Google’s Search app is one of the all-time, most downloaded free apps in Apple’s App Store.  Innovations of the app are specifically targeted to the things you need in a mobile setting—things like searching by voice when you can’t type, or searching with a picture when you can’t describe something.  Still, users often forget just how useful the app can be, especially when compared to a standard search in their desktop or mobile browser.

To help keep the app and its practical uses top of mind, we created a first of its kind mobile ad.  The experience, called Uncover Your World, speaks to the way the world around you becomes discoverable with the Google Search app.  With that insight developed, we wanted to marry the brains of the concept with beauty in a unique, visual display and user experience.

Google has an exciting tradition of representing its digital products in the analog world.  We explored varying modeling and crafting techniques but found that most wouldn’t give us the perfect combination of high detail, fast build, and unique art direction that we wanted for the project. We found what we were after in the up-and-coming technology of 3D printing.

We used a powder-based, color 3D printer that took our custom, 3D models and built them from hundreds of layers of fine powder and glue.  In that transition from digital to printed objects, we created a very unique visual: highly detailed, slightly grainy, and seemingly handmade.  When you see the objects in photos and videos, you know they’re real, but you can’t quite put your finger on how they’re made, and that’s what we love about them.

Check out the full “making of” video above and then read more about the project on our website.

Grow’s holiday parties have become somewhat legendary.  Each year, our festivities seem to get a little crazier and a little more elaborate.  Last year certainly followed this trend when our holiday party featured an ongoing game that was centered around a web-based, smart phone app.  The brief to partygoers at the beginning of the night was simple: The more fun you’re having, the more “points” you’ll earn, and you can track and redeem everything for prizes—all through the app.

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Thanks to the hundreds of friends and family who celebrated our housewarming with us.  We’ve posted some photos from the event to our Facebook page…

View the full set. Photos by Howard Tarpey.

Thanks, too, to those who gave generously towards Five Points Farm Market.  With bar proceeds and the sale of our donated, limited-edition t-shirts, we raised over $2,300 for our good friends at Five Points.

We’ll have you all over again soon.

Sorry, it’s been a while… to say we’ve been busy would be an understatement at best.

Since the beginning of the year, not only have we been cranking away on some of the biggest projects to date (more on those later), but we’ve also been in the midst of the renovation and historic restoration of our new home, 427 Granby St.

At nearly a hundred years old and abandoned for the past several years, we’ve restored the building to its original 1917 beauty and historic charm—with some modern additions like a partial green roof, a bleacher seating presentation area, and a green screen studio.  Read more about the building’s history “after the jump.”

We’ll be posting a more complete view of the renovation in the coming weeks, but we’d love to have you come visit. We’re having a housewarming party on Friday, November 5th. If you’d like an invitation, drop us a note at info@thisisgrow.com.

Not to be forgotten, we’re excited about our return to Downtown Norfolk and look forward to helping steer its continued renaissance.  More soon!

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Last night, I gave a presentation to the Richmond chapter of AIGA entitled “Enabling Interactivity”.  The presentation aimed to share insight on the tools and practices Grow utilizes to help ensure the smooth execution of complex digital initiatives.  Here are the slides from that presentation.

Download: Enabling Interactivity PDF

On our Thank You Begins With A T site, developer Josh drew a marker and an envelope. Astute visitors pieced together that they could draw on Josh and e-mail him copies of their creations.  Thousands of drawings flooded Josh’s inbox, and the rest of our team followed along with an RSS feed.  Many of the drawings were too good to keep to ourselves, so we’re happy to share this compilation of our favorites.  As a disclaimer, web users given a pen and freedom of expression will frequently draw genitalia.

Want to win a shirt from the site?  Leave a comment, and we’ll pick three random winners next week.

The upcoming issue of .net Magazine (Issue 193, September 2009) features insight from our Sr. Art Director, Joe Branton.  The article is part of .net’s “Makeover” feature, in which prominent designers are asked to redesign a lackluster site—in this case an online vodka retailer called Vodka Emporium.  You can check out the article here.  And since you don’t get to see the real of the quality of Joe’s work, we also wanted to share full resolution images of the designs.  Click the thumbnails below to view the work.

Welcome to the Grow Interactive blog. We’re excited to finally have a place where we can share inspiration, advice and insight into the world of Grow.  So to start this blog off right, here’s our blooper reel from the production of our Thank You Begins with a T campaign. If you haven’t already seen the site be sure to check that out first. Enjoy!