Collegiate Times

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Collaborating with Florida animation studio Spine 3-D, Modea made Lumenhaus accessible through a participatory online interface. Illustrated occupants of Lumenhaus walk online viewers throughout and around the structure, periodically pausing to invite mouse-holders to prompt different house elements. Each click shares an aspect of Lumenhaus' advanced design.

"It was a perfect fit for this house," Wheeler said, "because the house is responsive. It's responsive architecture."

The Lyric also has a Web site with a Modea signature.

Executive director Susan Mattingly said a theater committee had gathered to discuss the shortcomings of a previous Web site. Having formulated new online goals, the committee considered several local businesses for the redesign.

"Modea's history, their track record and their portfolio far exceeded what the other people had," Mattingly said.

As a not-for-profit organization, though, the Lyric didn't have the monetary capacity for a more fanciful product.

"What we needed," Mattingly said, "was something that they could set up, and then we could, at a fairly low level of expertise, maintain it and keep it up to date."

While Catalano is a proponent of the Lyric, he said the fit wasn't quite right.

"Modea is focused on national and global consumer-facing brands," Catalano said. "Nationally, the Lyric isn't a brand. It's a local brand in Blacksburg, absolutely."

With that in mind, Modea declined payment and executed the Lyric Web site pro bono. The Lumenhaus Web site is also a donation. Catalano refers to them as community service projects - Modea's social responsibility.

"When it comes to giving back, you can give your time, you can give your talent or your treasure," Catalano said. "What we like to do is really find opportunities where we can work with nonprofits to lend Modea's time and talent."

Catalano stressed the wide skill sets at Modea. From designers and strategists to backend database programmers, the youthful staff has a gamut of expertise. Modea tries to recruit quality employees from major metropolitan areas like Chicago, New York City and San Francisco.

But Modea also welcomes proficient regional applicants, including Virginia Tech students. After all, two of the three Modea co-founders are Tech alumni, including Catalano from the class of 2005.

Not even in its fourth year of operation, Modea has fashioned a respectable portfolio. Still, Catalano hesitates to declare it a success.

"Our aim is to be one of the best digital agencies in the world," he said. "I really feel like we're just getting started."

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