Questions, answered

500 Designs is a brand strategy and website design studio based in Irvine, California, working with founders and marketing teams worldwide. We take a company from positioning through to a launched website: research and brand strategy first, then visual identity direction, then the interface design and development of the site itself.

Most engagements start with a discovery phase of two to three weeks. We interview stakeholders, review the competitive landscape, and look at how people currently find and judge the business. That research is written down rather than kept in someone's head, because positioning decisions made early shape every page, headline, and image that follows.

Design work begins once the strategy is agreed. We present a small number of distinct directions rather than one safe option, and refine a single direction through two rounds of feedback until it holds up on a phone, a laptop, and a large display. Copy, imagery, and motion are designed together, since a page that looks polished but reads poorly still loses the visitor.

Development is handled by the same team that designed the work, which keeps the launched site close to what was approved. We build responsive, accessible pages, connect a content system the client can edit, and hand over documentation at launch. Typical engagements run eight to twelve weeks end to end, with a 50% deposit reserving a place on the studio calendar.