New Friend Turns One
New Friend Studio has officially completed one full orbit around the sun. Get excited because this significant milestone is worth celebrating!
Building New Friend Studio has been a dream come true. There have been many ups, downs, and lessons learned along the way, which makes reaching this one-year mark even more special. I’m thrilled to report that New Friend Studio had a fantastic year, filled with kickass clients, noteworthy projects, and much more.
Here are five highlights from the year
Building the New Friend Brand
I remember lying in bed wide awake, dreaming up what would become New Friend Studio. The name came to me first, and from there, the brand started to take shape. I went through stacks of paper, doodling versions of the logo over and over again. After about two weeks of endless exploration, I had a brand that represented the exact look and feel I wanted for my design studio: approachable, professional, and trustworthy. Since then, I’ve redesigned the website, but the brand remains strong.
Client and Designer Connection
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some exceptional clients throughout the year. Many of them found New Friend Studio through social media or word of mouth. Startup CEOs, established agencies, and individuals with a passion project have all come to New Friend Studio for exceptional UX/UI design and strategy. I feel lucky to have worked with and forged strong connections with each of my clients, AKA great people.
Process Refinement
They say practice makes perfect, but in my experience, practice makes process. There was a lot of trial and error throughout the year that resulted in the process I follow now at New Friend Studio.
Every project is unique, so this process has to be flexible to meet the needs of the client, their timeline, and business objectives. Along with refining my process, I also trimmed the fat so I could prioritize client work and business needs without getting burnt out. Here’s a snapshot of my current process.
Project kickoff call with the client
Discovery week to establish the project scope
Market research
User journey flows
Full product wireframes
Visual design
Prototype and test
Projects Completed
In one year, New Friend Studio has successfully delivered seven completed projects to happy clients. These projects ranged from two-week sprints to six-month-long engagements.
This is very exciting, but we also need to acknowledge the projects that didn’t make it. I reached out to a total of twenty-two clients who either ghosted me or we simply couldn’t make it work because of budget, timeline, or goal misalignment.
Life Balance
I quickly discovered a magical bonus to running my own studio: having control over my time. On a perfect week (which is most weeks), I’m able to complete my client work between Monday and Thursday, so Friday becomes a free day.
On my Friday free days, I like to work on creative side projects for New Friend Studio, or I simply lie in my hammock and read a book. The extra free time is a gift that I don’t take for granted.
So, that’s everything! Five highlights from a fantastic first year with New Friend Studio. I’m looking forward to many more milestones worth celebrating in the future. The best is yet to come.
