A small studio doing patient, considered work — since 2011.
Build Wave Design started in 2011 as a two-person studio working out of a shared office in Portland. We had one rule: only take on work we'd be proud of in ten years. That rule still holds.
Today we're six people — designers, developers, and writers — working with law firms, financial advisors, healthcare networks, and the occasional architecture studio. Our clients tend to stay with us for years because we treat their websites the way they treat their businesses: carefully, and for the long term.
We don't chase trends, we don't oversell, and we don't disappear after launch. We answer the phone. We send invoices that match the quote. We ship on the date we promised. It's an unfashionable way to run a studio, which is exactly why it works.
If that sounds like the kind of partner you've been looking for, we'd love to hear from you.
Four things we believe about good websites.
Clarity over cleverness
If a visitor has to think, we've failed. Hierarchy, language, and layout should all point the same direction.
Speed is a feature
A site that loads in 400 milliseconds feels trustworthy. One that takes four seconds feels broken. We choose the first.
Accessible by default
AA is a floor, not a ceiling. Good websites work for everyone, on every device, every time.
Built to outlast a trend
We design for the next decade, not the next refresh. The web changes; good principles don't.