ahead
One step
ahead
A studio year in review.
What we changed, what it cost, and what came back.
Ten minutes, seven chapters.
Start to finish, no pitch deck.
mold
Broke the
mold
Fewer, longer projects
We cut the roster from fourteen clients to six and doubled the average engagement.
Design and code in one room
Every project now ships as a working prototype, not a PDF.
Fridays off the clock
Four-day weeks since March. Output went up, not down.
Three decisions.
Each one changed how we work.
Chapter two.
Roster, craft, time.
numbers
The
numbers
Chapter three.
What changed once the roster got smaller.
work
How we
work
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.
Seven weeks, four phases.
One team the whole way.
Chapter four.
Listen, prototype, build, hand over.
words
In their
words
“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
Three clients, unedited.
Swipe, or use the arrows.
Chapter five.
Kite, Brine, Lumen.
now
Then and
now
Last year
- Fourteen clients
- PDF deliverables
- Five-day weeks
- Pitch decks every month
This year
- Six clients
- Working prototypes
- Four-day weeks
- Zero pitches
Same people.
Different shape.
Chapter six.
Last year against this year.
next
What's
next
- Open a second room in Lisbon
- Publish the process as a playbook
- Ship two products of our own
- Keep the week at four days
Four things.
We have already started.
Chapter seven.
Lisbon, playbook, products, four days.