There is now discussion as to whether we need to rethink the rules (since chocolate truffles don’t fit under the “guac” category) which currently state that the base ingredient should be avocados. Our Interactive Designer Zak Orner says changing the rules would stifle creativity, and after all, we are a creative firm!

Watch video of the fun below:

Chocolate Avocado Truffles with Chives, Pink Peppercorns and a Cinnamon Crisp

Chocolate Truffle
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 large very ripe avocados, peeled and pit removed
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups Hershey’s baking cocoa (unsweetened)
3 cups powdered sugar

Decorations
Hershey’s Special Dark baking cocoa (unsweetened)
Hershey’s Milk chocolate icing (melted)
Fresh chives
Pink peppercorns
Cinnamon Crisp (Store bought crescent rolls, rolled flat and covered in butter and cinnamon sugar. Follow baking directions on the package, cool and cut into small triangles)
Small paper cups (optional)

Directions

• In a medium sized bowl, mix together vanilla extract, baking cocoa and powdered sugar.
• In a medium sized sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.
• In a food processor, mix melted butter and avocado together until smooth and there are no chunks of avocado left.
• Return butter and avocado mixture to sauce pan and slowly incorporate vanilla, cocoa and sugar mixture.
• Place truffle batter in the freezer for 2 – 4 hours or until set enough to roll into balls.
• Using a melon baller, small ice cream scoop or your hands, roll out balls approximately 3/4” in size. Immediately roll truffle in Hershey’s Special Dark baking cocoa. Place into individual paper cups. (This keeps storage container from getting chocolate all over it!) Return to freezer or refrigerator if the truffle batter gets too soft to form balls.
• To decorate, use melted chocolate icing as “glue” to hold 2 small chive pieces and 1 peppercorn in place. Place one cinnamon crisp per truffle in the paper cups.
• Refrigerate until ready to enjoy!

At Sandstorm Design, we know our way around an avocado, but we’re also pretty good with the web too! Find out how we can help you with our unique blend of strategy, marketing, web design and usability services.

We’re Hiring – Looking for an exceptional wordsmith who is a strategic thinker with a creative mind. User-experience marketing agency is looking for a talented and motivated full-time copywriter. Must play well with others and be willing to work in a team atmosphere to create unique, vibrant and strategic online and offline experiences. Some current projects include website writing and strategy, blog writing, ads and direct mail campaigns, marketing collateral, and conducting interviews. PR and social media experience a plus.

Applicant must be versatile and able to take on everything from script writing for an upcoming online experience to Facebook ads. Excellent grammar skills and proofreading abilities required. Must be a great communicator, and able to work directly with clients. Bachelor’s degree with 4+ years experience required.

Our firm is a thriving interactive agency with great clients in a variety of industries. Our team is a dedicated and hardworking bunch that enjoys witty banter, free snacks and takes the annual guacamole contest very seriously. Other perks of the job are 401k, profit sharing, health insurance, two paid volunteer days and birthdays are paid holidays! We are only steps away from the Metra and Brown lines.

If you are up for the challenge please send your cover letter, resume, writing samples and salary requirements to jobs@sandstormdesign.com with “Chicago Copywriter” in the subject. These materials are required for consideration. Local candidates only. No phone calls please.

The ad campaign setup consists of what seems to be three simple steps. But as the user moves through the experience, what initially felt simple becomes rigid and constrictive when trying to make changes, update, or delete.

The top three key items LinkedIn Ads could fix to improve usability and the user experience:

1. No delete? You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve heard this complaint within other areas of LinkedIn before, so I wasn’t surprised to find it in LinkedIn Ads. Once created, there is no way to delete an ad campaign or ad variation. You can hide them, but not delete them. Users should always be allowed to delete anything they create (just make them confirm it’s really what they want to do).
   
2. No “Save” option. If you leave the ad campaign setup process at any time, LinkedIn saves everything you started. This is great, except they don’t tell you they’re going to do that. So if you leave before finalizing a campaign, you would assume you’re losing what you started. Upon coming back to find it’s still there—you might be surprised, and also annoyed you didn’t know it would be saved in the first place. If the functionality is there, tell the users upfront so they can plan for it.
3. Cannot add new ad variations. I love that LinkedIn gives users 15 ad variations per campaign. But after you go through the initial three steps, there’s no way to come back and simply “Add a new variation.” You have to use a workaround where you duplicate an existing variation and just make changes to that. Users should never have to use a workaround for something that should be basic functionality. In fact, they should never have to use a workaround, period.
   

Despite my rant here, I love LinkedIn, and am very pleased to see it growing so much (100 million members as of March 2011!). As they grow, usability and the user experience is definitely something they’ll want to put more focus on. For now though, these few items would make a nice improvement.

Don’t forget to follow our usability and user experience design agency  on LinkedIn!

Today they started the demo in the space next door that we are taking over! They are doing a really great job as it’s not too loud nor disruptive. Thanks Hugh and Joe Hayes! We’ve decided to add a larger lunchroom and kitchen area, along with two huddle rooms for brainstorming, conference calls, quiet meetings, private phone calls and some more work space as we continue to grow – all to enhance our user’s experience (which in this case, our users are our staff).

It’s a really fun and exciting time here at Sandstorm as we continue to grow with our user centered design methodology, creative facebook applications, and strategic interactive tools. We are all looking forward to a busy and exciting 2010.

The Web Marketing Association has honored us with the 2009 WebAward For Outstanding Achievement in Web Development and Design for National Association of Realtors’ Green REsource Council web site. The Green REsource Council was founded to make the knowledge of green real estate practices available to everyone and is the only environmental real estate designation addressing multiple specialties for agents and property managers.

We are very proud to be recognized for our green design work, and continue to strive to build intuitive online user experiences.