You need to look like you've been doing this for years. Without spending like it.
We help startups move fast without looking cheap: brand identity, product design, and digital infrastructure built to scale with you, not against you.
Philosophy
The foundations that make everything else easier.
You don't need a 50-page brand bible on day one. You need clear positioning, a visual language that scales, and digital systems that don't collapse when you grow.
Brand positioning and identity
Messaging that converts, a visual identity that scales, and a brand system your whole team can use — without coming back to us every time.
Website and digital presence
Fast, conversion-optimised, built on a platform you can update yourself. We build for growth — not just launch day.
Product and UX design
From MVP to polished product. UX research, information architecture, interface design, and design systems ready for your engineering team.
Operations and automation
CRM setup, onboarding flows, internal tooling, and AI-powered workflows that let a small team punch above its weight.
Content and growth infrastructure
SEO foundations, content strategy, and the editorial systems that build organic demand — so you're not dependent on paid acquisition forever.
Pitch and investor materials
Decks, one-pagers, and data visualisation that communicate your traction clearly. Designed for the room, not just the PDF.
Design support that grows with your startup
From launch-ready product to continuous growth.
Start with focused design support to get your platform ready for launch. Once you are live, move into a more proactive partnership shaped by real user feedback, product data and business goals.
Pre-launch Design Retainer
/mo
Build a polished, launch-ready product with ongoing design support as your priorities evolve.
The focus is to make your platform consistent, intuitive, accessible and ready for launch.
Post-launch Design Retainer
/mo
Once your platform is live, the retainer becomes more proactive and growth-focused.
Think of us as your long-term design partner: not only refining the interface, but continuously improving the user experience as your product, users and business evolve.
Embedded From Day One
We work closely with your team from the beginning, bringing clarity to complex challenges and helping you move from ideas to execution with confidence.
Focused Delivery
We keep the process considered and efficient, helping you make meaningful progress without unnecessary layers or delays.
Ready to Evolve
Everything we build is designed to grow with your organisation, from flexible website structures to scalable design and operational systems.
Clear Priorities
Every engagement begins with a clear understanding of your goals, challenges, and next steps, so the work stays focused and purposeful.
Built to Keep Working
We create brands, websites, and systems that are easy to maintain, adapt, and use long after the project is complete.
Flexible Engagement
Choose the level of support that fits your organisation, from one-off strategic projects to long-term digital partnerships.
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FAQ
We're pre-revenue. Is it too early to invest in brand and design?
No — but the scope should match the stage. Pre-revenue startups don't need a full brand overhaul; they need clear positioning, a credible visual identity, and a website that converts. We scope work to what actually moves the needle at your current stage, not what looks impressive on an agency proposal.
The cost of bad early design is higher than most founders realise. A weak brand makes fundraising harder, hiring harder, and enterprise sales almost impossible. Getting it right early is almost always cheaper than fixing it later.
How is a retainer different from hiring a freelancer or in-house designer?
A freelancer gives you one skill set. An in-house designer costs £40,000–£60,000 per year before benefits, management overhead, and the risk of a bad hire. The Studio Retainer gives you a dedicated team of four — covering brand, UX, engineering, and operations — for £2,400 per month.
You also get continuity. We build your systems, document your decisions, and maintain your brand — so nothing lives in one person's head. If your in-house designer leaves, you start over. With us, the work stays.
Can you work with our existing tech stack and tools?
Almost always yes. We work across Framer, Webflow, Figma, Notion, HubSpot, and most common startup tooling. For product design, we work to your engineering team's handoff preferences — whether that's Figma with tokens, Storybook integration, or a full design system.
If you're still choosing your stack, we'll give you an honest recommendation based on your team size, technical capacity, and roadmap — not what's easiest for us.
Do you work with funded startups only, or bootstrapped too?
Both. Funding stage doesn't determine fit — ambition and timing do. Some of our best startup work has been with bootstrapped founders who needed to look credible to win their first enterprise client. Others have been post-Series A companies rebuilding a brand that was never properly built.
If budget is genuinely tight, a scoped project is usually the right first step. We'd rather scope something you can afford and do it well than take a retainer that stretches you and produces underwhelming results.
What does the 90-day minimum commitment mean in practice?
It means we have enough time to actually deliver results. The first month is setup and foundations — audit, onboarding, brand alignment. Month two is execution. Month three is refinement and the first meaningful data on what's working. Anything shorter and we're just scratching the surface.
After 90 days, the retainer rolls monthly with 30 days' notice to pause or cancel. Payment can be made upfront or monthly on a signed contract — whichever works for your cash flow.
We're moving fast. Can you keep up with our pace?
That's what the team model is built for. With four people dedicated to your account and an 8-hour response guarantee, we move at startup speed. We use async-first workflows so we're not a bottleneck — decisions get made, work gets done, and you don't spend half your week in agency check-in calls.
If you need to move faster on a specific sprint — a product launch, a fundraise, a rebrand — we can flex capacity. We'll scope it honestly and tell you what's realistic.
Who actually does the work — will we be handed off to juniors?
No. Every retainer includes a dedicated team of four — and on the Advisor and Embedded Partner tiers, the founder is directly involved in your account. We don't win work and then delegate it down. The team you meet is the team that delivers.
We're a studio of 130+ engagements across 15 countries — not a large agency with layers between you and the work.
Do you sign NDAs?
Yes, always. We work with startups at sensitive stages — pre-launch, pre-funding, pre-announcement — and we treat your information accordingly. A mutual NDA is standard on all engagements before any substantive conversation begins.
More questions? Reach out anytime.
