One step ahead
One step aheadOne step aheadOne step ahead
A studio year in review. Seven short chapters, ten minutes.
Broke the mold
Broke the moldBroke the moldBroke the mold
Three decisions that changed how we work.
Roster
Fewer, longer projects
We cut the roster from fourteen clients to six and doubled the average engagement.
Craft
Design and code in one room
Every project now ships as a working prototype, not a PDF.
Time
Fridays off the clock
Four-day weeks since March. Output went up, not down.
The numbers
The numbersThe numbersThe numbers
What changed once the roster got smaller.
projects shipped
day week
pitch decks written
How we work
How we workHow we workHow we work
Seven weeks, four phases, one team the whole way.
Week 1
Listen
Interviews with the people who will use it, not just the ones who pay.
Weeks 2–3
Prototype
A clickable version in the browser before any polish.
Weeks 4–6
Build
Design and engineering in the same file, every day.
Week 7
Hand over
Documentation, a recorded walkthrough, and a quiet exit.
In their words
In their wordsIn their wordsIn their words
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
Then and now
Then and nowThen and nowThen and now
Same people, different shape.
Last year
- Fourteen clients
- PDF deliverables
- Five-day weeks
- Pitch decks every month
This year
- Six clients
- Working prototypes
- Four-day weeks
- Zero pitches
What's next
What's nextWhat's nextWhat's next
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