Spicy Web Designer Interview with Melissa Connolly of emTwo Web Studios

13 Jan

Melissa Connolly is one half of the husband and wife team at emTwo Web Studios from Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States of America. Together with her husband Sean Connolly they’ve built a small yet very focused web design company. Melissa has been designing websites since 2001. emTwo Web Studios designs for ExpressionEngine and WordPress but they also develop for other platforms at well.

1. How did you first get started in web design?

I first started doing web design after I started blogging in 2001. I began by designing my own blog, which looking back on it now, was horrible. But we grow, right? At the time, “blog skins” were pretty popular and I think I had at least 20 different “skins” for my blog. Every now and then I would get a comment from a reader who wanted me to design their blog. At first it was a hobby…and then it grew into a passion.

2. How do you find being a husband and wife team in the web design industry?

We love it. We absolutely love working together. Sean does most of the coding, while I’ll come up with the concepts for each site. He keeps me spirited and optimistic while I keep him practical and realistic. We compliment one another really well.

3. How long have you been doing freelance web design?

I’ve been doing freelance work since 2002, though during that time I held a “regular” job which paid the rent. In June 2007, I quit that job and jumped head first into our business and we’ve been thriving ever since.

4. How do you usually price your web design projects?

We quote each project with one lump sum price. This puts the exact dollar amount in front of our clients from the very beginning so they know what to expect and how much it will cost. Should they need additional items that are outside of the original scope, they know that it will cost more. This keeps “The Scope Creep” in check. On rare occasions we bill by the hour, but that’s mostly for maintenance and upgrades.

5. Where do you get your inspiration to design websites?

From everything! Is that too broad? I find a lot of inspiration in my own environment; from the clothes I purchase to the branding on my dogs all-natural pet food products to the various magazines we read to the wide assortment of video games we play. I also peruse most of the CSS galleries to see what other designers are creating. Photography sites also really inspire me.

6. How do your clients usually find you? Through word of mouth? Agencies? Or something else?

I get about 85% of my clients through word of mouth/direct referrals. The other 10% come through google or the ExpressionEngine Pro Network or various social media sites that we use, like Twitter and Facebook.

7. Do you design exclusively using ExpressionEngine? Or do you use other CMS systems to design for?

We LOVE ExpressionEngine and WordPress and develop for both platforms. We also develop for other platforms like Movabletype and Ning. We aren’t afraid to work with something new, so we’ll use whatever CMS is the best solution for our client.

8. What tools can you not work without when designing a web design project?

For designing:
Photoshop and Illustrator of course
ColorSchemer or ColourLovers
Typetester