Service 03

App Design & Development.

Native iOS and Android apps that put your event, your product, or your membership in your audience's pocket. Designed in the same studio that builds the brand and the website — so the app doesn't feel like a side project bolted on.

Start an app engagement → See pricing
Philosophy

An app earns its install — every time.

A website gets a benefit of the doubt. An app doesn't. People download it once and decide in the first week whether it stays on the home screen. We design for that decision: fast launch, one obvious next action, no junk drawer of features. The app shows up when there's a real reason and gets out of the way otherwise.

What you get

Designed, built, shipped to the stores.

01

App Strategy

Use cases, audience map, platform decision (native vs hybrid), monetization or distribution model, and a screen inventory — approved before we open a single Figma file.

02

Information Architecture

Tab structure, navigation patterns, edge cases, empty states, error states. Designed for the moment a user is one-handed, distracted, and on the worst possible network.

03

App Design System

Type, color, spacing, motion language, and a component library. Tuned for both the iOS Human Interface Guidelines and Material Design — without picking a fight with either.

04

Production Build

Native Swift / SwiftUI on iOS. Capacitor (or Kotlin) on Android. CI configured. Push notifications, deep links, analytics, and crash reporting wired up before the first TestFlight.

05

Lock Screen & Home Screen Widgets

iOS widgets for Lock Screen, Home Screen, and StandBy where they earn their pixels — countdowns, status, tap-to-open. Android equivalents on supported devices.

06

Offline & Background

Schedules, tickets, and saved content available offline. Background refresh tuned so the app is current when the user opens it, without draining the battery between launches.

07

App Store Launch

Store listings, screenshots, preview videos, privacy declarations, App Tracking Transparency strings, TestFlight beta cycle, and submission to App Store Review and Play Console.

08

Post-Launch Watch

Crash-free session monitoring, store rating watch, and a written read-out at 30 and 60 days. Bug-fix release within 72 hours of a P1 issue.

How it runs

10–16 weeks. One senior team.

  1. 01

    Strategy · Week 1–2

    Use cases, platform decision, screen inventory, success metrics.

  2. 02

    System · Week 3–4

    Design tokens, tab structure, key flows. Prototyped on real devices.

  3. 03

    Design · Week 5–9

    Every screen, every state. Edge cases, empty states, dark mode.

  4. 04

    Build · Week 10–14

    Native code, services, push, deep links, widgets, QA on real hardware.

  5. 05

    Ship · Week 15–16

    TestFlight beta, store submission, launch, 30-day watch.

Proof

What we've shipped.

A native iOS and Android app for a curated 600-guest weekend at the Mississippi Museum of Art — five tabs, Lock Screen widget, offline schedule, vendor directory, and an end-to-end ticket flow.

Live in the App Store and Google Play — May 2026
Fit check

Who this is (and isn't) for.

Good fit

  • Annual events that need a guest experience the day-of — schedules, tickets, vendor maps, after-party RSVP.
  • Membership organizations whose value lives in the recurring touch — directories, gated content, member benefits.
  • Direct-to-consumer brands ready to graduate from a Shopify storefront to an owned channel with push notifications.
  • Operators who already have brand and web in good shape, and need the third leg to finish the system.

Not a fit

  • Apps whose only function is to wrap an existing responsive website — that's a website with a custom domain icon, not an app.
  • Real-time multiplayer or live video — there are specialist studios we'll refer you to.
  • Cross-platform games or 3D experiences — we focus on utility apps with strong design.
  • Timelines shorter than ten weeks. App Store Review alone is a real number on the calendar.
Stack

What we build on.

Native where it matters. Modern, supported, hireable in five years.

FAQ

Common questions.

Native or hybrid — what do you actually use?

It depends on the work. iOS gets native Swift/SwiftUI almost every time — the platform's design vocabulary is too good to fight, and Lock Screen / StandBy widgets need it. Android we'll often build on Capacitor with a thin native shell when the budget calls for it, and full Kotlin/Compose when the scope justifies it. We'll tell you which on day one with a written rationale.

How do submissions and reviews work?

We handle the entire App Store Connect and Play Console process — screenshots, descriptions, ATT strings, privacy declarations, age rating, and the back-and-forth with App Store Review. Allow about 1–2 weeks for first review and a few days for subsequent updates. We've yet to need an appeal.

Will we own the code?

Yes. You get the repository, the bundle IDs, the certificates, the App Store Connect team, and the documentation. The app is yours. We work on the open web.

Do you do ongoing work after launch?

Yes — most clients roll into a retainer covering bug fixes, store updates, OS-version compatibility, and the next release. Typical scope is 30–80 hrs/month.

Can you brand and build the website too?

Yes — that's the whole point of this studio. Brand + Web + App is one engagement done right, not three vendors stapled together. See the Flagship Launch tier on the Investment page.

Investment

App engagements.

Apps ship inside the Flagship Launch tier — Brand + Web + App as one engagement. Detailed deliverables on the Investment page.

Flagship Launch

$55k – $110k

Brand + Web + App. Strategy through ship.

App Add-on

From $32k

For clients with brand and web already in flight. Native iOS + Android, end-to-end.

Next

Pair it with the rest of the system.

Start here

Ready for an app that earns
a spot on the home screen?