Services
What you get, and what it is for.
Four services. Each one lists what is included, so you can tell before we talk whether it is the thing you need.
Website design
A site that says the right thing in the first ten seconds.
Most small sites lose the visitor on a phone, in the first few seconds, because nothing on the screen says what the business does or how to reach it. I design the whole thing: the order of the page, your words in place rather than lorem, the photography you need to take, and a build that loads fast.
You get the site and the files, and you own both. It is handed over to run on your own host and your own domain, so there is no subscription to me and no platform you cannot leave. Keeping it current afterwards is a separate arrangement rather than something you are signed up to.
What is included
- Page structure, and a plan for what sits on each one
- Designed for phone screens first, then desktop
- Accessible markup, checked against WCAG 2.2 AA with automated tools and a keyboard pass
- Built and handed over to run on your own host and your own domain
- Search and social setup, so the basics are in place
- You write the words. I place them, and I will tell you where they are not working
Who it is for: Small teams and local businesses who want one good site rather than a monthly bill.
Design systems
Components your team can build with, not a folder of screens.
A design system is only real when the design and the code agree. I start with the token layer, the colors, spacing, type and elevation that everything else refers to, then build the components on top of it so a change lands in one place instead of forty.
It ships documented, so a developer who has never met me has what they need to use it correctly, and your team has what it needs to keep it going after I am gone.
What is included
- Design tokens, in Figma and in Storybook
- Component library with real states, not just defaults
- Usage documentation and the rules behind it
- Accessibility checked on every component and every theme, with automated tools and a keyboard pass
- Documentation written for the next person to pick it up, not for me
Who it is for: Product teams whose interface has drifted, and anyone about to start a second product.
Identity packages
A mark, the rules that protect it, and the files to use it.
An identity is not one logo file. It is a mark that holds at the size of a business card and at the size of a street flag, a palette and type someone else can apply without you in the room, and rules written down, so two printers are working from the same instructions.
That last part is the part most packages skip, and it is what a brand needs to stay consistent once it leaves your hands.
What is included
- Wordmark and monogram, in the colorways you will actually use
- Color and type, with the reasoning written down
- Lockups, clear space, and misuse rules
- An asset index with the files
Who it is for: New businesses, and established ones whose files no longer agree with each other.
Editorial design
Long-form that holds together, page after page.
Editorial is where I started. Magazines, features, and the kind of long piece that falls apart without a typographic system holding it together. The same thinking works on an annual report, a guide, or a site with a lot to say.
What is included
- Magazine and feature layout
- Typographic systems
- Report and guide design
- Print production files
- Content-heavy web layout
Who it is for: Publishers, and any business with a report or guide that deserves better than a template.
Questions
The things people ask first.
What does a project cost?
Every project is quoted as a fixed amount before any work starts, based on what the project actually needs. I do not publish a price list, because the same page count can be a two week project or a two month one. Tell me what you have in mind on the contact form, including the budget you are working with, and I will tell you what is possible within it.
How long does a project take?
A small website is usually three to six weeks from the day the content is ready. An identity package is four to eight weeks. A design system depends on how many components your product actually uses, which is almost always more than a team expects. Content being ready is the thing that moves dates more than anything else.
Do I own the work when it is finished?
Yes. You own the finished design and the files, and that is written into the agreement. The site is handed over to run on your own host and your own domain, so there is no subscription and no platform you have to stay on. Keeping it current after launch is a separate arrangement rather than something you are signed up to.
Do you work with clients outside Illinois?
Yes. I am in Aurora, Illinois, near Chicago, and most work is remote. I have worked with clients in Wisconsin and with teams spread across several time zones. In person is possible in the Chicago area.
Can you work with my developer?
Yes, and that is often the best arrangement. I can hand off design files with the documentation your developer needs, or build the front end myself and hand them something already working. Either way the handoff is written down rather than explained once on a call.
Do you take on ongoing work, or only projects?
Both. Most of what I do is a defined project with a start and an end. If you need someone for a set number of hours a month after that, we can arrange it, but the project comes first so we both know how we work together.
What makes you different from a website builder template?
A template gives you a layout. It does not decide what your page should say first, which three things to put in front of a customer, or what to do when your logo file is a blurry PNG. That judgment is the work. It is also why the site ends up looking like your business and not like the other nine businesses using the same template.
Who am I actually hiring?
Steven Vanden Heuvel. One person, start to finish, so the person you talk to is the person doing the work. Most recently I was a contract principal designer on PayPal’s merchant experience team, and before that creative director at MTG Media Group, where the site I led won a Jesse H. Neal Award for best website.
Not sure which one you need?
Describe the problem rather than the deliverable. Working out which service fits is part of the first conversation.