Web Developers at large
Code. You need it, we develop it. From scratch if needed
Art. Code, image, word. We bend them to your vision
Story. We craft your story. Tell us, and we’ll tell everyone.
Here’s a story. We’ve been building websites and web applications since 1999. In that time the Internet has gone from a programmatic playground for hard-core developers, to a place where anyone with the patience for it can launch a WordPress site. We think that’s great – as technology gets better, it should also get easier to use and build with.
But then the other shoe drops. Once you’re happy with your setup – logo, header images, backgrounds, color, etc. – you run into the problem of content. What words do you put in there to convey your message? How do you say it? How do you make it matter? How does it tell your story? How, ultimately, do your words represent your business and drive visitors to your business goals?
It’s a bit of a revelation to learn how hard it can be putting thoughts to paper. It’s even more difficult when you have to take into account SEO (search engine optimization), because you’re not only writing for human beings, but also for search engines.
That’s where our content creators step in. We research your industry & competitors, write professional, stylish copy that represents you in your industry, create your bylines and headings and blurbs, remove the corporate or technical jargon, modularize copy into central and supporting messages, even pass all this into brochure or other off-site material for you.
Believe us when we say this is the hardest part of website development.
Your audience, your goals, and a deeper understanding of you. We start there. And we work with you to outline ideas and strategies that allow us to measure results as we develop, design, and articulate.
We do all our own custom programming and software installation and configuration, and we do it in sprints. We break the programming and software into small steps to keep you involved during every piece of the build. You never lose touch with development.
Ideas and strategies outlined, we start turning these into what your audience will experience. As we go through creative iterations that move us progressively toward clarity of message, we keep you close. And we only stop when you are happy with the message, aesthetically and narratively.
We start with the most important question: “how do you want your audience to feel when they first encounter your product.” Why? Because how a visitor feels will determine their response and that will in turn determine whether they do business with you or not. And because this question is quantifiable, once asked we apply principles and practices from various domains in our effort to quantify and direct user response. Among them are: information architecture, visual design, cognitive anthropology, psychology, even literary principles to help determine the flavor of the language we select.
Bear in mind that we use a waterfall approach to your project, so that the preceding does not necessarily happen serially but all-at-once. This allows us to create at top speed, with maximum accuracy – which inevitably keeps your cost down.
Excellence. We work very hard to outdo ourselves on every project, and we’re already really really good at what we do. But we don’t think that’s enough, so we’re the folk you’ll find constantly learning, constantly hammering away to make every detail a little better.
Honesty. We won’t lie to you, we won’t cheat you, we won’t pretend. If we tell you we can do it, it’s because we can. Otherwise, we’ll tell you we can’t (hasn’t happend yet).
People. We have never, ever made it about money. People come first and we know that we’re only as good as our relationships. So we place you first. Simple.
Getting paid. You will love what we make – or you won’t pay for it (not that you’ll get to keep it). Clear?
Joy. That’s what it’s all about. We have a lot of fun building our sites and get huge joy from the beautiful things we make for you. So we keep right on making them.
Neural Tornado is run with a gloved iron fist by Dr. Richard G. Calo (whom you will inevitably meet) and has been creating for the web and print since 1999. Despite that Richard likes to pretend he is a one-man show, he depends on a core team, two of whose members have been with him since the 90s (Ara, Liz), and two others for at least 5 years (Brittany, Ron). What can one say about these epochal durations in an industry where changeover is often monthly? That we’re tight. Really. We’ve reached the point where communication is instant and non-verbal; what you’d call “being on the same page.”
Make no mistake though: we also depend on a large non-core body of programmers, designers, and PhD-level personnel for our solutions. Honestly, we can’t do this alone!