Designs that Express

How do you stand out when you look like everyone else?

Design is an artform and, in my opinion, art should make you feel something. It should influence the viewer and most importantly it should say something. When people talk about most websites, they describe them with words like pretty, neat, or clean. There is nothing wrong with this, obviously, but does it really impact the viewer?

When I develop a website, I am looking for words like energetic, exciting, vibrant, and alive. I want the viewer to feel something and to remember that website. They should want to bookmark and share it with their friends. That is the result of an engaging design. It elicits emotion and helps you stand apart from the crowd as a memorable leader.

Every aspect of the design should also say something about your business. Of course it should say you are professional, but it should also be approachable and friendly. It should reflect your style and your personality. Your website is often a first impression, and it should give the right impression, one that matches the experience a customer might have working with you.

This is why I never start with a template or a predefined idea for the layout or style. Every website I develop is fully custom and built from the ground up based on your strategy, your personality and your brand.

The result is a website that truly wows your audience and tells them you are the best of the best.

Tools For Success

A website alone, is never enough. Without tools, your website would be stagnant, stale, boring and useless. Tools allow the user to interact with the website and allow you to manage and update the content on your website. In short, tools are an essential element that allows true interaction between you and your visitors.

There are many types of tools that your website can employ. Some are specific to your industry while others are useful to almost anyone. A basic tool that everyone would need is a contact form. An industry specific one might be a booking calendar or a project calculator.

Tools can also be used to increase engagement and give the visitor some control over their experience. The game on this website is a tool. A gallery would be a tool. There are all kinds of tools that increase engagement and make your website more interactive.

As the owner of a website, you also need tools. You need to be able to update your galleries and projects. You need to be able to manage what your visitors see and read. You need to be able to keep your website and portfolio up to date. You need to be able add new promotional materials to your website and you need to be able to collect information on how your website is being used.

There are many systems out there for implementing tools into your website. The problem is that these are designed for everyone. This means you may have trouble finding that industry specific tool you need. It also means that the system is not built specifically for your needs. So, the tools end up being cumbersome, glitchy, and confusing.

I specialize in developing websites for creative professionals. This means the tools I build are specific to the needs of those businesses. This means they are much easier to use, work exactly how you want them to, and fit your website like a glove.

It also means they are fully implemented and customized to fit your specific needs.

Websites That Get Results

Builder and template sites can look very nice. In fact, so nice that many developers have built their entire business around pumping out template sites at a premium. Site builder tools do something similar by charging you a monthly fee to build your own site using their templates and they too can look quite nice. For many businesses this is exactly what they need.

The problem is that these designs are available to anyone. They are all over the web and no matter how nice they look, they have become so common that visitors tend to pay little attention to the sites that use them.

Creative Professionals rely heavily on standing out from the crowd. Your website needs to as well. You need a website that is distinct, is interactive and has personality. You need something that no one has ever seen before. You need a real, one-of-a-kind, custom, interactive website.

You want viewers to be engaged in your website, so they will look at your content and photos. You want them to know you are unique and in a class of your own. That is what KT Results delivers. I work closely with you to develop a website, from the ground up, that reflects your personality, your style, and your feel.

In the end your website will say more about you than you ever dreamed possible. That coupled with the industries easiest to use content management system will ensure that your site reflects you and your work perfectly.

The Viral Formula

Going viral is a dream for just about anyone who creates content for the web. There is no greater exposure for a brand than to be viral. Going viral means more than just a lot of people seeing your work. It means they are connecting with it. They are responding to it emotionally and they want to share that with others. This is what drives viral content and makes it viral.

On the surface this might seem like a straightforward process. You create something that is totally unique and strange or very funny and hope to get very lucky. Then, if you are, people start to share it. There is a lot more to it than that. You must create something that connects with people on a much deeper level. It means understanding the state of the world, as it is right now. It means being in touch with what most of the population is feeling. In short, there is a lot that goes into creating viral content and it is never guaranteed.

I am not trying to develop viral content. However, the same understandings and considerations used for creating viral content are integral for successful web designs. This means I must factor in the current interests, expectations, and desires of your audience. It means building something that isn’t a copy of something else but a wholly new thing that catches their attention. It also means serving their expectations and maintaining a comfortable atmosphere. Most of all it means representing your brand in a consistent and reliable manner.

It’s all a balancing game. Creating a website that reflects your image, your brand and your personality, while developing deep emotional reactions in the viewer and still effectively delivering the message.

Luckily, doing this is the challenge that excites me. It is what I love doing and what constantly motivates me to create greater and better websites. It is what drives me to continually research new trends and technologies and what pushes me to finding new ways to deliver a message. In the end, it is why KT Results exists.

Different By Design

You might look at this website, with its silly cartoony style, and think this does not look like a serious business. You might read the content and think this does not sound like a professional business. You may even wonder if I can create for you, something much more professional looking. The thing is it is all by design.

Every web developer out there tells you that they will build you an amazing website. Many of them say the same things in the same styles. Most of them have a high-tech look and feel and a very serious atmosphere. It is all very boring and it sucks the fun and excitement that should be a large part of building your web presence.

I wanted to do something completely different. It started with the idea that I didn’t want to tell you that I was going to make you an amazing site. I wanted to explain to you WHY I was going to make you an amazing site. This meant sharing with you much of how I see web design. It meant highlighting for you just how bland and boring most of the web really is. It meant being able to say that it can be personal, it can be exciting, and most of all it can be fun. Most of all, it meant a whole lot of interesting but somewhat serious content.

There are a lot of misconceptions about content on the web. The first is the idea that “No one reads long content.” This is often true. People do not want to read long essays on how awesome your business is, especially if its saying the same kinds of things as every other business. It is all very repetitive and boring. People do, however, read blogs, stories, and instructional content. They read what they are interested in, if it is presented in a way that tells them this is not the same thing you find everywhere else.

My goal was to develop a website that screamed, “This is different.” I want you to get something more out of my content than the idea that I am going to build you a great site. In fact, that is not may main goal. My goal is to help you think about your website a little differently. To move away from the carbon copy websites and have the courage to express your own personality and style. If I accomplish only this, then I feel that this website was a huge success.

The Agency Approach

When an advertising agency builds a website, they have a different approach than most web developers. They begin by looking at the goals of the campaign and comparing that to the current interests of the audience. They then start brainstorming ideas, narrowing those down and refining them to fit the overall identity of the brand. I should know, I worked for one for several years.

Web developers, on the other hand tend to pick a nice-looking design, then fill in the blanks with your content. Obviously, this is a much more cookie-cutter approach and could never give you the results that the agency approach could. However, since agencies tend to charge tens of thousands of dollars to develop a website, it is usually the best choice you have.

I have adopted the agency style approach for web development while maintaining prices on par with other web developers. For you, this means a real opportunity to have a strategic website that is unique, personal, and effective.

I begin with the goal. It might be to get more bookings, or to share your portfolio with agents, galleries, or producers. It might be to actually sell your own works of art or just to promote a brand. It all begins with the goal. I look at the target audience and their interests and needs. I then brainstorm ideas on how to deliver your message to that audience.

Everything I do is custom and built to serve that campaign. It is all based on the agency approach and is never a cookie cutter or fill in the blanks.