Adam Johnson was online in 2004 when he came across a web designer that lived less than a mile away from him in Fayetteville, NC.  Adam had been working as a graphic designer in Raleigh, but with the cost of living so high in the area, he chose to reside in Fayetteville and commute to work each day.  After six years of commuting he was eager to find a niche for design in Fayetteville. 

When Adam found Ryan through a web search, he contacted him and they met at a local Waffle House to talk. Adam had a project that he wanted Ryan to help him with and Ryan agreed.

Ryan Harrell was a designer who already had almost ten years of experience in web design.  He had his first webpage up in 1997.  As a student at UNC-Charlotte he learned HTML and created websites for small businesses on the side.  By 2003, Ryan knew that website design was what he wanted to do, and so he learned all he could about it.  When Adam found him, he already had a handful of clients, but he kept a full-time job as well.

That first project was a success and the two men decided that they wanted to go into business with each other.  They believed that you didn’t have to be a business in a huge metropolitan area to succeed in the design world.  Their first office was actually Ryan’s laundry room, big enough only for two desks.  When clients came in, one of the men would have to leave to make room.

The two men took on different roles.  Adam had spent time as an Army recruiter when he was enlisted in the Nineties.  There he learned the sales techniques that made him a highly effective salesman.  When Adam brought a client in, Ryan would design their website.

It was not long after ARC Design began that the men moved into an office space in the heart of downtown Fayetteville on Hay Street.  There they saw the business take off, as more and more clients would come into the office.

In December of 2007, ARC Design had grown not just in the size of its’ clients list, but also in the number of team members.  They relocated into a renovated office space on Person Street in Downtown and over the next year and a half, became a staff of eleven people.

In 2007, ARC Design solidified itself as the best website and graphic design agency in the Fayetteville area.  The agency was presented with 15 Industry Awards from various organizations around the world.  They were awarded design contracts from some of the area’s most respected businesses and organizations.

And to think, this is only the beginning…..