The Raleigh Warehouse District has had it’s share of busy times since it’s actual warehouse origins. Over the years, much of the action has happened after midnight on weekends, with a thriving nightclub scene. There have also been the businesses who put their stakes in the ground long before there was a scene to support them…businesses which include Humble Pie and William-Cozart, to name a few.

In the last 5 years, though, the Raleigh Warehouse District has grown into a true downtown destination, with galleries, restaurants, retail shops and nightclubs all claiming the district as their home. With such a vibrant any-time-of-day scene taking shape, the branding and design firm, Gamil Design (located in the Designbox space in the Raleigh Warehouse District) decided it was time to organize the neighbors and to showcase neighborhood things-to-do with a new website, RaleighWarehouseDistrict.com.

The new website launched on Thursday, March 1, 2012 and provides a wealth of information for the visitor who wants to wander the district but isn’t sure of the offerings. The site is a comprehensive directory of businesses open to the public, categorized by type of offering, such as Retail, Art, Eats & Drinks, and Nightlife. Each company page gives a glimpse of what that place is like, and provides hours of operation, contact info and links to the company site, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Twitter is a big part of the excitement of the site. The site features an aggregated Twitter feed of places in the district so visitors can find out what is happening NOW, and get a bit of the personality of the community. Once a web visitor arrives on a specific company’s individual page, the featured Twitter feed is specific to that company, so they can get an idea of what big events might be coming or what specials are current at that location.

The Raleigh Warehouse District website is fun and functional in other ways too. For instance, there is a map on the site that pinpoints each business location, enabling a Warehouse District visitor to find their destination quickly and easily. There is a calendar on the site where neighborhood businesses can add featured events for the public. Visitors can also browse by what is “open today.” Going to the Warehouse District for a bite to eat and don’t know if the gallery or shop down the street is also open? – simply click “open today” to find out.

The community focus of the neighborhood is celebrated with the Raleigh Warehouse District Flickr group. Images added to this group on Flickr are featured at random on the site’s gallery page. There is also a “badge” page on the website where the neighborhood businesses as well as the public can download image icon badges to be a part of promoting the district.

The folks at Gamil Design have many plans for the site as the district grows and say they are “excited to get our online presence started in order to highlight this incredible downtown destination!” Stay tuned for more, and start your Raleigh Warehouse visit online at RaleighWarehouseDistrict.com

For more information, contact:
Beth Khalifa, Gamil Design
beth@gamil.com

Gamil Design has continued to support the Vilcek Foundation with it’s prestigious Vilcek Prize. Conceived by Stefan Sagmeister, Gamil Design has continued to do all technical design and production for each unique award, each digitally created, hand polished and plated. These trophies have been award-winners themselves and are currently on display at the Louvre in Paris. The 2012 recipients are Mikhail Baryshnikov and Carlos Bustamante, PhD.

“Eisenhower Fellowships engages emerging leaders from around the world to enhance their professional capabilities, broaden their contacts, deepen their perspectives, and unite them in a diverse, global community – a network where dialogue, understanding, and collaboration lead to a more prosperous, just, and peaceful world.”

The Eisenhower Fellowship sends approximately eight to ten high-achieving mid-career (aged 32-45) U.S. citizens abroad for an intensive, individually designed program in the country of their choice.  Fellows are selected by blue ribbon steering committees and are currently recruited from Philadelphia, Research Triangle North Carolina, New England (Boston), and St. Louis.

Aly was chosen to represent the Research Triangle of North Carolina in recognition of his contributions in community and design leadership through his creation of SPARKcon (a Raleigh creativity showcase in it’s 6th year in 2011), Designbox (a collaborative group of creative professionals in Raleigh, NC) his leading roles in design thinking for the City of Raleigh, the Raleigh Convention Center, IDSA and Universities  and non-profits around  the world. The Program also chose Aly to support his stated fellowship goal to study the relationships between Chinese and US manufacturers, designers and brands and to explore new opportunities for those relationships to be more creative, collaborative and,ultimately profitable for all.

Aly will travel to Asia for 5 weeks in 2012 to meet with international business and political leaders, as well as other Eisenhower Fellows. Stay tuned, and congrats to Aly!

Here’s a great article from New Raleigh: designbox’s Aly Khalifa awarded Eisenhower Award