Last week I had the chance to talk with a developer new to the Cape Cod area. In addition to freelance work, he was interested in hooking up with local designers to bring the right look to his projects. Unfortunately, he didn't know any yet.
Since we at 20Mile have had the opportunity to work with a number of different local companies, I decided to put together a list for him. I was so pleased with the list, that I thought it would benefit others interested in working with local designers and developers.
Here in no particular order (OK, alphabetical by first name) is a list of local web designers and developers. One thing that you might notice is that we on the Cape aren't the most creative bunch when it comes to naming our companies.
Alison Filmore
Vervaine Design Studio
Alison and her team of designers can do everything from complete identity packages and website designs to brochures and annual reports. I've had the chance to work with Alison on a few projects and am impressed not only with the level of her work, but with how much her clients love her. It's easy to understand why - she's one of the easiest people to work with and she puts in tremendous effort to make sure the clients are happy.
Andy Milk
Andy Milk Interactive
The way that my life intersects with Andy's, you'd think that we've known each other for years. His sister was in High School with my wife (coincidentally, they now work together at Centerville Elementary.) His brother-in-law taught my wife in school. His niece hangs out with my oldest daughter in school. However, I didn't meet Andy until last winter shortly after he moved back to the Cape. Since then, we've brainstormed development ideas, taken part in tech discussions with the Cape Cod Technology Council and gotten together for the occasional lunch. When it comes to development projects - specifically iOS/Android ones - I'd reach out to Andy before anyone else. Slight aside - Andy's fiancee, Jen Simcowicz, is doing a great job directing the local version of patch - something I read every day.
Edit: I've been informed by my wife that not only did she have Andy's brother-in-law as a teacher, but also Andy's Father. She instructed me to update this post accordingly & since I've been happily married for 16 years I know that it's in my best interest to follow the "instructions" of my lovely wife.
Bert Jackson
Koa Media Group
It's hard to believe that I've known Bert for nearly 10 years. I first met him when he and his team were sharing office space with Convention Data Services in Bourne where I worked as a Web Developer. Both of us moved on shortly after that, but fortunately stayed in touch. He probably doesn't know this, but Bert was one of my inspirations for leaving the security of full-time employment. While I was busy working for the man, I watched as Bert built up his company, Koa Media, through hard work, dedication to his clients and turning out consistently good websites and applications. Koa is smaller now, but Bert continues to be an inspiration to me in the community. He's the Chairperson of the Technology Council; he's a great supporter of technology as well as the arts in the community; he's one hell of a musician, and I call upon his advice regularly.
Chris Boyd
Internet Creations
I was introduced to Chris and Ruthann Boyd a few months after deciding to go solo in 2007. Since then we've collaborated on at least six projects. They make everything so easy for me. When we work together, Chris handles the requirements gathering, project management, client expectations and timelines. All that I need to do is sit down and code the solution. What could be better?
Chris Gillis
Chris Gillis Design
I've known Chris for over three years and love the designs that he creates. He actually designed the original 20Mile site (when it was only me in my 6x8 office under the stairs in my house). When we need to design an application, or develop a site with a LOT of information, Chris is our goto designer. He has a knack for removing the clutter and creating a design that's easy to navigate and simple for the end-user.
Chris O'Brien
Chris O'Brien Design
I met Chris over a beer at the Hyannis British Beer Company last year. I had heard of him before that and checked out some of his designs, but until that shared beer hadn't had the chance to get to know him - probably because he lives on the other side of the world in <gasp> Falmouth. We haven't had the chance to work together yet, but I love Chris' designs - especially one of his recent one-page websites. In addition, the medals he's been designing for RedPint are fantastic. I'm not sure if this is the point, but they definitely want to make me drink more beer.
Darren Vlacich
Cape Links
I wish I had half the knowledge of Darren when it comes to domains and local lead generation. On his blog, Darren provides a graduate-level course on lead generation and hyper-local targeting. I can't even pretend to understand a third of what he's talking about, but when one of my clients needs help with lead generation, Darren is the person I refer them to. Even better - he's an ExpressionEngine guy, too (although he's been using it for longer than me)
Dina Lyons
Dina Lyons Design
I'm still searching for an excuse to work with Dina. I've marveled at her recent work, her line of cards and her logo designs. Each time she posts something new to Facebook I'm reminded of how talented she is. Each project that I consider, I find myself asking - hmmm ... I wonder if this is something Dina would be interested in? Hopefully, 2011 is the year that we'll get to work together.
Jim Hill
Digital Quill Design
Jim is an artist and this shines through in his design. He takes tremendous pride in crafting elegant, beautiful solutions for his clients. When we work with Jim on a project we know that the end result will be worthy of an art gallery. Truth be told, I only hang out with Jim so that someday I can tell my kids and grandkids that "I knew him when ... " after he becomes a published author and forgets all the little people on the Cape.
Josiah Cole
Cole Web Development
Josiah and Desiree Cole are a full-service studio (design, development, marketing) in Eastham. Based on some of our twitter (and before that, Pownce) conversations, I feel like I know Josiah, but unfortunately we haven't had the chance to work together, or even meet face-to-face. That hasn't prevented me from enjoying being a witness to the growth of their company. It seems that they've made it their mission to improve each and every website on the lower cape - and they're succeeding.
Josh Hanley
Altspace
Josh is responsible for the current design of the 20Mile website as well as the photography. In addition, Josh's designs are in place on five of our recent projects. With all due respect to the other designers with whom we work, Josh is by far the fastest. The best part - the work doesn't suffer because of the speed. Josh has the ability to hear the clients' thoughts, listen between the lines and create exactly what the client is looking for on the first try (OK, sometimes the second). Edit cycles, which ordinarily take days or weeks on most of our projects, take hours with Josh. We could talk in the morning about an idea, and I'll have comps before lunchtime.
Paula Hersey
Penguin Digital Design
One of the original Geek Girls, Paula seems to know everyone on the Cape. Between her years at Communicom, her presence on the Tech Council Board, her photography, her Smart Car, her Geek Girl status and her successful web studio, everyone knows Paula and appreciates the work that she does for the local tech community. She also developed and manages the website of one of my personal favorite local companies - Cape Cod Beer. So she earns extra points in my book for that alone.
Tim Merrill
Wonderwheel Creative
Nantucket-based (but active everywhere), Tim and his virtual team provide design, development and Content Management Systems with the Drupal platform (but we try not to hold this against him - on my 2011 wish list is to convince Tim to jump into ExpressionEngine). Unfortunately, I've yet to actually work with Tim on a project. Our schedules haven't been in sync over the past couple of years - something that I have promised to change this year.
The rest of this list are local companies that I know of, but haven't had the chance to work with (yet). For this group I don't have a contact name. You can see my earlier post for my feelings on that subject. If you know people at these companies, or you are one of the people at these companies, leave a comment below, or drop me a note. I'd love to learn more about you.
In addition to this list of Web Designers and Developers, there are Photographers, Videographers, Copy Writers, Project Managers, Logo Design Specialists, Hosting Providers and groups that specialize in Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing. That's a list for a different post.
