About Forward Trends
Aaron Elliott is an award-winning expert website designer, web developer, graphic designer, fine artist and marketing consultant based in New Castle, PA. Self taught in multiple disciplines, coding languages and server platforms, I have the ability to create custom web applications and enterprise-level WordPress themes from scratch. My friendly, left AND right brained approach to everything I do has become my niche in this business. I have a unique, multifaceted background of 20+ years experience, and I am a trusted partner to clients of all sizes who demand exceptional and professional work that will stand the test of time. I’d love to hear about your project, and how I might be able to help!
The Early Years
As a kid, I loved art and design – drawing, painting, lines and colors. As a teenager I grew to love electronics and technology, which would eventually lead me to school and learning Systems Administration with a focus on Servers, Programming Languages & Theory, Hardware & Networking, etc.
Once I landed my first job as a Data Analyst, I quickly realized that wasn’t for me. Luckily around the same time (late 90s), the internet and web design in general was just starting to take off. I started looking at early website source code and began teaching myself the basics. Once I developed my talents for coding in early html, css & javascript, I was able to pick up some side jobs building websites. Quickly, the owners of the company I worked for, started to hire me for larger, dynamic web site design projects and my career in web design, and eventually web hosting took off from there.
Building Real World Experience
I was hired to design and build early websites for universities, night clubs, large real estate developers and many others. This would lead to my next job as a web master and network administrator with a large, national mortgage company. At this job, I flourished and eventually was put in charge of large wide-area networks, employee work stations, critical backups, phone systems, large scale databases and more. I was in charge of designing national advertising campaign pieces including billboards, online ads, print publication ads and other forms of graphic design. I continued to teach myself everything I could and subsequently built my real-world experience of high end technology, marketing, advanced databases and networks, and problem solving. This included building websites in multiple different programming languages and databases, and maintaining the servers they reside on.
Forward Trends Is Born
I began providing contract work for various advertising and marketing agencies around Pittsburgh and Cleveland, in addition to building my own base of client work in a variety of industries. I was one of only a handful of developers in the country building high end Flash / Actionscript applications and websites (look it up if you’re too young lol) and was building my own, database-driven content management systems for websites on both Windows & Linux platforms.
My eye for design and understanding of multiple areas of technology quickly helped grow my business. Soon, it was apparent that I needed to dedicate myself full time to web site development and Forward Trends, LLC was officially born. Over the next decade I would work on hundreds of websites and would migrate into building custom, wordpress-driven websites and custom bespoke themes. I became a WordPress expert, and continue to be on the leading edge of its code and development. I use WordPress for custom websites and high end web applications, and I build all these themes and plugins from scratch.
Expanding My Services
Forward Trends is still a leader in Web Development and Custom WordPress Websites, but I now also offer a variety of services to help with my clients needs and budget. This includes dedicated web hosting right here in Pittsburgh, Logos and Branding, Marketing Strategy, Photography, Graphic Design and more. I do ALL the work myself and never hire outside.
Finding An Artistic Outlet
Throughout it all, I never lost my love for art, design and just being creative. Coding all day and dealing with intricate technology issues can become monotonous. In order to relieve stress and to have a creative outlet, I started creating artwork in Adobe Photoshop… my version of “doodling” in order to relax my brain. I eventually started to post some of these to Instagram which organically grew into a substantial following of 30,000 followers, eventually dwindling after I stopped posting around 2019. However, this opened up a whole new world to me, and has led me to collaborate and provide art commissions for Television Personalities, Musicians, Artists and Photographers around the world. I have minted a few NFTs with Foundation and am still producing digital art and design, just not sharing as much on social media.
Creating My Niche
My friendly, left and right brained approach to everything has become my niche in this business. People count on me for honest advice, and my experienced approach to the web, marketing, branding, graphic design, advertising and more. I can make something beautiful AND functional that will last for years and which you can be proud of. I can troubleshoot advanced issues and quickly learn emerging technologies. I am always there when clients need help, have questions, or just need advice. Regardless of the project, I bring my variety of experience into everything I do.
Giving Back
I also give back to my community by serving on the boards of directors for Visit Lawrence County and The Hoyt Art Center, as well as donating time and services to various local organizations in and around New Castle and Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. I’m always willing to help our hometown or organizations that really need it. If your organization needs help – let me know!
Thanks for reading! If you need anything else, email me at aaron@forwardtrends.com
– Aaron Elliott / @forwardtrends