Vellum+RookTM

We turn early thinking into brands, products and digital work that holds up.

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Studio reel still: a stage washed in low amber light — photo by Nainoa Shizuru on StockSnap, CC0
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Forecast Iberia's grid demand through 2041
About us

Vellum+Rook is a founder-led design studio joining strategy, brand and product. We help ambitious teams turn early ideas and dense platforms into digital work people trust and keep using.

  • Led by four senior design partners
  • Hands-on team, sharper thinking
  • No layers, no junior handoff
  • No gap between thinking and making

Recent Work

Ferrow: a concrete apartment facade in raking daylight — photo by One Idea LLC on StockSnap, CC0

Ferrow

Ferrow rebuilds home search around the three or four decisions buyers actually make. We paired quieter recommendations with a calmer browsing rhythm, developing the concept from proposition and identity through to the end-to-end journeys, interactions and interface that took it to market.

Pocketbird: a shared table mid-meal, plates and glasses between friends — photo by Burst on StockSnap, CC0

Pocketbird

We shaped the proposition, identity and product direction for a familiar habit rebuilt for a cashless world — a shared pot for group spending. Pocketbird gives friends one simple place to chip in, so money stops getting in the way of the occasion.

Kestrel: a dark rippling abstract surface — photo by Steve Johnson on StockSnap, CC0 kestrel.ai

Kestrel

Bringing everything that defines a brand into one working system. Kestrel reads a company's existing material and sharpens it over time, letting teams produce on-brand assets faster and far more consistently. We built the identity and the product experience together, translating a dense brand system into a tool people enjoy opening.

InsightIdentityProduct
Three parts.
One argument.

Audience research

Round 3
87%

Could restate the proposition unprompted

64%

Chose the new flow over their current tool

41%

Finished setup without a support prompt

Make the expensive decisions early.

We help teams agree on direction, sharpen a proposition and move from a vague ambition to a point of view stakeholders can repeat without a deck in front of them.

New studio.
Not new to this.

Eleven years together

A laptop open on a wooden desk — photo by Matt Moloney on StockSnap, CC0

A team, not a pitch lineup. We have worked side by side for more than a decade, building the trust, shared standards and working rhythm that let us move quickly.

140+ projects shipped

A clean studio desk with a display and keyboard — photo by Design by Matt on StockSnap, CC0

From first sketch to live product. Early-stage concepts, large-scale platforms, marketing sites, apps and the systems that hold them all together.

Work that got noticed

A black geometric form against a dark ground — photo by One Idea LLC on StockSnap, CC0

Recognition across national design awards. Including D&AD, Webby, BIMA and The Drum for previous project work.

Seniors on the tools

A designer at work over a screen and sketches — image via rawpixel, CC0

The people you meet are the people doing the work. From the first conversation to final delivery, clients work directly with our four design partners. No junior handover and no disappearing pitch team.

Built for momentum

Big-agency capability, without the big-agency layers. A focused senior team that can decide quickly, stay close to the detail and carry work from strategic direction through to launch-ready delivery.

Fewer clients. More attention.

A person working alone at a desk in low evening light — image via rawpixel, CC0

Small on purpose. We take on a deliberately short list of engagements, so every client gets direct access to the founders, senior attention throughout and a team that stays close to the detail.

Questions worth asking
before we start work.

Not the usual FAQs. These are the questions clients actually raise when they are choosing a design partner for something that matters.

Are you a brand studio, a product studio or a strategy partner?
Yes, when the work needs all three. The strongest digital experiences connect what a company says, what it makes and how people use it. That overlap is where we work best.
We have an idea, but it is still messy. Is that too early?
Rarely. Messy is usually a sign there is something real to shape. We start by writing down what you believe, what you are betting on and what would have to be true.
Why work with a small studio instead of a larger agency?
Fewer people in the room, fewer translations, faster decisions. The partners who scope the work are the ones who make it, start to finish.
Can you help us look credible without looking like everyone else?
That is most of the job. Credibility comes from clarity and consistency, not from borrowing the visual language of whoever raised last quarter.
How do you think about AI?
As material, not as a headline. We use it where it removes real friction for the people using your product, and we say so plainly when it does not.
What happens after the first project?
Most clients stay on a lighter retained rhythm — a standing day each fortnight to keep the system honest as the product moves.