At Midnight Coffee Creative, we approach every project like an intense, creative collaboration between our team and our client. Some design agencies disappear at the start of a project and only re-emerge when it's time to present their final work: "Surprise, here's what we've been working on! M'kay... bye!"
As a refreshing alternative, we choose to work closely with our clients throughout the entire creative process. Through constant communication and a genuine emphasis on creativity and discovery throughout the project's duration, we strive to build websites and apps that excel at every level. We achieve this through five distinct phases: initial brainstorming, wireframing, designing, developing, and Q+A.
Client Consultation and Brainstorming
Our initial consultation includes a detailed conversation and brainstorming session about your project. When possible, we love to meet you in person over a cup o' java (we did put the word "coffee" in our company name, after all). We want to learn as much about your business, brand, and project as possible. Who's your target audience? What's the end goal of your project? What do you hope to change about your existing marketing?
We'll also send you a detailed questionnaire to answer so we can learn more about your functional, technical, and aesthetic goals for your website or app. The more our team can learn about your brand from the onset, the more precise we can be during our initial design and development rounds.
Wireframes and Prototypes
After we collectively form a plan-of-attack for your project, our team hunkers down and builds a comprehensive, digital "rough sketch" of your project called a "wireframe".
A painter outlines his work before his brush hits the canvas, a contractor draws a blueprint before he hammers a nail, and a writer outlines his story before the great American novel is born. This wireframing / prototyping stage (a phase that some design agencies will casually skip over) is critical to constructing a cohesive game plan for success. Take a look at our wireframe example to see how our early blueprint translates into a seamless final design.
Wireframe Example
Design Phase
After wireframes are approved, the real fun begins and your website or app begins to take shape. Using our blueprint, we build, shape, and digitally paint a modern, sleek, static template for your review. For responsive sites, we'll construct drafts of multiple device sizes so you can see exactly how our design will automatically scale for desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. For apps, we'll design screenshots of the user interface in multiple screen orientations.
And not to worry: no design is perfect on the first pass. That's why Midnight Coffee Creative builds multiple revision rounds into our process, so we can modify designs with your notes -- big or small -- until the aesthetics match exactly what you've envisioned. Take a look at some of our recent projects for inspiration, and feel free to dive deeper into our full portfolio below.
We pride ourselves on original, creative designs that are specific to each of our individual client's needs. That's why no two sites will ever look the same. Your brand is unique -- your website and app should be too, right?
Once final designs are approved, our crack squad of caffeinated nerds begins the coding phase. While some design agencies will bring in another company to handle development, we tackle both the design and code in-house. The advantage is clear: the same guys who are building the foundation of your house are also painting the walls -- beautiful, seamless, simplicity.
At Midnight Coffee Creative, we firmly believe the best code is written from the ground-up. That's why all our code -- PHP, Javascript, Swift, CSS -- is hand-written. That means thousands of lines of code (the backbone of your website or app) is physically typed into a keyboard by our team, line by line. And should you ever need to edit your own code, we clearly label all files and provide embedded descriptions so it's as easy-peasy as possible.
Q+A and Client Tutorial
After the project is finalized and all bugs are squashed, we won't leave you high and dry. We work closely with you and your brand to ensure everyone on your team knows how to use your site or app. Many of our website projects include back-end content management systems like Wordpress. Through a comprehensive tutorial, we'll make sure you know how to add, update, and manage your site's content so there are no surprises.
And if your site or app requires routine maintenance or bug fixes down the line, we're always a phone call away.
