The manuscript, transcribed
፩ — The Beginning
Strategy · Design · Engineering · Addis Ababa
studio.et is
the newest scribe.
Ethiopia has illuminated pages for fifteen hundred years, carved churches out of living rock, and defended its sovereignty at Adwa. studio.et makes the work that lives on screens, to the same standard.
We decide what it should be.
We design how it works.
We build it, and we ship it.
Strategy, interfaces, websites and software, made under one roof by the people you actually talk to. Few clients. Full attention.
፪ — The Standard
Most of the web
is built to be replaced.
Redesigned every two years. Patched until nobody remembers why it works. That's what happens when strategy, design and engineering are bought from three different people and no one owns the whole.
We own the whole, and we hold it to an older standard: made to be looked at closely, built to hold its ground.
You're inside our portfolio. Every scene, every transition and every line of code on this page was directed and built in Addis Ababa. If it held your attention, imagine it holding your customers'.
፫ — The Workshop
Four disciplines.
One room.
Strategy, design, engineering and launch happen at the same table, with the same people. Nothing gets lost in a handoff, because there isn't one.
I. Strategy
Before anything is drawn. Positioning, product direction and the paths people will actually take. We settle what matters before it costs pixels or code.
II. Design
An interface is a set of decisions. We design structure, interaction and visual language as one system, so complex things feel obvious.
III. Engineering
Websites, applications and the software behind them, built by the people who designed them. Fast, accessible, and readable by search engines and screen readers alike.
IV. Launch
Release is where the real test starts. We ship it, watch how it's used, and fix what deserves a second look.
፬ — The Terms
Everything agreed
before anything is drawn.
IN WRITING
Scope
Every engagement starts with a written scope: what we'll make, by when, and for how much, agreed before any work begins. The number doesn't move unless the scope does.
IN WRITING
Ownership
You own everything we make: the designs, the code, the files, the accounts. No licence fees, no hostage situations.
IN WRITING
People
You work directly with the people doing the work. No account managers between you and the person drawing your product.
IN WRITING
Time
Addis Ababa runs on UTC+3. Our working day overlaps almost entirely with Europe and the Gulf, and with the US East Coast's mornings.
IN WRITING
Payment
We work with clients anywhere. Currency, schedule and method are set in the contract before we start, so the only surprise is the work.
If it isn't in writing, it isn't part of the deal. That protects you more than it protects us.
፭ — The Threshold
Not every door
opens.
We take on a small number of engagements at a time, so each one gets the attention it was promised. That means choosing. Before we say yes, we ask three questions:
Is the problem real?
Something that matters to your business if it's solved, not a redesign for its own sake.
Can the room decide?
A founder, a board or an owner who can make a call in a week, not a quarter.
Is there room to do it properly?
Enough time and budget that we won't have to cut corners you'll pay for later.
Three yeses, and we're in.
If you need a logo by Friday, a template filled in, or a vendor who takes orders, we're the wrong studio. We'll say so in the first conversation, and point you to someone better suited.
፮ — The Questions
Asked before
you had to.
Can I see your work?
You're looking at it. Every scene you've scrolled through was directed and built here. A portfolio shows you what a studio did for someone else; this one shows you what we do when nobody sets the limits.
How much does it cost?
We don't sell packages, so we don't publish rates. Every engagement is shaped around its problem, scoped in writing, and priced before you commit to anything. If the ambition and the budget don't match, we'll say so in the first conversation, before either of us has spent a thing.
Why a studio in Addis Ababa?
Because where the work is made matters less than how it's made. In practice: senior people on your project, a working day that overlaps with Europe's, and nobody in the chain between you and the person doing the work.
How long does it take?
As long as the work needs, and not a week of padding more. Every scope comes with dates. Products are delivered in phases, with something real in your hands at the end of each one.
Who will I actually work with?
The people making it. You'll know their names on the first day.
What happens after launch?
We stay through launch and refine whatever deserves a second look. After that, keep us on for ongoing design and product support, or take everything and go. Either way, you own it.
How do you choose?
See ፭. We meant it.
፯ — The Return
Serious work begins
with a serious question.
Tell us what you're building, why it matters, and who decides. Every request is read by a person, and every serious one gets an answer, even when the answer is no.