Tech & B2B
· Brand · Website
Creative Cycle
From
From: Too small to compete
From: Too small to compete
From: Too small to compete
From: Too small to compete
To
Small on purpose
Client
Creative Cycle
Creative Cycle
Studio
Creative Cycle, the studio I co-founded
Creative Cycle, the studio I co-founded
My role
Creative direction
Creative direction
Years
2026
2026
Fig. 01
The Creative Cycle site on a phone.
01
The gap
The gap
Starting a design studio in Washington, D.C. means competing with agencies that have huge teams, contract vehicles and decades of reputation. Creative Cycle had none of that. It had a thesis: clients of a small studio get the senior thinking, not the junior team that inherits the work after the pitch.
Starting a design studio in Washington, D.C. means competing with agencies that have huge teams, contract vehicles and decades of reputation. Creative Cycle had none of that. It had a thesis: clients of a small studio get the senior thinking, not the junior team that inherits the work after the pitch.
On one side
A studio competing with teams ten times its size
On one side
A studio competing with teams ten times its size
On the other
Mission-driven organizations that can’t afford to get it wrong
On the other
Mission-driven organizations that can’t afford to get it wrong
02
The translation
The translation
The idea that crossed
Homemade Design.
The idea that crossed
Homemade Design.
What we made
Positioning and brand system
A website designed and built in Framer
Copy and information architecture
Retainer pricing, published on the site
Great work is made from scratch, with care, adjusted to taste. The cooking idea runs through everything: the studio is the kitchen and the work comes freshly made. It sounds playful, and it signals handcraft in a market full of assembly-line agencies. The retainer, $3,500 a month for 40 hours with a dedicated art director, sits right on the site, so the right clients find themselves.
What we made
Positioning and brand system
A website designed and built in Framer
Copy and information architecture
Retainer pricing, published on the site
Great work is made from scratch, with care, adjusted to taste. The cooking idea runs through everything: the studio is the kitchen and the work comes freshly made. It sounds playful, and it signals handcraft in a market full of assembly-line agencies. The retainer, $3,500 a month for 40 hours with a dedicated art director, sits right on the site, so the right clients find themselves.
Fig. 02
Pages from the studio site.
Fig. 02
Pages from the studio site.
Fig. 03
The site on a phone.
Fig. 03
The site on a phone.
03
What happened
What happened
85%
85%
of business from referrals and repeat clients
of business from referrals and repeat clients
40%
40%
faster website launches than industry average
faster website launches than industry average
Zero
Zero
paid advertising since 2017
paid advertising since 2017
Brand system, website and positioning designed and maintained in-house
Brand system, website and positioning designed and maintained in-house
Good to know
Clients include the World Bank, AARP, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, PenFed Foundation, Black Girls CODE × Nike, IronArch Technologies and The Sentencing Project.
04
What I did
What I did
I co-founded Creative Cycle with Jose Caicedo, and I’m its COO and Partner. Together we designed the brand, wrote the copy and built the site in Framer.
I co-founded Creative Cycle with Jose Caicedo, and I’m its COO and Partner. Together we designed the brand, wrote the copy and built the site in Framer.
05
Made with
Made with
Client
Client
Creative Cycle
Studio
Studio
Creative Cycle
Co-founders
Co-founders
Jose Caicedo · Carlos Murguía
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