The Inverse Method
Brand, product, and UX design for small businesses and startups that need to launch, learn, and improve — not just look finished. I build real things, put them in the world, watch what breaks, and redesign from truth.
Same product. Same expertise. Different theory of who the buyer is. The first draft assumed buyers wanted industrial vocabulary to feel professional. Grace trusts buyers to want clarity. The second theory was correct.
Ship the real thing. No waiting for perfect — a working version, in the world, fast.
Watch what actually fails. Real use surfaces the truth a plan never could.
Redesign from evidence, not assumption. Sharper every time. Repeat.
Every project on this site went through this cycle — including the one below.
The Inverse Method · Built. Broken. Rebuilt.
Three depths of The Inverse Method. Same cycle — build, break, rebuild — different scope.
From $2,000
You get: Visual identity (logo, color, type), one statement landing page, brand guidelines doc, and a working contact form. Two-week turnaround. Single round of revisions included.
Not included: copywriting (you provide final text), SEO strategy, e-commerce/booking functionality, ongoing maintenance after handoff.
Best for: launches, side projects, sharp first impressions.
Request a ProposalFrom $4,500
You get: Multi-page custom website (up to 8 pages), responsive design, UI/UX flows, brand system, e-commerce or booking integration (Stripe + Payhip, up to 15 products or a single booking calendar using standard checkout — custom cart logic or multi-vendor setups are scoped separately), and domain/hosting setup. Four to six week build. Two rounds of revisions.
Not included: copywriting beyond light editing of your draft, paid SEO/ads setup, ongoing hosting maintenance after handoff, support beyond the revision window.
Best for: small businesses, service operators, productized brands.
Request a ProposalFrom $8,000
You get: Complete brand identity, multi-page website with custom motion (bespoke scroll-triggered animations and micro-interactions, like this site's own — not video or 3D production), product or app design, ongoing art direction, and three months of post-launch support — watching what breaks after launch and rebuilding it, same as every project on this site. Eight to twelve week engagement.
Not included: paid ad management, content writing at scale (e.g. ongoing blog posts), retainer support beyond the three-month window (available as a separate agreement).
Best for: established businesses ready to own their space completely.
Request a ProposalDomains and hosting accounts are set up in your name — you own them from day one, not me. Every engagement starts with a written proposal that locks in exact scope, deliverables, and revision rounds before any work begins, so nothing above is a surprise later.
Productized, fast-turn engagements for when you don't need a full studio build.
From $750
Stuck on Wix or Squarespace? Get off cleanly. Modern stack, kept-or-improved content, working email, no broken links. Real handoff — not "here are the keys."
Tell Me About ItFrom $1,500
Print-on-demand store, set up to sell. From "I have product ideas" to "checkout is live" in under two weeks. Design, integration, file delivery — all wired.
Tell Me About ItFrom $500
Critique and recommendations doc. No rebuild — just a sharp read of what's working, what's not, and what to do about it. Best starting point when you're not sure what you need yet.
Tell Me About ItFrom $1,200
One page, designed to convert. Strategy session, custom design, copy, ship in 5–7 days. For product launches, lead capture, and single statements.
Tell Me About It"I build it real before I build it right."
Shattered Indigo is an independent design studio founded by Sloane Indigo. The work is brand systems, product and app design, and websites for small businesses, service operators, and founders building real things.
The studio works by The Inverse Method: build first, ship into the world, watch what breaks, then rebuild from truth. Every client engagement is treated the same way — Grace Mills, Sheffield Grave Care, Confection, all live, all iterated against real use.
Stripe + Payhip checkout, Netlify hosting, hand-coded sites that load fast and stay maintainable. No frameworks for the sake of frameworks. The work has to ship — and keep working after it ships.
Hiring as a designer for a role? See Sloane's personal portfolio →
Most designers imagine the problem. I've lived it. Two seasons running Sheffield Grave Care. A baking business I still operate today, under a different name for privacy. Every system I design, I've needed myself first.
What's live, what's being rebuilt, what's coming next.
Operations manuals for serious bakers. Fourth rebrand. Migrated off Wix to a static stack. Editorial pacing, e-commerce wired through Payhip and Stripe. Live site kept private by request — gallery available on the project card above.
Built it. Ran it. Now redesigning from operational truth. Sage palette, mobile-first booking, compassionate language. Real business with real customers — and real lessons from actually operating it.
View Live ↗Booking and operations system for custom cake businesses. Built by someone who knows the industry from the inside. Persona research complete, full task flow mapped, live deployment in active iteration.
View Build ↗The studio itself. Refining the cool gothic execution. Built. Broken. Rebuilt — applied to the studio brand the same way it's applied to client work.
View Work ↗Small businesses. Startups. Anyone who needs design that actually ships into the real world.
I respond within 48 hours. Real human. Real reply.