My Why Behind Web Design
I didn’t start out as a web designer. I started off as a meteorologist, actually!
After earning my B.S. in meteorology and minor in broadcast journalism from the University of Oklahoma, I spent several years working as a lead writer and content manager at AccuWeather, one of the world’s most popular weather websites.
This experience helped me learn how to communicate complex information clearly, write for real audiences, and structure content so people could find what they were looking for.
And this experience is what led me to where I am today!
How I got here
At AccuWeather, I was able to see firsthand how high-quality, well-structured content performs, with SEO dramatically increasing web traffic and drawing attention from other major news networks.
I was able to combine my love of writing with my genuine interest in content generation and maximizing its reach.
When I transitioned fully into web design, it wasn’t a total pivot. It created a unique blend of my experience and talents.
I was able to combine the writing and the content strategy… along with my artistic background and love of art.
Web design turned out to be the place where it all comes together — creativity and communication, strategy and storytelling, making something beautiful but also functional.
What I love most about this work
Every business I work with has a story.
There’s the reason someone started it. The thing they’re genuinely great at. The customers they care about serving. The vision they have for where it’s going.
Most of the time, that story isn’t fully reflected online yet — and that gap between who a business really is and how it’s presenting itself on the internet is where I love to focus.
My favorite moment in any project is when a client sees their site for the first time and it actually looks and feels like them. Not like a template. Not like every other small business website in their industry. Like them — their personality, their values, the thing that makes a customer choose them over anyone else.
Why the SEO piece matters to me personally
I’ve seen what happens when a business has a great website and no one can find it.
I’ve also seen the other side. When I managed the digital strategy for DTC Energy Group — a startup oilfield consulting firm in Denver — the work I did on SEO and content generation helped grow their team from 40 to over 200 consultants and helped establish DTC as a nationally-recognized firm.
Our website content even drew in interview requests from Reuters, Bloomberg, and the American Oil & Gas Reporter. That growth came directly from showing up in the right searches, with the right message, at the right moment.
So I don’t separate web design from SEO. For me, they go hand in hand — building something that represents your business well and making sure the right people can find it.
Fast forward to now
What I love about running my own firm now is the directness of it. When you hire me, you work with me. Not an account manager who passes your project to a junior designer. Not a team of people who have never spoken to you. Me — from the first conversation through launch day and beyond.
I’m based in Highlands Ranch. I know this community. I work with businesses right here in the south Denver metro, and I work with clients across the country.
And in every case, my goal is the same: to build something that genuinely serves the business behind it, not just something that looks good in a portfolio.
That’s my why.
If you’re thinking g about a new website — or wondering if your current one is doing what it should be — I’d love to hear about it.
