About Digital Designs
For over 25 years, Digital Designs has been building strong relationships with its clientele. Headquartered in Lacey, Washington (near Olympia), the business first started as a graphic design shop. Back in the "buggy" old days (1980’s), there was a need for technical expertise in troubleshooting graphic designers as well as other Macintosh computer users. Macintosh consulting became the emphasis of the business.
When Apple’s fortunes appeared to be spiraling downward (before the return of Steve Jobs), the company shifted to using computer software for creating better business workflows. Filemaker software has been used since version 3. Ten versions later, the business is still going strong.
Today, thankfully, Apple has fully recovered (and then some).
The business continues to wear two hats: business database solutions using Filemaker and Macintosh computer troubleshooting, setup and repair. Digital Designs is a member of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN) and the Filemaker Business Alliance (FBA). Certifications are held as an Apple Certified Support Specialist as well as a Filemaker Certified Developer. Digital Designs is locally involved with Northwest MacPros, as well as the local chapter of the Filemaker Professional Users Group (FMPUG).
Meet Mike Ross
Mike Ross is the owner of the company. His interest in computers and databases can be traced back to the Seattle World’s fair in 1962. Using a UNIVAC computer, fairgoers could submit inquiries to the "library of the future", wait a short while, then a list of books available at the library was printed out. That seems quaint now, but it was pretty amazing back then.
While waiting for a personal computer market to magically materialize, Mike took an interest in the fine arts and graphic design. In the early 1970s computer art consisted of ASCII pictures of Snoopy printed out on teletypewriters. That’s maybe retro now, but back then — not interested.
With a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978 (from The Evergreen State College), Mike did what most people do with that degree: worked in a bookstore. When Mike married Fawn in 1985, his wife came with a Commodore 64 computer. That was it! The personal computer had arrived!
Mike went back to school and received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Sciences in 1989, also from Evergreen. The Mac lab at Evergreen gave Mike his first exposure to Macintosh computers (they were Mac II’s). Mike took on $8000 dollars in debt purchasing a Mac IIX. He doesn’t take to kindly when people object to the cost of computer hardware these days.
His computer career started at a local computer store authorized to sell Apple computers. He soon recognized that it was the service and not the hardware that drove business, so he started his own business: Digital Designs, in 1992 and has been doing that ever since. Mike is still going strong, married for nearly thirty years and is the father of two sons, Steven (who is married to Allyson) and Isaac.