Shortly before I left the halls of Island Def Jam to come to Yahoo!, the company began promoting little-known Atlanta artist Lloyd on their Murder Inc. sub-label. After one spin, I smelled a stinker, and said so.

“No, no, no. Lloyd’s gonna be hot,” I heard.

Today, at a corporate office’s coffee bar in Silicon Valley, what did I see? A Lloyd “How We Do It” CD… offered not as a Lloyd CD, but rather (and rather mockingly at that) as a drink coaster.

It feels good being right every now and again.

Def Jam Recordings, twenty years after its inception, is still the #1 name brand in hip-hop culture. Having developed artists from LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and EPMD (as well as more recent acts like Method Man, Redman, Ghostface, and more), the label was no longer representing its prestige with its online presence of 3+ years.
Starting from the ground up, the website was rearchitected to facilitate commerce and community features on every page. A gritty, underground hip-hop theme was developed to reflect the aspects of both the street and DJ cultures that continue to define the genre. Rather than follow existing conventions for label sites (and hip-hop sites in general), though, the new site takes a user-driven approach to the design, presenting a variety of mechanisms to access popular content and placing form squarely behind function.

In addition to overhauling the label site (and designing an as-of-yet to be released consolidated label site), my team produced dozens of artist sites, promotions, and campaigns, including the following gems:

	Thursday Island Records, original home of Bob Marley and U2, was looking to develop a site that captured the esoteric lyrics of their new rock act, Thursday, while integrating the album artwork from the new CD. Hidden sections were added to allow fans to investigate the band’s lyrics, and label, band, and fan response to the design was tremendous.
	Christina Milian Christina Milian, previously a favorite with the Radio Disney and teen R&B/pop crowd, was looking to reinvent her official site. Fan sites around the globe had provided her audience with the most up-to-date information and largest photo galleries, but this was intended to change with the launch of the new site. By redesigning and rearchitecting her online presence, the new site made a giant splash amongst her fans who were reintroduced to the new and more mature Christina. Breaking from her teen-themed imagery of before, the new site presented Christina as a modern, sophisticated, and sultry recording artist, ready to compete with the likes of crossover artists like Beyoncé.
	The Killers Hailing from Las Vegas but explosively popular in the U.K., The Killers were set to make a splash in the U.S. with their first full-length album debut on Island. To build on offfline and radio marketing efforts, Island Def Jam needed an online presence that extended the band’s brand imagery, allowed for quick and easy content management, and provided a forum for fans to communicate with each other and with the band.
	Everlast While Everlast’s latest musical sound crosses many genres, he wanted his website to target his long-time hip-hop followers. Heralding back to a golden era, this design solution uses graffiti and paintstriping to tie the Flash animation into the page content.
	Andrew W.K. game Andrew W.K. might easily be the most energetic performer alive. Known for his “Party Hard” anthem in 2002, the party metal singer was looking to create a buzz around his new album, “The Wolf,” amongst his online fans. Using themes common to his videos, albums, and performances (including the wolves, piano, and intense adrenaline-pumping racing sequences), this game captures the energy and quirky spirit behind Andrew and his ever-loyal fan base.

Check out a case study of the new site design in the Laaker.com Assorted Works section to see images and learn more.

(New York City) – After years of visual stagnation, Def Jam Recordings had it’s online ride "pimped" by Micah Laaker and the Fearless Concepts’ creative and development teams.

Known as the home of hip-hop’s earliest stars (such as LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Slick Rick, and Public Enemy), Def Jam Recordings has maintained its brand value of being the definitive hip-hop recording label. Now featuring stars such as Method Man, Ghostface, Jay-Z (via Roc-a-fella Records), and Ja Rule (courtesy of The Inc. Records), the label continues to define where the rap industry is heading. Unfortunately, the label’s website was not communicating the prestige of the music powerhouse.

Leading the development of the information architecture and visual design efforts for the site, Laaker focused on moving the music label’s content to the forefront of the site’s pages while providing a visual framework that suggested "street elegance." Instead of the grafitti-laden imagery and "blinged-out" decoration adorning other hip-hop sites, the new site was designed from day one to subtley suggest Def Jam’s DJ culture while being framed in a sophisticated, platinum-level grid structure. The design is also the cornerstone of Laaker’s focus on information design, serving as a strong example of creating a usable and useful resource for the entertainment industry.

Using the site’s users’ feedback to help guide content naming, organization, and design approach, Laaker and his group developed an entirely new website for the label featuring an integrated storefront, a user polling system, an entertainment/lifestyle focus, and integrated community features. Launched on Thursday, September 16th, the site now enters development for considerably more extensive community features.