MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--By day, Account Executive Curt Baker and Designer Mike Arney at Little (www.littleco.com) were working on branding and design projects for companies like Target, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Lowe's, the Minnesota Timberwolves and others. But since March, the self-described "soccer-obsessed" guys moonlighted on Tap In, a free, simple but robust mobile World Cup guide to the event's 32 teams and 64 matches. As a grassroots startup, Tap In has already earned high praise and six-figure clicks -- and is growing!
It caught the attention of Dan Benshoff, Creative Director at ESPN Digital Media, who tweeted, "So simple. So pure. Love this handy guide to #WorldCup2014 http://tapinguide.com/.” Praise from other Twitter users capturing the growing sentiment for Tap In include, "This is by FAR the best app I’ve found," and "Killer, ridiculously user-friendly breakdown of every match at the Brazil World Cup!"
"Tap In is straightforward enough to be useful to the general sports fan just tuning in, but comprehensive enough to be a pocket reference for the dedicated, global football community," notes Baker. A lifetime soccer fan, he adds, “Beyond the U.S., I’m looking forward to seeing Chile and Colombia knock out some big names.”
Baker and Arney credited Little with fostering the kind of spirit that inspires extracurricular creative and digital efforts. Earlier this spring, other staff created a website to celebrate the 1000th win of Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Dubbed the Gardy-izer, it celebrated the skipper’s penchant for giving nicknames that all end in "-sy." And other Little Creatives have worked on public projects like Art Crank and Posters and Pints. The company has also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars of pro bono work to the early childhood education nonprofit, Way To Grow.
"Design, Information Architecture and Coding abilities that I have refined at Little have all played a major role in creating this labor-of-love project," says Arney. "Hopefully they’ve contributed to a positive user experience," he adds, while noting that, “I’ll be rooting for Germany if the U.S. falls.”
