Pixel Union

Website: https://pixelunion.net/

 Address: 535 Yates St #200, Victoria, BC V8W 2Z6, Canada

I couldn’t find any direct contact information, since this is a large agency. They have a contact form, but it goes to a generic company email name.

I did some digging on LinkedIn and I found the CEO’s name is Lesley Brown, she’s worked at Pixel Union for 3 years, and 2 months.

Lesley’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esley-brown-1747388/?originalSubdomain=ca

I also found Will McFarland is the Head of Development for their Apps. He’s worked at Pixel Union for 3 years, and 9 months.

 

Will Macfarland’s  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmceff/?originalSubdomain=ca

Both of these members live in Canada, and work at their main office.

General Information

      Pixel Union is a Victoria, Canada based company, started in 2009. They offer clients a custom, well designed, ecommerce site. This includes design, branding, programming, and delivery of content that showcases pride and passion for their work. They work with entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies alike. It seems that though they originally started with WordPress sites, they’ve moved into offering Shopify for their customers now. (“How We Work”, n.d.)

Why I’m Interested

My interest in this company is that their portfolio looks really good, and the themes they offer are clean, well designed, and look like they’d be fun to make. I want to be a developer that helps small businesses succeed in the online space. Shopify is a platform to create ecommerce websites, and I would really enjoy working alongside the team to create themes and apps, and to learn how to improve.

Questions To Help Me Succeed

1. Besides HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, and Shopify, would there be any other languages I’d need to learn? Such as a Liquid, Nodejs, Nextjs, or anything else to succeed in this job?
2. Do you require PHP or Node knowledge?
3. Can this position be fully remote, or do you need employees to be on-site in Victoria?
4. What is the onboarding process like, will the first week be debugging and commenting on the existing codebase?
5. Do you provide opportunity for growth and learning?

 

Citations

How We Work. (n.d).

Retrieved From https://pixelunion.agency/

 

Okie Web Design

Website: https://okiewebdesign.com/

Address: 3016 Trailhead Dr, Edmond, OK 73034

Imran Azhar runs Okie Design, so he’s the business owner and sole contact for the company.

He’s been running the business since 2010, so 11 years.

Imran’s LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iazhar/

 Phone Number: (405) 306-3766

City: Edmond, OK

 General Information

Okie Design is a freelancer’s business, ran by Imran Azhar. He provides his services locally and remotely, so he doesn’t need to worry about where a client lives to help them with their needs. Okie Design’s process is starting with a plan, offering a proposal, getting the work done, and then delivering the results to the client. The company offers web design, SEO help, and hosting. (“Why Work With Me?”, n.d.)

 

Why I’m Interested

My interest in this company is based on Imran’s site, he does great work for his clients. He also emphasizes the need to build rapport and help customers know what their options are, and what steps they need to take in the design process. I really appreciate that he offers his own personal phone number to his clients, which helps make his work feel more personal. He also offers some educational materials on his website to inform visitors about his services. I noticed that he also provides Shopify work as well, which is an area I’m interested to work in. It also helps he’s based in Oklahoma (near Oklahoma City), which is where I’ll be moving to later this year. This helps if there’s no way to work remotely.

 

Questions To Help Me Succeed

1. If I work with you, would I be interacting directly with clients over the phone?
2. Is it okay if I’m not a designer, but a web developer instead, will templates be provided?
3. What happens when you can’t meet a deadline?
4. Will there be mentoring provided?
5. What are the typical career roadmaps for developers in your company?

Citations

 

Why Work With Me?. (n.d.).

Retrieved From https://okiewebdesign.com/

 

Robot House

Website: https://www.robot.house/

Address: 24 W Park Pl suite b, Oklahoma City, OK 73103

 Robot House is a small business of 4 people who work together to provide a multitude of services. These cover everything from web development, to branding, and even advertising. They’re essentially a marketing agency that operates in Oklahoma City, OK.

General Information

Robot House is ran by Brian Winkeler, and is the main person to contact. His twitter is brian@robot.house. It’s clear that he influences his team with a fun and creative energy, just based on their website, and their work.

I’d assume Brian, being the Founder of Robot House, would be the main contact. I searched, and couldn’t find very much contact information outside of the company’s website. Most likely because they are a pretty small team, and a small business. (“Who Are We”, n.d.).

Brian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianwinkeler/

 

 

Why I’m Interested

I find the vibe that the company gives off to be pretty interesting. They also provide a lot more services to clients than just web development, and it might open up more doors for my career to be around such a creative environment, with a possibility to learn more skills. They also follow a process for new customers, which basically is a way to get to know the client, their brand, discuss their true needs, and then deliver those results. This doesn’t seem too different from the typical process, but it does feel like they put more emphasis on investigating the brand and target audience of their clients moreso than other companies on this list.

 

Questions To Help Me Succeed

1. What type of languages do you require of your web developers?
2. This seems to be a company on the smaller side, which I would assume requires more responsibilities from everyone, much like a start-up might. What kind of responsibilities would you require of me?
3. If I’m not a designer first, would this impact my potential with the company? Could I not learn while on the job?
4. Would there be mentoring for skills I don’t have, or possible training provided in someway?
5. Can I become a lead developer after a number of years?

 

Citations

Who Are We?. (n.d.).

Retrieved From https://www.robot.house/about

 

 

 

 

Front2Back Studio

Website: https://front2backstudio.net/services/

 Address: 10802 Quail Plaza Dr #120, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73120

 

 General Information:

 

Front2Back Studio looks to be a small team again, and based in Oklahoma. The Creative Director is Harley Darnell and the Lead Developer is Peter Kahuria. The company focuses on WordPress web development, and offers a professional, clean look.

 

I couldn’t find much for the contact info for either of these people. Peter’s information is all that I could find. It doesn’t look like the company is up on LinkedIn. (“Get To Know The Team At Front2Back Studio”, n.d.).

 

Peter’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterkahuria/

 

Why I’m Interesting

 

While I don’t necessarily want to focus on just WordPress theme and plugin development, I can appreciate the look of the company’s work. I also have a lot in common with Peter’s skill set, as I focus on MySQL, PHP, among other languages he knows (but not all). WordPress is a natural way to go once learning PHP, and Shopify might still be an option while working at the company, though that isn’t necessary. I like the work they do, and the vibe of professionalism they show.

 

Questions To Help Me Succeed

 

1. How much WordPress knowledge do I need to know?
2. Is there an opportunity to utilize frameworks like React, or backend languages like Node?
3. Do you think Laravel is a good framework to use with WordPress?
4. Will it be okay to be at least semi-remote while working?
5. What type of onboarding process will you offer?

 

Citations

 Get To Know The Team At Front2Back Studio. (n.d.).

Retrieved From https://front2backstudio.net/about-us/