The design partnerfor teams building with AI.

You still need someone to own design: the UX, the craft, the system it all runs on. We do it the way modern teams ship now, designing with AI, prototyping to learn, and handing your developers a design system they can build on.

“Big difference from static Figma. It closes the gap and requires less imagination.”
Jordan Gal
Jordan Gal
Founder & CEO @ Hey Rosie

Recent Work

We love crafting pixel-perfect designs.

Building got easy. Deciding didn't.

AI collapsed the cost of building. What it didn't collapse is knowing what to build, how to sequence it, and how to talk about it. That judgment is now where product outcomes are won or lost. We've spent 22 years across starting, buying, and exiting companies learning exactly that, and we bring it to your product as an embedded partner.

Prototype-First Discovery

See the Product Before You Commit to It

Static mockups ask you to imagine how a product will feel and trust that your imagination matches ours. Working prototypes remove the leap of faith. You click through real interactions, react to real behavior, and find out what you're actually building while it's still cheap to change your mind.

See the Product Before You Commit to It illustration

Crafting detailed prototypes

Interactive mini apps you can put in front of your team and users, not frames you have to explain.

Easy to change, fast to learn

Iterate on the idea itself, not just the pixels. Kill weak directions in days, not sprints.

Decisions made visible

Every prototype is a decision you can stand inside before production makes it permanent.

Senior judgment & taste

Decades of product experience deciding what deserves to exist, not just how it looks.

How Engagements Flow

Upstream First, Then Shape, Then Ship

Most of the value we create happens before anything is built. Engagements are weighted toward working through uncertainty with you: what to build, how to sequence it, how to tell its story. Then we shape it into a product direction, and only then move into production.

Upstream First, Then Shape, Then Ship illustration

Working through

We open with discovery questions, not scope questions. The goal is surfacing what's uncertain, not estimating deliverables.

Shaping

Prototypes converge into a clear product direction your whole team can see and agree on.

Producing

AI-accelerated production, guided by everything the prototype already resolved.

Embedded, not on-demand

Slack, Looms, and check-ins as a partner inside your team, not a ticket queue.

Production Experience, On Tap

Judgment You Can Trust Because We've Shipped

A prototype from someone who's never carried a product to production is a guess. Ours is a bet with informed odds. We've shipped across Framer, Webflow, and custom Next.js and React, so when the prototype says 'build this,' we know what that costs and how to get there.

Judgment You Can Trust Because We've Shipped illustration

Prototype to production

We can translate prototype code toward your production stack, so discovery work feeds the build instead of getting thrown away.

Your stack, respected

Framer, Webflow, or custom React. We recommend based on your product, not our preference.

AI-ready design systems

Documentation and tokens structured so AI coding tools and humans read from the same source of truth.

No lock-in

Monthly retainer, pause or cancel anytime. We earn the next month every month.

A prototype-first approach was great. It's nice to be able to iterate fast, and it would be nice to have a way for the LLM to translate that back into the actual app seamlessly.
Andy Berkowitz
Andy Berkowitz
Founder & CEO @ Suggestion Ox

Don't just take our word for it

Some of the clients we've had the pleasure to work with.

“Unlike freelancers and agencies I've used, Francois and his team take a true partnership approach to design. They always envision themselves as “owners” in the outcomes which leads to a much higher quality of work and service. 10 out of 10, would recommend!”

Will Andre
Will Andre
CEO @ NodCards
Will Andre logo

“I've had the pleasure of working with Francois as our UX designer for the last few years at Castos, and can't say enough great things. Him starting Clearly Design as a design-as-a-service offering is a no brainer. If you're a SaaS company looking to put product and design first, work with Francois. Your MRR will thank you.”

Craig Hewitt

“Clearly Design is a wonderful solution for any business that needs top-notch design work. I had the best experience and was impressed by the designs, turn around time, and communication. Truly a great experience!”

Krish

“Francois has consistently demonstrated exceptional skills and dedication in website development for Camps with Friends. His clear communication, timely deliveries, and unwavering commitment to providing a high-quality product have made working with him a remarkable experience. We wholeheartedly recommend his design services for anyone seeking top-notch branding, marketing websites, and product design.”

Jason Mellet

“Francois is an incredibly talented creative with strong creative direction, user experience research and development, and hands-on design production. Francois is one of the people I will always want on my team.”

Michael Masson
Michael Masson

Executive Creative Director @ Group Africa Marketing

“Francois and his team have helped me personally as well as Canada Abroad with numerous design and website projects and are still easily approachable to provide advice to help out when required. I've dealt with a lot of IT professionals in my career but there aren't many who understand exactly what is required straight off the bat and have the familiarity to lead you to a new and innovative solution and design. I can without a doubt vouch that you will be in safe hands with Francois and his team from Clearly Design.”

Werner Lans

“Francois ran a brand and website refresh project for Bean Ninjas which I was super happy with! We've received compliments on our new website. But not only does it look great it's helping us to have conversations with more potential clients. Francois worked collaboratively with our copywriter and was a strong project manager and communicator throughout. I highly recommend his services.”

Meryl Johnston

“Francois is brilliant both from a creative and development point of view. His attention to detail is astounding and he consistently delivers top quality work and on time. He is able to grasp any brief I send him but is also proactive enough to suggest his own ideas and additions which are always welcome. I have never dealt with such a stable, creative genius!”

I
Isabel van Niekerk

Account Director @ eMethod

“Francois is exactly what you want in a designer: fast, effective, and pleasant to work with.”

Ben Orenstein
Ben Orenstein
Co-founder @ Tuple

“Francois brings a level of detail and dedication to his craft that is unmatched in the space. His ability to bring even the most vague concepts to life is a true super power!”

Matt Medeiros
Matt Medeiros

Founder/Publisher @ WP Minute

“Having worked with numerous designers in the past, I can confidently say that Francois brings an unrivaled level of detail and product thinking. He goes beyond just the aesthetics of design, always digging deeper to consider how design decisions impact the product, brand, and the broader customer experience. You definitely want Francois on your product team!”

Roeland van Nieuwkerk
Roeland van Nieuwkerk
CTO @ Wealthstack

“Amazing! Our site has been live only a couple weeks and I've already received several comments about how great it looks. Our message is presented loudly and clearly. For previous websites I've had to be much more involved in the minutia. Francois took our ideas and copy, and came up with a beautiful design in the first go. He made the whole process very easy, stress-free, and we have a beautiful result!”

Isaac Smith
Isaac Smith
Founder, TeamUp

“If your team needs great design, but you don't want to hire in-house, I highly recommend checking out our designer partner at Rosie, Clearly Design. Flat monthly fee, quick turnaround, and high level of execution. We've been with Francois for months and it's made a tremendous impact on the business.”

Jordan Gal

“Francois is an amazing talent. They made the process of rebranding my company extremely easy. From helping with the visual aspect to also creating a lot of copy based on the resources I provided, we managed to roll out a fresh, modern website that looks incredible in under 3 months. His communication and follow up is amazing and gives constructive feedback along the way to ensure you are making the best choices for your business. Will continue using Francois for all my design needs in the future.”

Brett Keppler
Brett Keppler
CEO, Nekst

“Francois is a magician! If there is anything digital you would like to do, Francois can make it happen, with style, finesse and most importantly, on time. I learnt a great deal when working with Francois on the Kaya FM website. The turn around times were enough to break anyone, but Francois always had a way to present the solution on time. Working with Francois was a great pleasure. I would recommend him and Creative Ink any day!”

Ben Mamathuba
Ben Mamathuba

Account Director @ Creative Ink

“Had the privilege of collaborating on a few projects with Francois. He's super talented and easy to work with. :)”

Jessica Malnik

Where we're excellent

From resolving what to build, to shaping it, to getting it shipped.

Product Discovery & Design service illustration

Product Discovery & Design

  • Working prototypes as discovery instruments
  • UX strategy, audits, and product direction
  • Interface design and design systems
  • Prototype-to-production handoff
Websites service illustration

Websites

  • Storytelling and positioning made visible
  • Performant marketing websites
  • Key landing pages
  • Framer or Webflow development
Branding service illustration

Branding

  • Naming, strategy, and positioning
  • Corporate identity and guidelines
  • Narrative that's load-bearing from day one
  • Social and launch assets

Clear Pricing

Choose how deeply we embed with your team.

Standard

Delivering design work as and when you need it, completely asynchronously.

$4,995 /month

Pause or cancel anytime.

What's Included

  • One workstream at a time
  • Completely Async with weekly progress updates
  • 24/7 access to Figma designs
  • Looms & Dedicated Slack Channel
  • Prototype-first discovery on every workstream
  • Framer/WebFlow Development
  • Motion Design
  • Unlimited requests & revisions
  • Credit Card or Invoice payments
  • Pause or cancel anytime
  • Money-back guarantee

Advanced

Double the capacity with availability for check-ins as required.

$7,495 /month

Pause or cancel anytime.

What's Included

  • Two workstreams at a time
  • Continuous progress updates with check-ins as needed
  • Integrate with your engineering team
  • Looms, Slack & Check-ins
  • Seamless project management
  • Custom Components built in TailwindCSS (React or HTML)
  • Prototype-to-production translation
  • Framer/WebFlow Development
  • Motion Design
  • Unlimited requests & revisions
  • Credit Card or Invoice payments
  • Pause or cancel anytime
  • Money-back guarantee
* Pricing in USD. Canadian Clients are subject to sales tax.

How it Works

From your messiest open question to a decision you can ship. Here's how we work with your team.

1

Start with discovery

We onboard, then open with discovery questions, not scope questions. What's uncertain? What decision is blocking you?

2

Prototype the answer

We work through it as a working prototype you can react to, share, and pressure-test. Iterate until the direction is obvious.

3

Ship with confidence

With the decision resolved, production moves fast. We design, build, or hand off to your team with everything AI-ready.

Questions

See if these help answer your questions or reach out — we're here to help.

Latest Articles

Practical guidance for product teams navigating the intersection of design and technology.

Let's figure out what you're really building

Jump on a discovery call. Bring your messiest open question, the one that's blocking the build. That's exactly where we start.