Design is Kim Bruce’s background and she is a wizard in digital technologies and so there is Artbiz.  Kim is a visual problem solver who helps fellow artists conceive strong, lovely websites. She creates websites that focus on how art can best be exhibited. Since art is her passion, this business seems to be a natural for her.

Before starting Artbiz in 2004, Kim owned an interior design firm in Calgary for 17 years. She sold the business in 2000 to pursue her fine art full time.

In 2002, Kim realized that she needed a website and hired a designer. It wasn’t long before she realized that her site needed constant updating (adding new work and updating her CV). With her designer unavailable and not wanting to find another, she went about obtaining an education in web design and HTML code so she could do it herself.

Kim switched over to WordPress  a few years later because when she started creating sites for other artists they couldn’t maintain their sites without knowing code. Being a big believer in self-sufficiency she felt it was important that artists be able to update their sites.

She found many well-designed WordPress themes; however, they were all too graphically busy. She thought they would detract from her art so she learned how to code WordPress themes. According to Kim, “It wasn’t a big stretch for me because I had a strong foundation in design and had used AutoCAD (automatic computer-aided drafting) software for years in my interior design business.”

You can also read about the different services she offers. There is everything from a website checkup to having her create a customized theme. Because Kim encourages her clients to create and maintain content on their websites, she provides an online school that could be a substantial book.

The amount of user-friendly information on her site is incredible. She encourages clients to read the posted information about a particular question or problem, but Kim is always available to answer questions and point you in the right direction. And she provides it in a surprisingly short period of time.

Even if you are not one of her clients, take a look at her site to see how much information is available. Her blog is awesome!