Process
Design process methodology, as we practice it, is not a straight line from brief to delivery. It loops — deliberately, productively, sometimes uncomfortably. That looping is where the real work happens, and understanding our design process methodology is the clearest way to know whether we’re the right studio for what you’re building.
I love my process above all. Not just because it is familiar and directs my mind, but mostly because of what I learn about the product, the business, or the production.
I do this with every project, no matter how big or small it is; there are no shortcuts on the path you have to walk with your client. The only difference is the time it takes. If you skip the process, you could fail to realize the product’s potential.
The process has a few simple loops:
1. Coffee first: define the project (what to do, the expectations, and the scope of it) with your client.
2. Research on both sides (client and yours)—this gives better clarity; sometimes we do workshops to align the direction.
3. Discuss the direction. We don’t like surprises; we want to be on the same page with the client all the time.
4. Prepare the first sketches and stay within the direction frame.
5. Mockups: test if it works.
6. Deciding the solution is one of the most demanding steps. The only thing that helps is the experience we have.
7. Rethink and improve. Your mind should be open; make the loops if necessary.
8. Finalization: make sure you are on top of everything: all the executions and all the production people involved.
The sketches we made on the computer are only halfway done. As you can see, I don’t like to call it design; most of the time, the sketch will change and adapt through the process. I listen to the craftspeople I meet along the way and make changes to improve the solution. The experience I gather with every project comes from craftsmen who know more than me.
Here is what I learned from the process:
A good process will give you satisfaction.
The looped process will give you experience.
The failed process will teach you lessons.
The finished process will give you the best projects.
Why Our Design Process Methodology Runs in Loops, Not Phases
See how our process shapes our branding workDon’t miss the next essay. Signup for our newsletter
⸻ Newsletter signup
When was the last time you went on a date?
Brand dating strategy is something most studios won't admit they've ruined. We've watched clients walk into pitches dressed like a corporate handbook and wonder why nobody called back. The problem isn't the product — it's that design forgot to be interesting before it tried to be impressive.
You Can’t Win in It All
Design client taste mismatch isn't a failure of process — it's a structural tension baked into every brief. We've sat across the table from enough decision-makers to know that good work and approved work are not the same thing. Understanding where that gap lives, and why, is what separates studios that grow from ones that simply comply.
Branding Agency vs Logo Designer: Understanding the Difference
Branding agency vs logo designer — the confusion is real, and it costs clients money. Most briefs we receive conflate the two, assuming a mark is a brand. It isn't. A branding agency vs logo designer comparison isn't about prestige; it's about scope, process, and what problem you're actually trying to solve.
Side projects
Designer side projects are not a break from real work — they are the reason the real work stays sharp. We have run a design studio in Ljubljana since 2004, and the projects that never had a client are often the ones that taught us the most. Side projects are where instinct gets to move faster than process.
It is not ok to fail
It is not ok to fail — and we've never treated it as an option. Most studios build failure tolerance into their process. We built accountability into ours instead. Twenty years in Ljubljana, 80+ awards, and a working assumption that getting it wrong is not a learning opportunity — it's a broken promise.
Why Branding and Web Design Must Be Aligned
Branding and web design alignment fails the moment two separate teams touch the same project without talking to each other. We've watched it happen — a considered identity system lands on a site that treats it like decoration. Branding and web design alignment means the strategy that shapes the mark also shapes the architecture, the copy rhythm, the interaction logic.
How to Be a Real Designer
How to be a real designer isn't about software or style — it's about who holds the argument when the client wants something easier. We've been in that room for twenty years. Being a real designer means resisting the comfortable solution, even when no one asks you to.
The Currency of Respect
Respect as currency is not a metaphor we use lightly — it is the actual unit of exchange in every client relationship we have built since 2004. We have watched projects collapse not over budget or concept, but over the slow withdrawal of basic professional respect. When respect as currency depreciates, no invoice or award recovers the loss.