In today’s on-demand marketplace of real-time information delivered to mobile devices at lightening speeds, smart design is crucial for business success. And as the creative half of marketing firm Position Interactive, Phil Tretheway, 34, knows that without strategic and compelling design, consumers will pass his clients by.

So Tretheway and Ali Zamanian, the firm’s founder, work with nonprofits like Capital Public Radio and organizations like the Capitol Area Development Authority to develop effective, responsive websites that adapt to the device on which they’re being viewed. They also offer design services for logos, billboards, brochures and ads.

The third-generation Sacramentan began his career locally at Marketing by Design, creating print projects like cookbooks, annual reports and educational materials. As the digital age approached, Tretheway, a Mira Loma High School and Chico State graduate, took it upon himself to learn the ins and outs of websites and email marketing to stay current and best serve his clients.

Still, he envisions his skill set through a different lens. “I hate when people call me a graphic artist -— there is a big difference between a designer and an artist,” he says. “Designers are creative problem solvers. Every element in my projects has a specific purpose and rationale behind it.”

For Position Interactive, that includes delivering on a client’s goals, conceptualizing fresh ideas for each project and thinking through the tiny details that make a huge difference in the quality and success of a design.

Inside his downtown office, Tretheway, a father of two, usually takes 10 to 12 weeks producing a responsive website, sometimes with the assistance of freelance writers and photographers. Position Interactive recently completed projects for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and Insight Coffee Roasters.

“I enjoy being a designer in Sacramento,” he says. “I like that we’re doing responsive websites and user interface projects here in a town that isn’t always seen as being cutting edge.”