Each month, XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
After graduating from high school, Sarah C. attended college for a year before realizing she wanted to pursue a more adventurous path. Joining the army as military police taught her the value of discipline and teamwork, while instilling in her a strong work ethic that she still carries with her today.
When first starting in web design, I taught myself how to use Photoshop while creating low-price gallery designs.
Soon, however, she found herself craving the freedom to make her own decisions and carve her own path, so she did not reenlist. She also wanted to be there for her baby son during the day, so she took a night job as a cocktail waitress. One thing led to another and she eventually began working as a dancer.
Then, in 2003, Sarah stumbled upon the world of camming, which provided both the freedom and flexibility she desired. The studio broadcaster with whom she worked at the time — now her husband and business partner — was building teaser photo galleries and she became intrigued with the process, deciding to make one for herself.
She proved adept at crafting adult websites, went on to found Zuzana Designs, and the rest is history. The award-winning business has served numerous industry clients over nearly 20 years. At the XBIZ Honors ceremony in January, Sarah was crowned the inaugural Creator Businessperson of the Year, in recognition of her camming and creator work, and wide-ranging accomplishments.
In this exclusive WIA Woman of the Month interview, she opens up about her professional journey and the insights she has gleaned along the way.
XBIZ: Discuss how Zuzana Designs has evolved since inception and what milestones stand out on that path.
SARAH: When first starting in web design, I taught myself how to use Photoshop while creating photo gallery pages. However, as my skills developed, so did our client base. Our attention to detail and commitment to creating beautiful, user-friendly designs quickly caught the attention of top brands in the industry.
Today we are proud to work with some of the biggest names in the business, providing them with designs that help them stand out from the competition. Our hard work and dedication have been recognized with numerous awards over the years, including a recent XBIZ Exec Award. We’re excited to continue helping our clients achieve their goals in the ever-changing digital landscape.
XBIZ: How do you foster a collaborative team environment in your company?
SARAH: We’ve built trusting relationships with the people we’ve worked with over the years. We all have a mutual respect for each other’s skills and talents and this allows us to lean on each other for advice, ideas and execution. By building strong relationships, encouraging open communication, setting clear expectations, celebrating successes and encouraging feedback, we’ve been able to create successful partnerships that benefit everyone involved.
XBIZ: What sets Zuzana Designs apart? Give us your elevator pitch.
SARAH: Zuzana Designs has been in the industry for nearly two decades now, and over the years we’ve gained invaluable experience and expertise that we use to provide exceptional care to each and every one of our clients. Our focus has always been on delivering outstanding results, and we’re passionate about making sure that every project we work on is completed to the highest standards possible. Most importantly, we strive to make our clients happy by understanding their unique needs and preferences and tailoring our approach to meet those requirements. If you’re looking for a design company with a proven track record of excellence, then Zuzana Designs is your obvious choice.
XBIZ: Describe the kinds of design trends and client needs you’ve encountered amid the current resurgence in official creator and indie paysites.
SARAH: Simple and clean design continues to be on trend with clients wanting easy navigation and less clutter, allowing their content to be the main attraction. Responsive design that works well on all devices, especially mobile, is also in demand. We have done numerous redesigns just this past year, reviving well-known creator paysites that were outdated. What we’ve noticed is a more streamlined process of talking directly with models rather than a webmaster on their behalf. This makes the process so much more effective, with models now knowing exactly what they want and being more accustomed and empowered to handle website needs themselves.
Being a model myself is also a valuable asset, as I understand the unique needs and challenges faced by models. This allows me to make informed recommendations and offer personalized solutions that truly meet the needs of each client.
XBIZ: Which industry partnerships with other brands and behind-the-scenes services have truly bolstered your business?
SARAH: Trusting and being trusted by certain brands and services has been key. When we recommend businesses to our clients, we want to make sure they are reliable and trustworthy and the same applies to businesses that recommend us for our design services. Elevated X, MojoHost and Mechbunny are three service providers that we’ve established trust with over the years. These partnerships have led to many successful projects and collaborations.
With Elevated X, we’ve been able to work on custom design projects for their clients, while also referring our clients to their reliable CMS solutions. MojoHost is our only recommendation for hosting and server management, based on their top-notch service and tech support. Mechbunny has allowed us to collaborate on many designs for their clients, and their scripts and programming are top-notch.
In return, these brands have recommended us, giving us the opportunity to work with clients who value reliability and quality. Trust is essential in building long-term relationships and we look forward to building more partnerships with trusted brands in the future.
XBIZ: Tell us a bit about your personal life and how you spend your leisure time. Any unique hobbies or interests?
SARAH: Designing is not just my career; it’s my passion and my hobby. It’s so much a part of who I am that I often find myself working on projects even when I should be taking time away from the computer. When I’m not designing, I love spending time with my family, camping, fishing and enjoying cool nights sitting outside by the fire with a nice glass of wine. I’m also a bit of a foodie and love experimenting in the kitchen. Life is all about finding balance and pursuing the things that bring you joy and I’m grateful every day to have a career that allows me to do just that.
XBIZ: Where do you foresee the web design market heading and how do you stay ahead of the curve with evolving best practices?
SARAH: I see web design continuing in the direction of clean, streamlined and mobile-friendly design with touches of personal style that make it unique to the client. To stay ahead of the curve as a service provider, continuous learning is essential. We collaborate with other developers and industry professionals to stay informed about the latest trends and technologies. Experimentation is also extremely important.
We love when we get the opportunity to try out new techniques and explore different design styles. This helps us to understand how to improve and deliver better results to our clients. Going hand in hand with experimentation is feedback. We ask for input from our clients and colleagues and use it to improve our designs and practices. This helps us to better understand the needs of our clients and deliver solutions that meet their requirements.
Lastly, we focus on user experience. We keep ourselves informed about the latest UX design trends and techniques, and we apply them to our designs to make them more user-friendly and intuitive.
XBIZ: What’s next for Zuzana Designs in 2023 and beyond as far as features, services and offerings?
SARAH: In 2023, we hope to continue strengthening our existing client relationships as well as fostering new ones. I was able to attend my first industry show in many years this January when I proudly won an XBIZ Exec Award at XBIZ LA. Attending future industry trade shows where we can talk directly to potential clients will be key for us moving forward. Depending on our workload, we’re planning to provide a couple of HTML-ready paysite designs that will provide an ultra-quick turnaround to clients looking for something fast to give their developers. As always, customer service and satisfaction will be at the forefront of our business model.
