ten30ten

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Presley Thompson: Owner, Designer, Front-End Developer

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Concept. Creativity. Communication.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: I work as an independent consultant from my home office.

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: ten30ten has a diverse network of professionals, with specialties ranging from branding and design to development and consulting services. While I do design and front-end development work, my role is also often that of Producer, maintaining the client relationship and managing tasks of the rest of the team. I work closely with both clients and my team members to ensure a collaborative and open environment.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: A good part of my business comes from previous clients with new projects, or from word of mouth. I feel the best marketing I can do is establish good relationships with my clients and produce solid work - that speaks for itself.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: I typically break projects into phases. That creates structure for me, and establishes a natural schedule to evaluate progress with the client. I make sure to schedule clear milestones at key points in the project in order to keep the project on course and also allow for feedback and collaboration where appropriate or necessary. Proper organization up front allows for shifts along the way. Design is a very organic process, so although there needs to be structure in place, the structure needs to be flexible enough to accommodate shifts along the way. I encourage a lot of question asking to keep the lines of communication open and keep both sides clear on the project objectives, direction and progress. Although I map out a project's lifespan from the start, ultimate the project isn't done until it's done. I'm committed to producing work that I'm proud of and that clients love, so I roll with the process in order to get there. For me, that's what design is all about - the process.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Communication. This isn't a relationship like the one with your mechanic, where you drop off the car and come pick it up when it's done. We need to create together. Whether creating a logo, web design, marketing materials - it's ultimately your brand, your company, so you need to be involved! My job is to help materialize your story into visual or interactive form; to help you communicate to your consumers or users. To do that I need to ask a lot of questions and listen intently to how you answer, because in the answers lies the fuel to start the creative fire.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: A client can be demanding in that they are strong in their beliefs and will push the limits of a project - they demand quality, innovation, creativity. I like this type of client, it's part of how I grow as a creative and it's sometimes where the best work comes from. A client can also be demanding in the sense that they're unreasonable or difficult, and these types of clients I don't work with. Good design requires collaboration and communication. Creativity can't exist in a hostile environment. It can't happen without a good working relationship.

Q: If a client was trying to decide between a shortlist of web design companies, how would you recommend they go about selecting the right one for them?
A: As a professional, my first priority is to qualify the client: "Is this someone I want to work with?" No matter how awesome the project may be or how much it pays, if the client is rude, demanding, unreasonable, difficult - it's not worth it. That said, I would recommend the same sort of filter to a client looking for a design company. Sure, it's important for you to look at the company's portfolio and see if the type of work they produce will meet your needs. And in my opinion it's as important to research the type of relationship you'll have with this person or company. I would urge people to speak with prospective design companies if possible - ask some questions and try to get a feeling for the level of comfort in the conversation (yours and theirs). Are you comfortable with their ability to understand your questions and goals? Are you comfortable with their process? Are they professional? Do they seem genuinely interested in your project, or just in the budget? There are countless designers and developers out there. Take the time to find one that you're 100% confident in so you can relax and focus on the real goal - your project.

Q: What computers do you have use in your offices, PCs or Macs?
A: Mac

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: That's really a tough one to answer, as it will vary depending on the company, industry, even the personality of the client. I don't believe in trying to force a cookie cutter guideline over every project. That said, right now I think it's pretty important for entrepreneurs to stay personally involved in their digital presence. That means blog, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube - whichever you're comfortable with and makes the most sense for your company and client base.