The Idea
Traditional freelance design is a friction machine. Proposals, scope negotiations, hourly tracking, invoice chasing, status-update emails. The actual design work is surrounded by process overhead that serves nobody well.
I wanted to build the opposite. A design service that runs like a SaaS product: flat monthly subscription, async request queue, automatic billing, no meetings unless the client wants them. The client gets a designer. I get to focus on the work. The administration disappears.
>_key insight“The best service is one where the client doesn't have to think about the process. Just the output.”
// design_process
- 01
Subscribe
Client picks a plan and pays via Stripe Checkout. No contract. No proposal. Active the same day
- 02
Onboard
Stripe webhook triggers: Linear project created, welcome email sent, client portal access provisioned. Zero manual steps.
- 03
Request
Client submits design requests directly in Linear, as specific or as open-ended as they need. Attachments, references, context all welcome
- 04
Design
Work delivered to a shared Figma workspace. Async daily updates. Typical turnaround: 1–3 days per request
- 05
Iterate
Client reviews in Figma, leaves comments. Revisions included. No round limits, no change requests, no renegotiation.
- 06
Ship
For web deliverables: optional build and deploy to Vercel. Client gets a live URL, not just a file
The Automation Stack
The entire client lifecycle is automated. When a Stripe subscription activates, a serverless function on Vercel fires: the Linear project is created, the client portal is provisioned, and the welcome sequence begins. No human involvement required.
A Vercel cron job polls Linear's API every 15 minutes and syncs request status to the client dashboard so clients have live visibility into progress without needing a Linear account. Billing, dunning, and cancellation all flow through Stripe webhooks to the same serverless layer.
The marketing site and client portal are a single Next.js app on Vercel. Every pull request gets a preview deployment. The entire infrastructure costs less than a lunch per month.
0
hours of admin work per client per month
0 days
average request-to-delivery turnaround
0
active clients at launch, zero paid marketing
0%
retention rate in the first 6 months
What This Project Taught Me
Building this solo across design, frontend, backend, infrastructure, copy, and pricing confirmed something I suspected: the line between design and engineering is a professional convention, not a cognitive one. The subscription model, the async workflow, the onboarding sequence: these are design decisions as much as the UI is.
The project also proved that automation is the highest form of UX. The best interaction is the one that doesn't need to happen. Every admin task I eliminated was a decision the client never had to make.