Brothers Tyler Johnson, right, and Nate Johnson are co-owners of Level 2 Design, a full-service web development and graphic design company doing business in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville.Websites are powerful. A bad site can destroy a company, and a good one build it up from almost nothing. Just ask the Johnson brothers.
In 2010, a Federal Bureau of Investigation employee was surfing the web when he saw a website for Level 2 Design. He decided to include the company in the bidding process to create a kinder, gentler online presence for the nation’s top cops.
The thing was, Level 2 Design was a brand-new company founded by brothers Nate Johnson and Tyler Johnson. There were no other employees. They had only performed a couple small jobs up until that point, and had just recently launched their website.
“I didn’t even pick up the phone at first because I thought it was a spam number,” said Tyler Johnson, the art director of the now five-man Level 2 Design. “I just let it go to voicemail.”
The Johnsons’ newly created website featured a retro look — exactly what the FBI was seeking in a planned history section for FBI.gov. The 2009 film Public Enemies, which chronicled the life of bank robber John Dillinger and his conflict with a still-young FBI, had captured America’s imagination and reignited interest in the agency.