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How we work

Inside a project.

A walkthrough of how we work, from first conversation to handover. The frameworks we use, the games we run, and the things you walk away with at the end.

The Feel Factor™

We measure what your app makes people feel.

Most agencies design for how an app looks. We design for how it makes people feel. Five measurable emotional dimensions that determine whether someone trusts your product, enjoys using it, or quietly walks away.

Every project starts with a baseline reading and every design decision is measured against it. The result is an app people connect with, not just use.

01 · Trust

Confidence

Whether the product behaves predictably and earns the user’s belief that it will keep doing so.

02 · Delight

Enjoyment

The small moments that surprise, satisfy, and make using the product feel rewarding.

03 · Anxiety

Calm

How much friction, uncertainty, or risk the product introduces, and how successfully it removes it.

04 · Confusion

Clarity

Whether users always know what they’re looking at, what to do next, and what just happened.

05 · Pride

Ownership

Whether using the product makes someone feel competent, accomplished, or quietly proud of themselves.

A walkthrough

How a project actually runs.

The thing a webpage can't really tell you is what working together feels like. Whether the energy in the room matches the words. Whether the people running the framework actually believe in it.

Some things only really come across on camera. So here's what a project actually involves, where it tends to get tricky, and why we still do it this way.

Simon Lee,

Founder and Strategic Director
The work

From first conversation to build-ready handover.

Every project moves through the same kind of work, in roughly this order. The exact shape depends on what you’re building. The result is the same: a complete foundation and a clear, cost-effective plan for launch.

i.

Listen first.

Discovery

We start with a conversation, not a brief. Where you are, what you’re building, who it’s for, what you’ve already tried. The goal is to understand the project well enough to know whether we’re the right fit, and to spot the questions you haven’t been asked yet.

What you get
An honest read on the project, and a recommendation for the right shape of engagement.
ii.

Behavioural research.

Research · 1–2 weeks

Why people use the things they use, and abandon the things they don’t. We don’t ask users what they want. We work out what they need by understanding the psychology that drives their behaviour. Existing user data, market research, competitor patterns, and structured exercises with your team.

What you get
A research report that explains the behaviour your product needs to design for, and the assumptions you’d be wrong to make.
iii.

Strategy & baseline.

Strategy · 2–3 weeks

We map the emotional journey from where users start to where they should end. Score the current experience across the five Feel Factor dimensions. Define the gap between current and aspirational, and what design decisions will close it.

What you get
A strategic brief with measurable emotional targets, a Feel Factor baseline, and the principles every design decision will be tested against.
iv.

Design.

Design · 4–6 weeks

Interfaces designed around how people actually think, not how they look in screenshots. Wireframes, then visual design, then the full UI system. Each iteration is tested against the Feel Factor targets we set, not against opinion.

What you get
A complete UI design system with every screen, state, and component documented, plus the rationale for every decision.
v.

Specification.

Specification · 1–2 weeks

Complete technical architecture, data models, API definitions, and developer documentation. Written so it can be picked up by any developer, agency, or AI tool.

What you get
A complete technical specification, ready for build. Yours to own, hand on, or bring back to us if you’d like our recommendation on a build partner.
vi.

Handover & plan.

Handover · 1 week

We give you the strategy, research, full designs, technical specifications, and our recommendations on the the most cost-effective, low-risk way to bring your product to market. The right approach, budget, and team, whether that's a freelancer, an agency or using AI, in order to protect your investment.

What you get
A complete, build-ready handover plus a clear plan for how to take it to launch. The thing your developer needs and almost never gets.
The games

Structured exercises for things a survey won’t reach.

Every project draws on a different combination. Some are diagnostic, some projective, some quietly devastating. The right ones at the right moment do more for a brief than a month of workshops.

Examples from our library
Diagnostic · 75 min

The Heartbreak Scale

Rate the current experience across the five Feel Factor dimensions.

Outcome
A baseline reading of where the product is now, and what specifically is broken.
Brief · 60 min

The Aspiration Gap

Map the emotional journey from where users start to where they should end.

Outcome
A clear definition of the design problem worth solving.
Conviction · 60 min

The Funeral Speech

If the product died tomorrow, what would people say at its funeral?

Outcome
A surprising, often uncomfortable read on what the product means emotionally.
What you walk away with

The thing your developer needs and almost never gets.

Every project ends with everything you need to build. Strategy, research, design, and specification, in the kind of depth that leaves nothing to chance. Every screen, every state, every decision. Yours to keep, hand on, or come back to us with.

Behavioural research report

The psychology your product needs to design for, the assumptions you’d be wrong to make, and the patterns to design around.

Strategic recommendations

The brief, with measurable emotional targets and the principles every design decision will be tested against.

Feel Factor baseline and target

Where the product is now, where it should end up, across five emotional dimensions. The yardstick the build is measured against.

Complete UI design system

Every screen, every state, every component, with the rationale for each decision. Designed to be picked up and built without ambiguity.

Technical specification

Architecture, data models, API definitions, developer documentation. Written so it can be built by any team, agency, or AI tool.

Build-ready handover & launch plan

Everything packaged, walked through with you, plus a clear plan for the smartest, most cost-effective way to launch: the right approach, the right team, the right budget.

What we don’t do

We don’t do the build. That’s the point.

Most agencies have a financial reason to recommend a particular path: a build to sell, a stack to push, a partner to refer. We don't. Which means the recommendations we make are shaped by what your project needs, not by what works for us.

We recommend approaches, not people. The smartest, most cost-effective way to launch your product. The choice of who builds it stays with you.

It also means the work has to stand on its own. It gets handed to your team, an agency, or an AI tool, and has to work without us in the room.

No build
We hand over a complete specification. You choose how, where, and with whom to build it.
No retainer
We stay around as long as the work needs us to, no longer. Always reachable when you do need us.
No upsell
We’re not pushing a particular technology, development framework, or build partner. The recommendations we make are based on what works for the project, not what works for us.
Senior only
No layers, no junior teams learning on your project. The people you meet are the people doing the work.

Working together

Questions about how it works.

Mostly, yes. Mobile apps and web apps are where the Feel Factor methodology has the strongest evidence base, and where most of our experience lives. We occasionally take on connected products, smart device interfaces, or complex web platforms, but only where the same psychology-driven approach genuinely applies. If you're not sure whether your project fits, the discovery call is the easiest way to find out.

Most projects run between eight and twelve weeks from the first behavioural research session to the final handover. The exact length depends on platform count, research depth, and the complexity of what you're building. Smaller, single-platform projects can move faster. Enterprise programmes with multiple integrations sometimes take longer. We'll give you a clear timeline as part of the proposal.

We'll shape the engagement around what your project actually needs. We don't force projects into a fixed template. If you're under time pressure, we can prioritise the work that matters most. If you need more space for research, we'll build that in. The phases stay the same. The shape of each phase flexes.

All three. Founders building their first product. Product teams trying to lift retention on their second. Enterprise brands launching something new. The work is the same regardless of company size. The thinking applies whether you're building for ten thousand users or ten million.

Send it over. We'll review what you have, identify the gaps, and tell you honestly whether we can build on it or whether starting fresh would actually save you time and money. Sometimes existing work is a strong foundation. Sometimes it has assumptions baked in that need unpicking before anything else can happen. Either way, you'll get a straight answer.

More than zero, less than full-time. Most projects involve a small group from your side: the founder or product owner, a technical lead if you have one, and anyone close to your users. We run structured workshops at key points where their input shapes the direction. Outside those, we work largely independently. Expect to spend roughly half a day a fortnight in active sessions, plus reviews.

Same as working with us in person, minus the travel. Workshops happen on video calls. Research and design reviews happen in shared documents and recorded walkthroughs. We're a UK-based team but most of our clients are remote, and the work translates well. If you need an in-person session at a critical point, we'll come to you.

We expect them to. Most projects discover something during research that changes how the work should land. That's the point of doing this kind of work first. Where the change is meaningful, we adjust the brief together. Where it's significant enough to reshape the engagement, we'll be honest about what that means for scope, timeline, and cost.

Yes, it's Standard practice on every project. We can sign yours or use our own, whichever is easier. The work we do is confidential by default.

Yes. If you already have a design system or brand guidelines, the work we do extends and respects them rather than starting over. The Feel Factor methodology is about what your product makes people feel, not about visual style. The two work together, but they're separate questions.

Ready when you are

Start a conversation about your project.