Fender wanted something custom.

After almost a year and a half in development, we launched the much anticipated Fender Custom Shop website. Known as the home of the flagship custom guitars from the famed Fender brand, the Custom Shop is home of some of the most exclusive and spectacular instruments on the planet. “We had a challenge to make the site easily accessible but still incredibly deep for the fans of these guitars and guitar makers,” says Glen Hall, resident Brainyard web guru. “So we studied the user behavior and preferences to carefully craft the experience they really care about,” Hall adds. We had to connect the user interface to a rather elaborate enterprise back end at Fender that manages complex databases. Perhaps our biggest challenge and proudest moments are when no one ever ‘sees’ that stuff. But knowing that this intricate set of data is interwoven to support the user experience is like a great song – sheer art.

Being that we’re all musicians at the Yard, this was a labor of love (or as Trevor puts it ‘labor of lust’). We fought to stay on track for what we knew the visit wanted to see and feel about the brand. In the end, we created a site that on the surface appears simple and creative yet it is deep in its content and information. What we hoped for has happened. People come in for a visit and stay for coffee. And like a great coffeehouse, they keep coming back.

After 58 years of making music, I think it’s fair to say that Guild knows a thing or two about building a fine acoustic guitar. Capturing that kind of passion was not easy. There’s lots of other companies who are bigger and more modern but only a handful can claim to have been around longer or have the distinction of being a great American brand like Guild Guitars.

At the start of the project we went out to the new-old New Hartford, CT factory where the flagship Traditional Series line is being built. When you see the tooling and machines that still exist that made some of the most recognized guitars on the planet, you harkens back to the time where music was the voice of a nation, of the world. Our job was to make sure that the classic nature of the products and the brand was not compromised. So we set out to build a website that had not only function and appeal but heart and personality representative of the grand Guild name.

Right away, you are struck with the sheer classic beauty of the instruments and Guild’s unwavering commitment to quality and style. “That’s what I like most about the site…it’s not overstated or ostentatious” says Trevor G, the Yard’s senior web designer. Yet you can navigate your way to any need you may have even if you are a long time owner or a newbie looking for information. Videos, stories, insights populate the site in a manner that appears more like a conversation than a one-sided soliloquy. Check it out …and never stop making music.

Being the agency for Guild Guitars, we get to be privy to some cool stuff. One of those things was the design and building of the latest Standard Series guitars. It’s been awhile since a new line of guitars from Guild had hit the market. These newer, more affordable sisters of the flagship Traditional Series, retains all of the pedigree of the former and adding nuances that sets the Standard Series apart in a category all to itself not only within the Guild line but within the market space. It’s price to features such as wood choices, construction and finishing, now shows that Guild can make a more affordable US build guitar without a single compromise to quality and tone. A new tradition in tone – The Standard Series from Guild.

Finding stuff guitar players care about is not a hard task for us. After all, that’s what most of us do when we’re not doing what we do. So when it comes to stuff we believe the Guild customers will care about, the ideas must pass our own test. Each month we want people to want to spend time with the Guild brand in a meaningful way, so we work hard to develop content that is interesting, informative and intriguing. The last thing we want is a bunch of selling. Well, it’s proven to be a treasure trove of stuff the Guild fan cares about. And that’s very cool. Check out the stories as they are human ones, not just propaganda.