Surowski Design + Development

Honestly, when I first start talking to a client, I ask some questions about their needs, but I'm not really looking for specific answers. I'm trying to get to know the client's personality. I really like working with nice, friendly people—and luckily, that's what most people are! But now and then you come across someone who has a bad attitude. I try to detect that early and find a way to politely decline the job. Life's too short to deal with people like that, methinks.

I wouldn't say it's "my" creative process. My clients are typically very creative people. My goal is to translate their vision into a web site or app. Sometimes, they have an idea that I feel might not be the greatest in my view, and I share my thoughts. For example, A client once wanted a form to appear totally transparent, so you could see the photo underneath. I told him that I felt that would make the text hard to read when the visitor types something into the form. I said I felt the most practical way would be to make the form opaque. But the client really loved the photo underneath, so we found a solution that served both functions: We made the form fields translucent. You could still see the photo, but the text was much more legible.

Short answer: A lot! Long answer: It depends on the job. I need to know what's wrong with the website, when it went wrong and whether the client has developed any theories as to why it went wrong (90 percent of the time, they're right, and it saves a lot of time and money trying to figure it out from scratch). For new websites, I love to see examples of other sites the client loves and we can start building some design mock-ups off that.

It includes two things I love: art and engineering. Designing a website is like designing a magazine or a painting. It visual, emotive, creative. Then, fixing broken sites is like trying to fix a Lego castle. It's addictively frustrating! Pulling things apart, putting them back together differently, testing it, doing it again when it fails (which it always does the first few times). Then, when you finally fix the problem, there's a little rush of excitement and pride. I love that!

When I started, the Web was pretty new, and it was an exciting time. You could put something online and anybody in the world could see it! No other medium could say that before the Web came along. The new car smell has faded from the internet, but so has my love for it. These days, I love the task of listening to a client's vision and then making it a reality. I feel like, in some small way, I'm bringing dreams to life.

We are versatile and offer plenty of one-on-one attention. When you call, you will talk to Peter Surowski, the lead developer/CEO/founder/guy who does most of the work. He's a chatty guy and he loves to give out free advice.