Category: Web Development

Client review from Ochsner Hare & Hare

Posted in News on September 10, 2010 by JLSA

Shannon Gordon, Senior Project Manager at Ochsner Hare & Hare, recently had this to say about working with us to design and develop a new website for this iconic Kansas City company:

Johnny Lightning Strikes Again worked with us to create our new website (http://www.ohhkc.com). A young company was asked to help us celebrate our 100 year anniversary with a new web site. JLSA captured the spirit of our firm and portrayed it in the best possible way. They have the unique ability to take the most creative ideas that seem impossible to execute and turn them into reality. I whole-heartedly recommend the team assembled at Johnny Lightning Strikes Again to anyone! Thanks again JLSA!

Thanks, Shannon!

Concierge Medical Practice, Meet Creative Agency

Posted in News on August 31, 2010 by JLSA

If you are a physician whose goal is to revolutionize the medical office, you could do worse than partner with a creative agency whose goal has always been to design a website that will help revolutionize the medical office. OK, we’ll admit that hasn’t ALWAYS been our goal, but it got added to the list soon after we were contacted by exclusiveMD, Kansas City’s first concierge medical practice.

What is a concierge medical practice, you ask? That was our question also. Imagine for a moment that instead of showing up at a cold, sterile, uncomfortable office to see a doctor that barely had time to see you, you arrived for your appointment at a beautiful, comfortable facility to see a doctor that had become a trusted friend. Imagine that this doctor was available not just at the office, but also for house calls, by telephone, video chat, email, and IM. Sounds pretty good, right? That was our thought also.
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New web design and development project – Apple Bus Company

Posted in News on August 9, 2010 by JLSA

For a web design firm, the process of taking a project from a blank page to a fully-realized solution is thoroughly thrilling. We research, we analyze, we brainstorm, we sketch, we present – and before we know it, we’re celebrating the launch of another website. And by celebrating, we mean posting something on our blog. Don’t say we don’t know how to party.

Today’s announcement is that we’ve just added another web design project to our portfolio – a clean, modern, and functional website for Apple Bus Company. Apple Bus Company is a full service transportation provider, dealing with both pupil and public transportation. They needed a better online vehicle for their brand and engaged us to design and develop a website that both conveyed their commitment to service as a family-style business and their extensive capabilities as a large-scale operation.
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New Addition to our Design Portfolio – Tim Boeshaar Web Design & Development Project

Posted in News on July 5, 2010 by JLSA

Tim Boeshaar is a lighting designer in Kansas City, MO and the head electrician for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Our employer, Johnny Lightning (no, you cannot meet or talk to him), has a special place in his heart for the people who make the Kansas City art scene run. Therefore, we were thrilled to be able to design and develop an online portfolio for Tim that showcases his skill and commitment to making the theatre look fantastic.

Posted in Inspiration on June 21, 2010 by James Penman

As previously hyped, we had the pleasure of attending the (hopefully annual) Designer/Developer Workflow Conference this past weekend right here in Kansas City. What was it about? Well, here’s the description from the website:

What’s the big deal about workflow? Workflow is something we all do, day in and day out – although you may not even think about it. Do you work with multiple applications during the day? Do you work with team members, departments, clients, etc.? Improving those workflows is what D2W is all about.

Posted in News on June 10, 2010 by James Penman

Designer/Developer Workflow Conference Speakers

Totally surprisingly, Kansas City is going to be host to a conference for designers and developers of websites! I know, right? The only way you normally get to see presenters like Seb Lee-Delisle speaking is if you catch a flight to Brighton and attend Flash On The Beach or other such conferences, usually in cities that are a prohibitive plane-flight-and-hotel-room-cost away.

If you’re going to be there too and want to meet up at some point, give us a holler!

Web fonts! shakes fist

Posted in Strategy on June 8, 2010 by James Penman

Web Fonts - TypeKit Homepage Screenshot

A List Apart just published an excellent article looking at the state of fonts on the web. It covers all the reasons to be optimistic as well as a few things to be concerned about. The article links to a funny-because-its-true open letter to commercial font vendors that highlights the backward state of most font foundries by stating quite simply:
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Website Technical Factors (Introduction): Or, How To Stop Worrying And Learn To Love The Choices

Posted in Strategy on May 24, 2010 by James Penman

Website Technical Factors - Johnny Lightning Strikes Again

I started this post thinking I would do a quick dump of the technical considerations that go into excellently designed and positioned websites. A lot of people want their website to have specific functionality, be built on specific technology, and be optimised in specific ways; however, a lot of people have no flipping clue what they want, let alone need. The article I imagined I’d be writing would be for the latter group, a sort of primer on the technical decisions that would need to be made. However, I knew I was in trouble when my basic article outline was over a thousand words on various considerations.

Posted in Strategy on April 15, 2010 by Joshua Davis

Everyone knows what it’s like to wait on a load bar. With the rise of broadband, our appetite for large multimedia content has also risen. As such, the load bar seems to be in the cards as a major part of our interactive experiences for the time being.

We’re always looking for ways to build a better experience, and finding better ways to load a website is part of that. A recent improvement was introducing two “layers” of motion in our loading animations. For example – if the loader pulses, then it also needs to turn. If something gives a percentage read, then it also needs to _______.

This second layer of activity engages the eye and in turn gives the impression that time is passing more quickly. We rarely deal with more than a 10 second wait, but patience grows thin on the web. It’s like the 60 second burrito that took way too long; I am hungry!
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New Portfolio Addition – Website & Business Card Design for HCCKC

Posted in News on April 1, 2010 by JLSA

Creativity, even when based in sound business strategy, can be subjective. For this reason, every time a business engages us to design something that will visually capture their brand and message, there is an element of trust involved; we take this trust very, very seriously. We relish the opportunity because it makes days like today even better, when we can send another happy client on their way with a visual solution in place that we’re positive will do great things for their business.

Today’s portfolio addition is Health Care Consultants of Kansas City, a brand new business with a brand new website and a brand new business card.
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