A studio year in review
A studio year in review. Seven short chapters, ten minutes.
Three decisions reshaped how the studio works
Three decisions that changed how we work.
Fewer, longer projects
We cut the roster from fourteen clients to six and doubled the average engagement.
▼ −8 clientsDesign and code in one room
Every project now ships as a working prototype, not a PDF.
▲ 6 of 6 shippedFridays off the clock
Four-day weeks since March. Output went up, not down.
▼ −1 day / weekFewer, longer engagements are the lever behind every other gain.
A smaller roster lifted retention to 92% and cut delivery time by 38%
Retention, not new business, now funds the studio.
A seven-week, four-phase engagement keeps one team from listen to hand-over
Seven weeks, four phases, one team the whole way.
Listen
Interviews with the people who will use it, not just the ones who pay.
Prototype
A clickable version in the browser before any polish.
Build
Design and engineering in the same file, every day.
Hand over
Documentation, a recorded walkthrough, and a quiet exit.
The week-two prototype is what de-risks the rest.
Clients value the questions and the early prototype over the final deliverable
Three clients, unedited.
“They asked better questions than our own team did.”Nadia R. · Head of Product, Kite
“The week-two prototype was more useful than the last agency's final deliverable.”Tomas L. · Founder, Brine
“Every review felt like a working session, not a presentation.”Priya M. · CMO, Lumen
Clients buy the working session, not the presentation.
Fourteen clients and PDF deliverables became six clients and working prototypes
Same people, different shape.
Last year
- Fourteen clients
- PDF deliverables
- Five-day weeks
- Pitch decks every month
This year ▲ +28 index vs LY
- Six clients
- Working prototypes
- Four-day weeks
- Zero pitches
The change in shape is structural, not cyclical.
Four commitments carry the model into next year
Four things we have already started.
- Open a second room in Lisbon
- Publish the process as a playbook
- Ship two products of our own
- Keep the week at four days
Hold the four-day week; it is the constraint that forces the focus.