Running a design studio or freelance practice often comes with the unspoken expectation that creatives should also excel at business management. Yet, these are two distinct skills—and two very different frames of mind.

As a Design Operations consultant, my mission is to bridge this gap, helping founders and freelancers navigate the operational challenges of their creative businesses.

Why Design Operations Matters

In my early career as a freelancer and later as part of a design studio, I noticed a recurring theme: operational inefficiencies often hindered the creative process.

As creative professionals, our most valuable tool is our mind, and it performs best when there’s clarity and focus. Ideally, we want to dedicate our best hours to solving creative challenges through exploration and deep thinking. However, when running a business—or collaborating with other businesses—operational challenges are inevitable. Managing client communication, project timelines, and business development is not only time-consuming but also incredibly draining. Over time, these demands can pile up, taking a significant toll on our mental well-being and, ultimately, the quality of our work.

That’s why, for me, clear systems and processes aren’t just about staying organized—they’re about freeing up space for creativity to truly thrive.

The Challenges Design Operations Solves

Design studios and freelancers face several common pain points:

• Business Development: Struggling to attract and onboard new clients smoothly.
• Project Management: Delays, bottlenecks, and unclear workflows.
• Time & Task Management: Uneven workload distribution and time wasted on administrative tasks.
• Communication: Miscommunication leading to revisions and missed expectations.
• Customer Experience Design: Ensuring clients feel valued and informed throughout the project.

By addressing these challenges, I help creatives save time on day-to-day tasks, and that further enables them to regain focus as they work with clarity and confidence on their process.

My Approach

Every studio is unique, so I avoid one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, I follow a tailored, four-step process:

1. Audit: Identify challenge areas through a detailed diagnosis, focusing on what’s working and what isn’t.
2. Understanding Studio DNA: Work closely with the founder to articulate their subconscious processes and ensure systems reflect the studio’s identity.
3. System Building: Develop templates and workflows that address challenges while respecting the creative process.
4. Knowledge Transfer: Create training materials to onboard the team and ensure smooth adoption of the new systems.

Some tangible outcomes

My clients see measurable improvements, including:

• Correctly estimating and consistently meeting project deadlines.
• Better workload distribution across teams.
• Smoother and more professional client communication.
• Reduction in revisions and rework.
• Increased focus on design work over administrative tasks.
• Faster onboarding for new team members and projects.

These changes not only improve efficiency but also reduce stress, creating a healthier and more collaborative work environment.

What Makes our Collaboration Unique

My experience across creative disciplines helps me distinguish what can be systemized and what must remain fluid, ensuring that operational efficiency never stifles creative freedom.

I recognize that creativity isn’t a linear process. Design projects often follow a zigzag path of exploration, requiring a balance between free-flowing creativity and structured timelines. And that’s the balance that I aim to achieve in every collaboration.

Where do we begin?

If you’re a design founder with a growing team, let’s setup a short discovery call. On this call, we will be able to create a custom-approach for your studio.

If you’re just starting your design studio or a freelancer, I recommend implementing my Design Ops Starter Kit. It will address the fundamental challenges of business development and project management. We can follow it up with a couple of 1-on-1 consultation sessions for co-creating solutions to more specific challenges.