/00

STUDIO FILE · OPERATOR MANUAL

THE STUDIO.

Independent product, interface and brand design for people building things that need to make sense, work well and last.

The studio stays small on purpose. You work directly with me from strategy through delivery.

FILE
003 / STUDIO
MODEL
INDEPENDENT / SOLO
FOCUS
PRODUCT · INTERFACE · BRAND
REGION
WESTERN EUROPE · USA
STATUS
ACCEPTING BRIEFS

/01

OPERATOR DOSSIER · ACTIVE

THE OPERATOR.

big S studio stays deliberately small. You work directly with me, from the first conversation to the final handoff.

I started in graffiti and illustration, moved through web and identity, and eventually into product and interface systems. The medium changed. The obsession with clarity, craft and making useful things did not.

OPERATING MODEL
INDEPENDENT · SOLO
EXPERIENCE
12+ YEARS
DISCIPLINES
Product · Interface · Web · Brand
COLLABORATION
DIRECT · WHITE-LABEL · EMBEDDED
REGIONS
WESTERN EUROPE · USA
BASE
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA · Dach · Remote
ETHICS
ACCESSIBLE · PRIVACY-AWARE · NO DARK PATTERNS
GIVE-BACK
10% commitment

OPERATOR / PORTRAIT

Operator portrait redacted

STATUS / REDACTED

UNREDACTED FOR RETURNING CLIENTS

/02

PRINCIPLES · REV. 026

PRINCIPLES.

Five rules that matter regardless of tools, trends or whatever design decides to call itself next year.

01

NO DARK PATTERNS.

If a product needs deception to convert, the problem is not the interface.

02

DECISIONS NEED REASONS.

Taste matters, but a decision should still survive a simple question: why?

03

SYSTEMS OVER SURFACE.

The work should keep making sense after the presentation is closed.

04

ACCESS BEATS THEATRE.

You should be able to talk to the person doing the work and see what is happening.

05

CRAFT IS NOT DECORATION.

Good details are not polish for its own sake. They make the whole thing easier to understand and use.

/03

ENGAGEMENT MODEL · DIRECT

HOW IT WORKS.

Working together is simple. You talk to the person doing the work, you can see the work as it develops, and meetings happen when they are useful.

01

DIRECT LINE.

You work with me, not through an account manager.

02

ASYNC FIRST.

Most things move faster in writing. We meet when a conversation will actually help.

03

SCOPE BEFORE PIXELS.

We agree on what needs to change before deciding what it should look like.

04

WORK STAYS VISIBLE.

You can see decisions, files and progress throughout the project.

05

REVIEWS WITH CONTEXT.

I show the reasoning, not just a polished screen at the end.

06

NO HOSTAGE FILES.

The work is yours. Handoff should be clear, complete and usable.

/04

METHOD · FROM FRAME TO HANDOFF

METHOD.

A practical sequence for turning a messy problem into something clear, useful and ready for the real world.

  1. 01

    FRAME

    Brief · constraints · success criteria

    1–2 DAYS

  2. 02

    FIND

    Users · market · evidence · references

    2–5 DAYS

  3. 03

    MODEL

    Flows · hierarchy · architecture · systems

    3–7 DAYS

  4. 04

    MAKE

    Brand · interface · prototype · detail

    1–3 WEEKS

  5. 05

    TEST

    Review · accessibility · validation

    2–5 DAYS

  6. 06

    SHIP

    Handoff · implementation · measurement

    1–3 DAYS

CAPABILITIES
BRAND / PRODUCT / WEB / DIRECTION / WHITE LABEL
TYPICAL FOCUSED ENGAGEMENT
3 TO 6 WEEKS. PHASES MAY OVERLAP. LARGE SYSTEMS ARE SCOPED SEPARATELY.

FIELD NOTE / WEEKENDS & HOLIDAYS

WEEKENDS STAY WEEKENDS.

Unless you are there too, sleeves rolled up, food on the table and beer cold.

/05

BOUNDARY REGISTER · ACTIVE

BEFORE WE WORK.

I can design around most constraints. These are the few things I will not design around.

R01

DARK PATTERNS

Anything that depends on deception, coercion or obstructed consent.

R02

SPEC WORK

Unpaid concept pitches or competitive creative work before we have an agreement.

R03

FAKE URGENCY

Scarcity, countdowns or conversion tricks pretending to be strategy.

R04

HATE OR EXPLOITATION

Work built to target, exclude, humiliate or exploit people.

R05

NO DECISION ACCESS

Projects where I cannot speak to the people making the decisions.

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PRACTICE EVIDENCE

REFERENCES.

A few facts about the practice, followed by selected engagements. Some client names stay hidden because the agreements say they should.

12+

YEARS IN PRACTICE

Product · Web · Brand

1

OPERATOR

Direct from first conversation to handoff

10%

GIVE BACK

Standing studio commitment

2

PRIMARY REGIONS

Western Europe · USA

/07

Open the Brief

BRIEF IN MIND?

If you have a real problem to solve, send the context. A good brief does not need to be polished. It just needs to be honest.

Tell me what is changing, what is stuck, who it affects and what good looks like. I usually reply within one working day.

OPEN THE BRIEF.Best place to start.EMAIL DIRECTLY.hello@bigsstudio.comREQUEST A CALL.For projects that are easier to talk through.