Process
Discover, design, build, launch
Every Designer Digital project runs the same four-phase process. Each phase has clear deliverables and a decision gate before the next phase starts. You won't be surprised by what arrives.
1. Discover 1–2 weeks
Two to four hours of structured interviews covering your business model, audience, competitive landscape, current site (what's broken, what works), brand voice, and project objectives. We deliver a written brief at the end summarizing what we heard and what we recommend. You sign off on the brief before design starts. This is the highest-leverage phase — most projects that go badly skipped this step.
2. Design 2–4 weeks
Wireframes first, then visual direction. Wireframes settle structure (sitemap, page layouts, hierarchy) without color or typography. Visual direction (typography, color, mood) follows once structure is agreed. High-fidelity mockups land within two weeks. Two structured revision rounds, with consolidated feedback per round — no email-back-and-forth.
3. Build 3–6 weeks
Hand-coded development in TypeScript, React, and Next.js. Components first, pages second. Performance budgets enforced from commit one. Animation (GSAP, Three.js where appropriate) and integration (CRM, analytics, CMS) layered in. A staging URL goes live around week 4 so you can watch the site come together — no hidden development.
4. Launch 1 week + 14-day stabilization
Deployment to Vercel or Cloudflare. DNS cutover. Performance verification across real devices. Schema validation in Google Rich Results. Search Console + Bing Webmaster submission. Then 14 days of stabilization where we fix anything that surfaces in real-world use — included in the project, not billed extra.
How we communicate
- Async by default. Loom videos for design feedback, shared Figma comments for markup, staging URL with comment annotations for development. Scheduled meetings only when needed.
- Weekly status updates.Friday email or Loom covering what shipped, what's next, what's blocked. No surprises Monday morning.
- Single source of truth. Everything that affects the project lives in a shared doc. No fragmented Slack history, no email chains.
- Same-day responses on weekdays. Most messages get a reply within four hours. Substantive responses (decisions that need consideration) within one business day.
Process FAQ
What's your design process?
Four phases: Discover (research, brand audit, audience interviews), Design (sitemap, wireframes, mockups, two structured revision rounds), Build (hand-coded development, animation, integration), and Launch (deployment, performance verification, 14-day stabilization). Each phase has clear deliverables and a decision gate before the next phase starts. You won't be surprised by what arrives.
How many design revisions do I get?
Two structured revision rounds at the design phase, with consolidated feedback. We don't bill for these rounds. Scope changes (adding pages, changing the brand direction mid-project) are billed separately at agreed-upon rates so the original quote stays clean.
How do you collect feedback?
We use Loom (async video) and shared Figma comments for design feedback. For development we use a staging URL with comment annotations. We avoid email-back-and-forth and Slack-message chains because they fragment context. Everything that affects the project lives in a single shared doc.
What happens in the discovery phase?
Discovery is 2–4 hours of structured interviews covering your business model, audience, competitive landscape, current site (what's broken, what's working), brand voice, and project objectives. We deliver a written brief at the end summarizing what we heard and what we recommend. You sign off on the brief before design starts.
How long does it take to build a custom website?
A focused 5–10 page marketing site typically takes 6–10 weeks from kickoff to launch. Larger sites (15+ pages, complex integrations, motion-heavy) run 10–16 weeks. Custom e-commerce typically runs 12–20 weeks. Discovery and design account for the first 2–4 weeks; development overlaps with later design rounds.
Can you ship faster than 6 weeks?
Sometimes. Our $297 starter offering is built around a tight timeline (typically 1–2 weeks) for a single landing page. Faster turnaround on full marketing sites is possible if the scope is locked from the start — we typically charge a rush premium of 20–30% if the timeline compresses below our standard cadence.
When can we start?
We typically have a 2–4 week wait between contract signature and project start, depending on current load. The discovery interview and initial brand audit can run in parallel with that wait, so calendar time isn't lost.
Want to see this process in action?
Send your project details through the contact form. The first call covers what your specific version of this process would look like.
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