About Golden Dog
Meet the people behind the pixels.
We’re a small creative studio dedicated to helping good businesses look brilliant and reach their full potential, be it online or in print.
Meet the team
The Developer and the Distraction.
Designer, developer & manager
Steve McIlwaine
With over 10 years of development experience and a degree in Graphic Design, Steve has done work for a range of agencies and companies, including Games Workshop, Naked Wines and Soak Digital. In his spare time, he enjoys anything tech, playing guitar and gaming.
Chief Motivation Officer & Good Boy
Joey
Born in Skegness, Joey has worked his way up from tiny water-bowl swimmer to Chief Motivation Officer. His duties include enforcing breaks to the local parks, fetching very important assets from the company toy basket and keeping employee morale as high as possible.
Here's our process.
Every project is different. However, this is a rough glimpse into what can be expected whe you work with us...
Before anything gets moving, it's always a good idea to get a decent understanding of who you are and what you do. We have a questionnaire form that can get us started, but if that's not your thing we can just have a chat. The questions aren't too in-depth - they mainly cover things like "what would you say is your unique selling point?", and "are there any examples of websites or designs that you personally like?".
Next we move onto brainstorming and wireframing. Using the information about you, and after a bit of audience and competitor research, we will come up with a rough guideline design alongside a few key visuals. At this stage, we can chat through the approach and make sure we're all aligned on what's a direction and what is expected of the project. Once we've done that, Golden Dog will work on some refined designs.
A set of designs will be made up based on the initial feedback. Don't worry; once they're done they are not set in stone. We will then share the designs with you for a final design pass so that the designs can be tweaked based on your feedback and thoughts.
Game time. We have designs and concepts in place. It's now time to get the things made. This is when the websites, branding and/or design templates will be made. Once these are in a shareable state, Golden Dog will be in touch to run you through what we have.
This is the last step in the project - the finish line. We will do a final check over everything together to make sure you are happy with the results, and final tweaks will be made.
Websites get deployed to the production environment (a.k.a they go live). Design files are sent over, ready to be sent to the printers. Logos are collated together in various files and formats so they can be reused anywhere.
The final part of the chain. You didn't think we were going to leave you high-and-dry, did you? This is the part where we make sure you have everything you need to hit the ground running. Any helpful docs or support pages are shared, and from this point you know how to find us should you need us!
Still have some questions about anything? Is there more you'd like to know? Please get in touch, we'd be happy to chat about it!
Why us over an agency
Small dog, big personality.
Sometimes it makes sense to go with a big agency, but for most projects it isn’t necessary. Here are some reasons why it a smaller studio is a better choice:
Relationship
In this together
We treat your business like it’s our own. We deliberately take on fewer projects so you get our undivided attention and a partnership that genuinely cares about your success.
Communication
Straight to the source
Skip the broken telephone. You brainstorm, plan, and review directly with the person designing and building your site. No account managers, just clear and honest chats.
Process
Fast on our feet
Without layers of agency red tape to navigate, we have the freedom to move quickly, make decisions fast, and adapt your project on the fly without the friction.
Value
Premium quality, zero bloat
Big agencies come with big overheads. By keeping our studio lean, your entire budget goes exactly where it belongs - into the work, instead of a company pool table and beer fridge.