About the Client
John H. Brown recently published his first book, Augie’s War, an extremely impressionable memoir that focuses on his experience in the Vietnam War. For many years, publishing a novel about his Vietnam experience was the first item on John’s bucket list. As a public relations professional and previous owner of Brown Communications (now owned by his son, Bryan), John knows the value of a well-designed website that is easy for anyone to navigate. He didn’t have to look long and hard to find Jamie at Bricks Without Straw.
The Design Process
Jamie was referred to John and Bryan several years ago. They tasked him with publishing a newsletter, which eventually became a website. Both men were comfortable working with Jamie, and they were impressed by his work. Over the years, John and Bryan referred Jamie to their clients who needed websites, and they always received great feedback on Jamie’s quality work. John’s choice of a designer was an easy one. “When I finished my book manuscript, the first person I called on to create my website was Jamie.”
Consulting entirely by phone and email, John and Jamie worked together to plan the overall look and feel of the website. John had visited other author websites to get ideas, and he was able to give Jamie some fairly specific color and layout preferences. “As a writer, I knew what I wanted to say, but I didn’t have the technical expertise to display it nicely on my website. So, Jamie and I worked very closely on the design and content.”
The Value of Communication and Service
Their collaboration gave Jamie all that he needed to produce a completed initial design. As his work to finish the website progressed, Jamie included many additional elements he thought were needed to make the site more robust and functional for visitors.
While one might think that never meeting face-to-face would have real shortcomings in the design process, John’s experience working with Jamie was positive and very productive. As he puts it, “One thing I’ll say about Jamie is that if you email him, he gets back momentarily, and he’s very quick to respond to any questions. This was really helpful to me because I like to get things done!” John uses two words to summarize Jamie’s service: professional and responsive.
A Dream Realized
Thrilled to have manifested his dream of publishing his personal story in book form, John now also has a website that beautifully showcases his accomplishment. “This was a very important project for me because it’s the first novel I’ve ever written. I wanted to make the website look as good as possible, so I thought of Jamie first and he did an excellent job.”
John stays busy marketing his new book – posting on social media, making local appearances, obtaining reviews and being featured in various news stories. “I give my website address to everybody, and I’ve had tons of people tell me that they really like it and that it’s easy to use.” Jamie is still on board updating and maintaining the website, which makes John’s life much easier these days.
One can easily say that John’s book venture has been an all-around dream come true.
