Supported teams raising $12m+

Supported teams raising $12m+

Design smart, early.

Design smart, early.

Startup design for serious founders. Walk away with a scalable design foundation that grows with you.

Startup design for serious founders. Walk away with a scalable design foundation that grows with you.

green wall paint with white paint
green wall paint with white paint
Design foundations for early-stage teams - brand, product, and web
Design foundations for early-stage teams - brand, product, and web

Trusted across Europe and the US

The situation

You're building something real, but design keeps falling through the cracks.

You're building something real, but design keeps falling through the cracks.

You're building something real, but design keeps falling through the cracks.

You're past "just getting it out there"

You have traction and people are paying attention. You need to look professional as you scale, but you're not ready to hire full-time, and agencies feel too slow and expensive for how fast you're moving.

Everything feels disconnected

Different people touched different pieces. Your website doesn't quite match your product. Your brand feels like it belongs to a different project. Nothing's broken, but nothing fits together either.

You're the design reviewer by default

You end up making every decision about colors, layouts, and button styles. Freelancers need constant direction. Design matters, but it's taking time you don't have.

You need someone who can move with you

Priorities shift. What mattered last month doesn't anymore. You're figuring things out as you go. Fixed agency contracts and long hiring processes don't match how you actually work.

Early design decisions compound both ways.

Get the foundations right and everything you build gets easier. Get them wrong and every new decision fights the last one. The difference isn't visible in week one. It's everything by month six.

Selected work

Design work that helped teams raise and grow

Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.
Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.
Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.
Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.
Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.
Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.

Bauplan

$7.5m raised

$7.5m raised

Brand and website for a San Francisco data startup ahead of a $7.5m funding round.

Branding

Branding

UX Design

UX Design

Web Design

Web Design

Framer

Framer

„We love our branding. You did an amazing job!“

Ciro Greco

Co-Founder, Bauplan

Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.
Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.
Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.
Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.
Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.
Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.

Flowers

€6m raised

€6m raised

Product design system for a Munich-based SaaS startup during early growth.

Product UX/UI

Product UX/UI

Design System

Design System

Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.
Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.
Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.
Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.
Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.
Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.

reteach

€1.5m raised

€1.5m raised

Visual refresh for a German e-learning platform entering its next growth phase.

Brand refresh

Brand refresh

UX Design

UX Design

Web Design

Web Design

UX prototype for a global citizen science archive at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.
UX prototype for a global citizen science archive at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.
UX prototype for a global citizen science archive at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.
UX prototype for a global citizen science archive at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.

Library of Lost Books

Grimme Online Award

Grimme Online Award

UX prototype for a global citizen science archive at the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem.

UX Design

UX Design

Prototyping

Prototyping

„Without Felix, it would not have achieved award-winning success.“

„Without Felix, it would not have achieved award-winning success.“

Arne Keunecke, UX/UI Lead, navos create

Arne Keunecke

UX/UI Lead, navos create

Process

Focused on essentials, structured for speed

Focused on essentials, structured for speed

Focused on essentials, structured for speed

01 — Async-first, structured process, AI accelerated

No endless meetings or Slack interruptions. We work in clear phases with dedicated feedback points. AI tools accelerate execution, so we can explore more options faster. But the timeline is about strategic decisions and iteration, not pixel-pushing.

02 — Everything stays connected

Brand, product, and web stay aligned because one person is looking at all of it. Design decisions inform each other instead of conflicting.

Design works best when decisions connect.

A brand system that understands your product. A website that reflects how the product works. Patterns that carry across everything someone experiences.

03 — Built to grow with you

We establish foundations that flex as you grow. Design systems that accommodate new features. Visual language that works at different scales. Choices today that don't limit you tomorrow.

Design foundations for early-stage teams - brand, product, and web
Design foundations for early-stage teams - brand, product, and web

Service options

Two ways to work together

Two ways to work together

Two ways to work together

Start with Foundation to set a growth-ready baseline. Continue with Ongoing Support as you grow.

For more information check the FAQ.

Foundation Program

Connect the dots. Everything you need to look credible and start scaling.

What's included

  • Visual direction

  • Marketing website (designed + built)

  • Social media assets

  • Product design system

  • 3-4 core user flows

  • All production files

Foundation Program

Connect the dots. Everything you need to look credible and start scaling.

What's included

  • Visual direction

  • Marketing website (designed + built)

  • Social media assets

  • Product design system

  • 3-4 core user flows

  • All production files

Ongoing Design Support

Flexible capacity as you grow.

What's included

  • Embedded in your team

  • Shipping every week

  • Cancel every month

Ongoing Design Support

Flexible capacity as you grow.

What's included

  • Embedded in your team

  • Shipping every week

  • Cancel every month

Felix is a delight to work with“

Avantika Prabhakara, Co-Founder, Honey Homes

Avantika Prabhakara

Co-Founder, Honey Homes

Official Framer Expert
Official Framer Expert
Official Framer Expert

Open letter

A note on foundations

Most teams preparing to scale don't need everything. They need the right things.

Most teams preparing to scale don't need everything. They need the right things.

Most teams preparing to scale don't need everything. They need the right things.

A strong wordmark beats a complex logo system that takes weeks to design and won't survive your Series A rebrand anyway.

Three well-designed pages beat ten mediocre ones.

Four core product flows beat a comprehensive design system that tries to cover every edge case before you know what your product actually needs.

The goal isn't perfection. It's getting your foundation solid enough to support growth, then building on it as you scale.

This program focuses on what gets you there: visual direction that holds together, a website that converts, and product design that lets you keep shipping.

Everything else can come later, through Ongoing Support, as your needs evolve.

Felix Dorner

Founder, First Form Design™

Let's ground your venture on a scalable foundation

Articles

Learn what makes design hold together