What’s the difference between PTC and a large creative firm?
We’re small and we like it that way. More of a client’s investment goes directly into smart planning and tailored creative solutions. We consistently provide end-to-end engagement by a senior design lead, which for us has proven to deliver stronger solutions, and happier clients.
What platform do you use to build websites?
For its ubiquitous support and excellent versatility, we use WordPress as our CMS platform. Our sites are built lean, fast, and secure, and tested to look great on any size device. The most unique and least “templatized” sites can be built in WordPress. We can also offer expert guidance regarding web hosts for maximum performance and value.
What if we lack a clear strategy to move forward with?
We offer a Project Planning Session, which utilizes discovery to define a full suite of factors that include: goals and objectives, brand and creative strategy, technical specifications, project scope, timeline, and cost. The result is a complete brief and proposal, designed to provide a roadmap to a successful outcome. Contact us today to learn more.
How do you compare to DIY platforms like Wix and Squarespace?
We solve the problem of ensuring design is more than pretty, it performs on a strategic level. For many businesses and organizations, establishing a genuine connection with their audience translates to a competitive advantage, or a goal achieving one. Our expertise is sound brand & creative strategy and technical guidance, as well as an outsider’s vantage point in order to build equity into assets such as reputation, competitive positioning, credibility, loyalty, and calls to action. Do-it-yourself services are fine for many applications, but primarily resolve assembly. We’re here when ‘attractive’ isn’t enough, and strategy matters.
How are you different from services like Fiver?
We solve design challenges through ideation, and address factors such as audience perception and usability. Tony Cordero, head of creative at Liquid Agency describes Fiverr this way: “What we’re seeing is a recurring democratization of technology … [so] there will always be services like Fiverr,” he says, “which embrace technology to offer low-cost ways to get things done. But, as many buyers experience, those services focus on commoditizing production. Once you ask them to solve a design challenge and not execute a task, the system breaks. Those business are built on the premise of assembly…not ideation.”
What’s with the unusual name?
Our name signifies one of many aspects we love about our work: cultivating the right ingredients so informed, strategic creative solutions can materialize organically. Check out our work for examples.
What makes empathy intrinsic to good design?
No matter the medium, when designing with contextual appropriateness, you’re demonstrating a refined regard for the human(s) in a given group engaging with it. This is critical, because at the end of the day, it’s for them. That regard can be sensed, but also noticed when absent. Empathy (putting one’s self into a user’s shoes) can clarify expectations, identify pain-points, and illuminate perceptions. Such insights inform and improve user experiences, and can reveal paths to foster a connection on their terms. A user feeling a connection, or feeling in control is what makes bad, or sufficient design “good”.
What’s most important to delivering a successful result for different projects?
In our experience, empathy, listening, and iteration are among the most important in terms of delivering the strongest outcomes and happiest clients. Knowing how and where to assess and asking the right questions have consistently paid off for our clients. Due to the way it can inform outcomes, empathy carries real world, tangible value.
What is your process?
It depends on the project type, and other factors that are often completely unique, but it’s typically: Discovery, Diagnosis, Strategy, Design, Deployment. Check out our About page to learn more, or our focus on propelling projects via Human Centered Design.