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Shefa;

The studio

We are a design and engineering studio that thinks of itself as one team.

Shefa is an independent practice of nine people in three timezones. We build distinctive websites, brand systems, and digital products for founders and operators who care about craft — and we have, deliberately, never grown past the size where everyone fits in one room.

Shefa was founded in 2018 by Yara El-Hadi and Daniel Roussel after a decade of working at larger studios where the people who pitched the work were never the people who made it. We wanted a different shape: a small team that owned projects end-to-end, and a client list short enough that we knew every name.

What we believe

Most studios sell themselves on aesthetic. We try to sell on operating model. Aesthetics matter — they are the visible surface of every decision we make — but they are downstream of the way the team is organised.

We believe that a senior team of nine, working on three projects at a time, can produce better work than a studio of fifty working on twenty. We have organised the entire business around that premise.

Aesthetics are the visible surface of every decision a studio makes. They are downstream of how the team is organised.

How we work

Every engagement begins with a two-week paid diagnostic. We read the business, talk to customers, audit the surface, and produce a written direction with a phased roadmap. Roughly half of diagnostics convert into a full engagement; the other half take the roadmap and execute it themselves. We are happy with both outcomes.

Principles

Four short rules that decide almost everything.

  • 01

    Small by design

    We will never be more than ten people. Every project gets a senior team. Account managers are not a thing here.

  • 02

    Make, then measure

    We ship work, then read the data. Performance budgets, conversion targets, and Lighthouse scores are part of the deliverable.

  • 03

    One studio, one team

    Design and engineering are not separate disciplines on our side of the table. The people who design the system also run the code.

  • 04

    Honest scope

    Fixed bids, fixed deliverables, written up front. Surprises are a failure mode, not a billing strategy.

Team

The nine people you will actually work with.

  • Yara El-Hadi

    Founder, creative direction

    Twelve years in editorial and brand identity, formerly at Pentagram and Order. Leads art direction across the studio.

  • Daniel Roussel

    Founder, engineering

    Front-end engineer with a decade in agencies. Owns the technical practice — performance, accessibility, and the way the code feels.

  • Mira Okafor

    Design lead

    Brand systems and product UI. Spent four years building a design system for a Series C fintech before joining the studio.

  • Ren Tashiro

    Engineering lead

    Full-stack with a focus on commerce and CMS architecture. Likes Postgres, dislikes magic.

Plus five more — a producer, two engineers, a brand designer, and a motion lead. We will introduce you to everyone on your project on day one.

Services

Four disciplines, one team.

Brand identity

Naming, identity systems, voice, and the operating documents that keep them coherent as the company grows.

  • · Naming + verbal identity
  • · Logo & wordmark
  • · Color, type, motion
  • · Brand book + governance

Websites

Editorial marketing sites and complex commerce, hand-built on Next.js with performance budgets we will not cross.

  • · Marketing & flagship sites
  • · E-commerce + Stripe
  • · Headless CMS
  • · Migration from Webflow / WP

Product design

Interface design for software teams who care about craft. We work alongside engineering, not at the edge of it.

  • · App + dashboard design
  • · Design systems
  • · Front-end engineering
  • · Accessibility audits

Studio retainer

An ongoing relationship — design and engineering capacity available on a monthly basis, in exchange for not having to hire ahead of need.

  • · Dedicated team
  • · Weekly cadence
  • · Shared roadmap
  • · No surprise invoices

Process

Four phases, written down.

  1. 01

    Diagnostic

    Two paid weeks. We read the business, talk to customers, audit the current surface, and produce a written direction with a phased roadmap.

  2. 02

    Design

    Concept, art direction, and a working system. We push the visual language until everyone can see the brand from across the room.

  3. 03

    Build

    We ship the work ourselves. Engineering is not a hand-off; the same team that designed the system runs the code that renders it.

  4. 04

    Operate

    Most clients stay on a studio retainer. We measure, iterate, and extend the system. The work compounds because it is not abandoned.

Taking projects · Q3 2026

Start with a two-week diagnostic.

Fixed price, fixed scope, written direction at the end. You decide what comes next.

Start a project