Because AI has made production cheap. Anyone can generate a website, a logo, a set of screens. What AI cannot do is edit with intention, feel when something is slightly off, or know when to stop. Twenty years of working at the highest level in design taught us what almost-good looks like. That difference is everything. Taste wins.

Two main modes. Project-led delivery: brand and product launches (Cobot, Gritt), discovery sprints (Nokia All-in-One), product audits, strategic frameworks with AI tooling setup. Embedded partnership: senior design inside your team, scaled from one founder to a small team, as with Nokia for a decade. We also bridge Japan and global markets.

Two ways to engage. For deliverables (product audit, launch package, discovery sprints), we send you a fixed quote. For embedded or partner work, we charge a daily rate by team size on a rolling three-month minimum basis. We'll recommend the shape that fits the brief, and re-quote if scope expands. No hourly creep, no surprises.

Every project is founder-led from start to finish. Tom and Rieko handle strategy, design and build directly. When the work needs specialist skills (3D, backend engineering), we bring in trusted people we've worked with for years. Creative direction sits with us; you talk to the people doing the work, not an account manager who briefs them later.

Some of our deepest work is best discussed privately, often under NDA. Two examples: the Nokia All-in-One programme (precedent for the Pure 2.0 design system that won iF Design and Red Dot), and the Ford 2030 FSD Sim (winner of IDSA Gold for Digital Interaction). We share methodology, and password access where appropriate. Just ask.

Engagements scale from a few days (a senior audit) to a few weeks (a launch package) to many months (an embedded partnership). Team scales with the work, from one founder to a team of five. Most project-led work ships four to twelve weeks kickoff to launch. If we're at capacity, we'll give you a realistic start date rather than spread ourselves thin.