Our Sandstorm Design staff couldn’t stop talking about the mystery “Offsite Mandatory Meeting” scheduled for Friday. Concerns included what type of meeting this would be, exactly how far off site we would be going, and what type of clothing we would need (hiking gear, perhaps?).

With the meeting scheduled for 3:00 PM, Sandy called our anxious staff into a conference room at 2:45 PM to reveal that we would not be having a meeting after all. We would, however, be going off site – to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 on opening day! After a few excited updates to Facebook and text messages to jealous family members, we threw on our coats, jumped in the cars, passed out the tickets, claimed a row in the theater, and sat back to enjoy the Friday afternoon show. Sandy sure knows how to keep a smile on our faces! Thanks from all of us!

Our boutique Chicago marketing firm is growing, and we are looking to add to our pool of freelance/contract talent. Are you a wordsmith wanting to work with great clients in a team atmosphere to create unique, vibrant and strategic online and offline experiences while leading the freelance/contractor lifestyle? Possible projects include web sites, online applications, interactive timelines, Facebook micro-sites and printed marketing materials.

If you truly love the freelance lifestyle and have excellent verbal and written skills with an agency point-of-view, email your resume, writing samples and hourly rate to jobs@sandstormdesign.com with ‘Chicago Contract Copywriter’ in the subject line.

Chicago area copywriters only, we need our freelancers to work on site at our office in Lakeview. Please, No Phone Calls. No Recruiters.

Sandstorm Design is seeking a Front End / User Interface Developer to join our team! This person will be responsible for front-end/presentation layer and UI development for web site and web application projects.

We’re looking for someone with a passion for building user-friendly experiences and creating elegant and dynamic UIs for the web. Required skills include 2-4 years experience with HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and JQuery (XML and AJAX a plus!) and 2-4 years experience developing web pages and front-end solutions from provided wireframes and designs. The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of web standards and web browser peculiarities, the ability to create cross-browser and cross-platform compliant pages, proficiency in Adobe CS3-4 Creative Suite (Photoshop and Illustrator) and knowledge of Drupal development, WordPress and other open source tools and frameworks.

Any experience in the following will be a bonus: Flash/Action Script, PHP, Ruby on Rails and/or ASP.NET, Facebook and other social media integration, SQL, MySQL or other databases, Apache and/or Microsoft IIS.

We work in a team environment, so we need someone with a demonstrated ability to work both as a member of a team and independently. We’re looking for someone with a commitment to excellence, usability, coding standards and an intense attention to detail. The successful candidate will need to be flexible in day-to-day activities and embrace change as required, working both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment with many projects, priorities and opportunities.

Sandstorm Design offers competitive salary, health insurance, paid vacations, paid holidays (including your birthday!) and a fun and creative atmosphere.

Please send your resume, cover letter and links to work samples to jobs@sandstormdesign.com. No phone calls please.

Sandstorm Design is looking to build long-term relationships with freelance web developers who are not just between jobs but truly enjoy the freelance lifestyle. If you’re a rock star developer and would like to add to your client list while working on cool projects, we want to hear from you.

We are looking for web developers skilled in Flash / Action Script, Front-end development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, j-Query), PHP, MySQL and Drupal. On a less frequent basis, we will need web developers with experience in ASP.NET, Cold Fusion and WordPress. If you have any combination of these skills, get in touch with us today!

Sandstorm Design is a fun place to work, with a creative atmosphere. Not only will you enjoy coming to work with us, you’ll enjoy the free snacks and pop too!

Please send your resume/CV, your hourly rates and links to your work examples to jobs@sandstormdesign.com with Chicago Web Developer in the subject line. We would like Chicago area developers only, as we need our freelancers to work on-site at our office in Lakeview. Please, No Phone Calls, No Recruiters.

We are proud to announce the launch of the new F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen web site! We love working with this construction company, some say we’re almost as “Paschen”-ate as they are. Great people, great work, and a great history. We couldn’t wait for this site launch!

In addition to a new branded look and feel, the web site is filled with interactive video and functionality. We built a searchable project database that includes over 100 of their top projects. We also created an interactive experience on the homepage, new custom videos, an interactive map and a dynamically building ‘Contact Us’ form. To top it all off, custom photography highlights one of the company’s strongest points of pride – their people. We couldn’t be more passionate about launching this web site for F.H. Paschen, a company we are proud to call our client and partner.

Sandstorm Design is hiring! We’re looking for a freelance ASP.NET Developer with Sitecore CMS experience. We have been (and will be) busy creating the concepts, designs and information architecture for a site for a large local non-profit and need your development skills to build it. The project will be starting in development in January 2011 with some up front consultation needed immediately. Ideally, we would like to find a local Chicago ASP.NET contractor with whom we can build a long-term relationship to help with this project as well as future projects.

Candidates must have 4+ years .NET experience, preferably with a Microsoft certification, 1+ years hands-on experience using Sitecore CMS and 2+ years experience with MsSQL. We would like someone with experience developing high volume web applications, and the ability to design database tables, stored procedures and SQL Queries. You will need to know HTML and CSS. We also need you to be able to meet project timelines and budgets, collaborate with peers on a project to meet client needs, and have strong written and verbal communication skills. We’re looking for a highly motivated, detail-oriented individual with excellent problem solving skills and a passion for delivering high quality products and creating highly usable web sites that optimize the user experience. A few pluses that will give you an edge: experience with AJAX/Jquery, developing e-commerce sites, and/or familiarity with Shopsite shopping site software.

Think you might be the one we are seeking? Submit your resume and work samples and/or links to jobs@sandstormdesign.com. Please NO phone calls.

It’s easy to love your job when you work for Sandstorm Design, and it’s even easier when the projects that come your way are for organizations that are working to make the world a better place – like The Cradle, an open adoption agency in Chicago. Along with giving them a fresh, new look, we also made their site easy to update by completing development in Drupal so that they can change their content regularly with current news, new waiting families, and new stories of success.  

We loved working with The Cradle and being a part of helping birthparents, adoptive families, and adopted children come together to create their own unique family stories. We are so proud to launch this web site!

Sandstorm Design is excited to announce the launch of SRES.org! We’re so happy to provide this excellent resource to anyone age 50+ with real estate needs, helping them connect with SRES^® designees all over the country. The SRES^® designation, offered by the National Association of REALTORS^®, indicates specialization in the real estate needs of those age 50+. Baby boomers can visit this web site to easily search for an SRES^® designee near them, and prepare themselves for what types of considerations they’ll face with their real estate decisions.  We love working with the National Association of REALTORS^® and marketing to seniors, and couldn’t be more excited to launch this web site!