Puget Digital

Overview

[LIVE IN DECEMBER 2025]

Puget Digital was delivering enterprise-tier E-Commerce solutions while operating in digital stealth mode. The agency suffered from an "Invisible Excellence" paradox: top-tier output masked by a non-existent web presence. I led the end-to-end creation of their digital flagship, owning strategy, design, motion, and development. This case study covers how I translated a nimble business philosophy into a high-performance digital ecosystem, moving from concept to live code in just 8 weeks.

Goals
  1. Establish "Agency-Tier" Credibility Move the brand perception from "freelance network" to "strategic partner" to compete with legacy firms without the bloat.

  2. Engineer a "System," Not Just Pages Create a modular design system and CMS structure that allows the CEO to deploy new case studies in minutes, not days.

  3. Execute at Speed (No-Handoff) Eliminate the friction between design and dev. By handling both, I ensured 100% visual fidelity and a hard Q4 launch deadline.

My Role + Responsibilities

Lead Product Designer & Creative Director. Owned the entire product lifecycle. Defined the brand strategy, designed the UI/UX system, engineered high-fidelity motion interactions, and executed the frontend development.

Team

1 Lead Designer (Me), 1 Stakeholder (CEO). I operated as the sole product unit; the CEO provided business requirements and content strategy.

Puget Digital

Overview

[LIVE IN DECEMBER 2025]

Puget Digital was delivering enterprise-tier E-Commerce solutions while operating in digital stealth mode. The agency suffered from an "Invisible Excellence" paradox: top-tier output masked by a non-existent web presence. I led the end-to-end creation of their digital flagship, owning strategy, design, motion, and development. This case study covers how I translated a nimble business philosophy into a high-performance digital ecosystem, moving from concept to live code in just 8 weeks.

Goals
  1. Establish "Agency-Tier" Credibility Move the brand perception from "freelance network" to "strategic partner" to compete with legacy firms without the bloat.

  2. Engineer a "System," Not Just Pages Create a modular design system and CMS structure that allows the CEO to deploy new case studies in minutes, not days.

  3. Execute at Speed (No-Handoff) Eliminate the friction between design and dev. By handling both, I ensured 100% visual fidelity and a hard Q4 launch deadline.

My Role
+ Responsibilities

Lead Product Designer & Creative Director. Owned the entire product lifecycle. Defined the brand strategy, designed the UI/UX system, engineered high-fidelity motion interactions, and executed the frontend development.

Team

1 Lead Designer (Me), 1 Stakeholder (CEO). I operated as the sole product unit; the CEO provided business requirements and content strategy.

Puget Digital

Overview

[LIVE IN DECEMBER 2025]

Puget Digital was delivering enterprise-tier E-Commerce solutions while operating in digital stealth mode. The agency suffered from an "Invisible Excellence" paradox: top-tier output masked by a non-existent web presence. I led the end-to-end creation of their digital flagship, owning strategy, design, motion, and development. This case study covers how I translated a nimble business philosophy into a high-performance digital ecosystem, moving from concept to live code in just 8 weeks.

Goals
  1. Establish "Agency-Tier" Credibility Move the brand perception from "freelance network" to "strategic partner" to compete with legacy firms without the bloat.

  2. Engineer a "System," Not Just Pages Create a modular design system and CMS structure that allows the CEO to deploy new case studies in minutes, not days.

  3. Execute at Speed (No-Handoff) Eliminate the friction between design and dev. By handling both, I ensured 100% visual fidelity and a hard Q4 launch deadline.

My Role + Responsibilities

Lead Product Designer & Creative Director. Owned the entire product lifecycle. Defined the brand strategy, designed the UI/UX system, engineered high-fidelity motion interactions, and executed the frontend development.

Team

1 Lead Designer (Me), 1 Stakeholder (CEO). I operated as the sole product unit; the CEO provided business requirements and content strategy.

Client

Puget Digital

Category

Creative Direction, Web Design
Creative Direction, Web Design

Services

Product Design

Timeline

Q4 2025 [launch phase]

Product Duration

2 Months

Problem

Problem

Problem

Puget Digital delivers high-velocity results for e-commerce clients, but their lack of a digital identity created a bottleneck in the sales funnel:


  1. Trust Gap: Without a portfolio site, potential high-ticket clients hesitated to sign, viewing the lack of presence as a risk factor.

  2. Identity Crisis: The brand needed to signal "Premium" and "Fast" simultaneously—two traits that usually conflict in design (Premium usually means heavy/slow).

  3. Scalability Issues: There was no infrastructure to showcase ongoing work.


This case study focuses on the 0 $\to$ 1 build, transforming a business concept into a tangible, high-performance digital product in a strictly time-boxed 2-month window.

Hero Section - Home
Hero Section - Home
Hero Section - Home

Research

Research

Research

Given the accelerated timeline, I utilized Lean UX methodologies to define the "Puget DNA" and identify the market gap.


Methods selected for this goal:


Competitive Audit (Agency Landscape) Analyzed 20+ boutique agencies.

  • Finding: Most competitors felt "bloated" or "corporate."

  • Opportunity: Position Puget Digital as the "Dark Mode" of agencies—sleek, fast, and tech-forward.


Stakeholder Extraction (CEO Interviews)

  • Insight: The agency’s core value is removing overhead.

  • Design Implication: The UI must be stripped of decoration. Every pixel must serve a function. Structure > Fluff.


Persona Mapping I defined two distinct personas to ensure the site spoke to the right decision-makers.


Persona

Description

Pain Points

Design Opportunities

The E-Comm Founder

Visionary, impatient, values speed over process.

- Hates "marketing fluff"

- Thinks agencies are slow

- Needs immediate proof of competence

- "Show, don't tell" hero section

- Micro-interactions that feel "snappy"

- clear metrics in case studies

The Vetted CTO

Technical stakeholder, looks for code quality and process.

- Skeptical of "design-only" portfolios

- Worries about technical debt

- Needs to see the "how"

- High performance scores (Lighthouse)

- Technical breakdown of services

- Clean, semantic structure

Given the accelerated timeline, I utilized Lean UX methodologies to define the "Puget DNA" and identify the market gap.


Methods selected for this goal:


Competitive Audit (Agency Landscape) Analyzed 20+ boutique agencies.

  • Finding: Most competitors felt "bloated" or "corporate."

  • Opportunity: Position Puget Digital as the "Dark Mode" of agencies—sleek, fast, and tech-forward.


Stakeholder Extraction (CEO Interviews)

  • Insight: The agency’s core value is removing overhead.

  • Design Implication: The UI must be stripped of decoration. Every pixel must serve a function. Structure > Fluff.


Persona Mapping I defined two distinct personas to ensure the site spoke to the right decision-makers.


Persona

Description

Pain Points

Design Opportunities

The E-Comm Founder

Visionary, impatient, values speed over process.

- Hates "marketing fluff"

- Thinks agencies are slow

- Needs immediate proof of competence

- "Show, don't tell" hero section

- Micro-interactions that feel "snappy"

- clear metrics in case studies

The Vetted CTO

Technical stakeholder, looks for code quality and process.

- Skeptical of "design-only" portfolios

- Worries about technical debt

- Needs to see the "how"

- High performance scores (Lighthouse)

- Technical breakdown of services

- Clean, semantic structure

Given the accelerated timeline, I utilized Lean UX methodologies to define the "Puget DNA" and identify the market gap.


Methods selected for this goal:


Competitive Audit (Agency Landscape) Analyzed 20+ boutique agencies.

  • Finding: Most competitors felt "bloated" or "corporate."

  • Opportunity: Position Puget Digital as the "Dark Mode" of agencies—sleek, fast, and tech-forward.


Stakeholder Extraction (CEO Interviews)

  • Insight: The agency’s core value is removing overhead.

  • Design Implication: The UI must be stripped of decoration. Every pixel must serve a function. Structure > Fluff.


Persona Mapping I defined two distinct personas to ensure the site spoke to the right decision-makers.


Persona

Description

Pain Points

Design Opportunities

The E-Comm Founder

Visionary, impatient, values speed over process.

- Hates "marketing fluff"

- Thinks agencies are slow

- Needs immediate proof of competence

- "Show, don't tell" hero section

- Micro-interactions that feel "snappy"

- clear metrics in case studies

The Vetted CTO

Technical stakeholder, looks for code quality and process.

- Skeptical of "design-only" portfolios

- Worries about technical debt

- Needs to see the "how"

- High performance scores (Lighthouse)

- Technical breakdown of services

- Clean, semantic structure

Motion Graphic - Home
Motion Graphic - Home
Motion Graphic - Home

Design + Development

Design + Development

Design + Development

A. The "Adaptive" Design System I rejected the traditional "template" approach in favor of a modular grid system. The layout uses high-contrast typography and negative space to create authority.

  • Strategy: Created a "Bento Box" style component library in Figma that translates directly to CSS Grid.

  • Outcome: A scalable design language that looks senior and established on Day 1.


B. Motion as Narrative (60fps) Static pages feel cheap. I engineered motion interactions to guide the user's eye and signify "premium" quality.

  • Implementation: Used distinct easing curves for "reveal" animations versus "interaction" animations.

  • Outcome: The site feels like a piece of software, not a brochure, aligning with the "Digital Solutions" value prop.


C. The "Zero-Loss" Development Build To hit the December deadline, I merged the design and dev phases. By building the frontend personally, I removed the translation loss that usually happens during handoffs.

  • Tech Stack: React / Next.js (or Webflow - adjust as needed) for speed and SEO.

  • Outcome: 100% visual fidelity between the Figma file and the production build.



Home Page Animation:




Services - Animation:




About Us - Animation:


CTA - Home
CTA - Home
CTA - Home

Results

Results

Results

  • System Readiness: A production-ready design system has been established, allowing the agency to scale content immediately after launch.

  • Brand Elevation: The new visual language has been approved by stakeholders and successfully differentiates Puget Digital from traditional heavy agencies.

  • Deployment Velocity: On track to deliver a fully responsive, motion-integrated site within the strict 8-week window.

  • Stakeholder Feedback: “The result is precise, top-notch, and perfectly captures our nimble nature.” — Yuri Karpenko, CEO.



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