news, blogs and social media. What you see today is due in large part to his producing talents and juggling skills.

So what’s the best piece of advice for producing a digital project holistically, from start to finish? “Identify your win scenario,” says Bryan. “This can be expressed through a finite amount of high level goals which must be accomplished for the client, your team, and ultimately you to consider the project a success. Once you’ve reached a consensus win scenario amongst your project stakeholders, use it as a tool to attenuate risk and focus the team efforts on producing something amazing.”

Bryan continues, "When it came to this year’s Google Zeitgeist project, our goal was to innovate and surprise people with the beauty and interactivity of the site, as well as amaze tech experts with the data behind the images. Our teams distilled down a few key metrics to keep the vision of the project on target and deliver what has by far been the best, and most interactive, Google Zeitgeist ever created.”

Visit Zeitgeist and see how the world searched for the hottest events, people and news in 2011.

Become a Digital Superstar

 At Fi, every single person is a digital superstar for one key reason - they're incredibly passionate and have an insatiable appetite for innovation and growth. It's something we feel proud to foster in our teams. Now we have the unique opportunity to invite the next group of digital superstars to become part of our Fi San Francisco team. If you want to be part of our award-winning agency and help grow the quality of our digital work and reputation, join us at Fi San Francisco.