I helped grow a small web studio into a team of more than 20 designers and changed how we designed websites. We moved to big photography, short text and layouts that fit any screen.
Team growth in two years
Leading design and web
How most new clients found us
Built and trained the team
Before anyone on the team started a page, I designed it. I built the wireframes, tested them with real people, designed the first visuals and wrote the brand guides the team worked from. Every project started with my visual direction.
We began as a general design service with four people in one small office at the top of the building, making signs, window wraps and print. Websites became popular and our clients started pushing us in that direction, so we grew into a web studio. I met every client myself, listened to what their business needed and turned it into a plan the team could build.
I'm a photographer, so I knew one strong image says more than a page of text. I led the team away from text heavy sites to large photography, short clear copy and simple square layouts. I also saw early that websites would have to fit every screen, and we built that way.
Clients, planning, people and quality, step by step.
Big photos only work if pages stay fast. I showed the team how to size and export every image so it looked sharp but stayed light, and we set clear file sizes for each use. Many sites still get this wrong today.
Six steps I set up so every project moved the same way, no matter who worked on it.
I met the client to learn the goal, the audience and the budget. I gave a first cost range and explained honestly what was doable for that time and money.
With the team I built the site map, first wireframes and the text plan, so everyone knew exactly what we were designing before any visuals. Next to the wireframes we always nailed the section headers and the text, so pages could be designed without revisions.
From the site map I made a full estimate of the work. We agreed on the price, or adjusted the scope so it fit the budget. We produced pages step by step and charged for each step, so we were paid only for finished work and stayed clear of problems.
I spread the work across the team, gave each part an owner and dates, and outsourced what we couldn't do in-house, like sending a photographer on site.
I made the first mockups and ideas, then ran a design meeting for each stage with a scope doc covering inspiration, wireframes and how every part should work.
We checked the design with the client page by page, made the changes, then built, tested and launched. I reviewed every page before it went live.
