We’re a small (one might say tiny) team built around the idea of being Midwest nice. With that concept + our decade of experience building websites, we give a lot of fucks about customer service + online security.
The biggest nerd on this tiny team is Alison Monday. She’s the one with blue or orange hair + sometimes both! who does everything in her geeky superpowers to squeeze in the tiniest bit of code that will make a big splash for our clients + their clients.
She has a degree in Graphic Design, which is her not-so-secret-anymore weapon to coding stunning websites. Knowing how to design means that those fundamentals don’t get lost when going from a Photoshop file to the world wide web.
Is the juice worth the squeeze?
In 2007, tiny blue orange went from idea to side hustle. Wanting to start freelancing until being able to do this full-time, Alison spent countless hours brainstorming a good name.
Entrepreneurialism is in her blood, as her dad founded Sutton Architecture long before Alison was an idea. Though she knew that she didn’t want to use the family name for this venture. What she didn’t know is exactly what she wanted this business to be as she was finishing up her degree.
No matter what services were offered, it was about the clients.
“I don’t want this business to get so big that I can’t adjust systems + processes on the fly. Being tiny will ensure that we can flow with the changes in technology + customer needs.”
With the first word picked — tiny — the drive for quality customer service led Alison to finalize the rest of the name. Her love for things in threes didn’t hurt.
“The goal is to complement our client’s businesses by fitting in with their culture, their systems + their dreams for the future. It’s about enhancing their lives + their websites so they can do more of the stuff they love.”
Complement means “add to something in a way that improves or enhances,” which is exactly what Alison’s vision for this brand was over a decade ago. With that drive to complement our clients, the natural choice was to assign complementary colors to the name. With blue being the favorite (at the time), tiny blue orange was settled on + the domain was purchased. Since then, orange has taken the lead as the color of choice in our office.
Meet the rest of the team
When you work with us, there are two humans that you’ll likely interact with — Alison + Heather. Heather makes sure all tasks + projects are scheduled, as well as checking in with clients + timelines like a boss.
We work with a small number of independent contractors when a project needs more nerd-power than we have available. From copywriting to SEO, we know that everyone benefits from working with someone operating in their zone of genius. So we’ve teamed up with a few of those humans to ensure that all of our projects get the best.
The fur nerds in the office
For 8 years, Brutus was the biggest WordPress security guard around. While we said a very tearful goodbye to him in September 2019, he is still very much a part of the crew in spirit.
Mackay has tried to pick up the work he left behind + pretend to do the security work. But really, he does more snacking than anything else. That doesn’t stop him from attending the daily “morning meetings” that involve walking around St Paul + discussing the day’s tasks.
We strongly believe…
…that there is no fold on the internet. Don’t be afraid to use your scroll bar or gestures in your digital design.
…that form should always follow function, not the other way around. Design without content is merely decoration.
…that a client must be able to edit their site easily. We aren’t here to hold you prisoner, we’re here to empower you.
…that not all browsers are created equal, but that doesn’t mean they can’t display similarly. (Ahem, Internet Explorer.)
…that SEO stress isn’t worth it. If you need to rank first in Google before creating quality content, we’re not for you.
Want to chat? We do too!
Whether you have the project details ready to go in a Google Doc or you’re juggling a few questions + can’t make sense of them, we want to help. That might mean we create a custom project quote, send you a referral, or we have a 15 minute call to decide what’s next for your business.
