2RO057 - AREA 17 & Glowbox

As of Summer 2019, the in-house team at American Cyborg had a very good sense of the market for software like Rookery, and a comprehensive awareness of the technology available to meet that market’s needs. We were ready and funded to hire programmers. At first we looked around for individual developers to join our team, but that’s a big risk for both parties. So we decided to ask for help.

We hired Thomas Wester from Glowbox to help us get a better sense of the process of building the product we envisioned. He helped us develop a list of team members we’d need, and explained the different stages of development. We provided him with all our research and analysis, and he worked with us to shape a pitch deck to offer potential candidates. He then connected us to the firm we hired next.

AREA 17 won us over with their work on the website for the Barnes Foundation. I’m from Philadelphia, and went to grade school down the street from the original Barnes mansion. That collection has so many great qualities: forward-thinking, shared with the public, and a healthy blend of arts and crafts. Their website does a wonderful job of digitizing the experience.

Our team at AREA 17 took on the codename Bowerbird, because bowerbirds are known for their ability to create beautiful, structurally intricate, color-themed nests.