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DARKLINE

About · Since 2016

Darkline Studio is 34 people across three cities, working on a small number of things at a level the industry has quietly given up on. We exist because craft is a moat — and someone has to defend it.

  • 34people
  • 3offices
  • 9years
  • $500M+raised by clients
Darkline Studio studio partners in a working session
· SF STUDIO34 PEOPLE

Our story

Nine years, one high bar.

We have grown slowly on purpose. Every year is a small bet on the same idea: craft compounds.

  1. 2016

    Two people, one desk

    Started in a garage in Oakland with a Notion doc and a promise.

  2. 2018

    First unicorn client

    Signed a Series C SaaS platform. Wrote our first playbook.

  3. 2020

    The remote pivot

    Moved fully distributed. Kept the studio culture — sharper, quieter.

  4. 2022

    First Awwwards

    Won our first Site of the Day. Then two more that year.

  5. 2024

    Three offices

    Opened New York and London. 34 people, still one voice.

  6. 2025

    $500M+ raised

    Clients we helped position have raised more than half a billion.

What we believe

Five rules we refuse to break.

We wrote these once, printed them on the wall, and never touched them again. Read them slowly.

  • 01

    Do the honest thing

    Even when it costs us the meeting. Especially then.

  • 02

    Craft is respect

    Every pixel and every sentence is a message about how much we care.

  • 03

    Ship the unshippable

    The best work happens on the far side of "that is impossible".

  • 04

    Compound the boring

    Small, ruthless improvements every week beat big bets forever.

  • 05

    Grow humans first

    The studio is a bet on the people. Everything else is a byproduct.

The team

Small on purpose.

Every engagement gets a partner in the room, not a slide and a stranger. Meet the people behind the work.

  • Sara Whitfield, Strategy Partner

    Ex-Wieden. Built brands for eight unicorns.

    Sara Whitfield

    Strategy Partner

  • Ines Bello, Design Director

    Editorial obsessive. Awwwards jury 2024.

    Ines Bello

    Design Director

  • Kenji Watanabe, Design Engineer

    Next.js & motion. Writes on the seam.

    Kenji Watanabe

    Design Engineer

  • Priya Patel, Growth Lead

    4× founder. Loves a compounding curve.

    Priya Patel

    Growth Lead

  • Mateo Álvarez, Managing Partner

    Runs the studio. Reads too much philosophy.

    Mateo Álvarez

    Managing Partner

  • Nadia Alaoui, Producer

    Ships things. Argues about typography for fun.

    Nadia Alaoui

    Producer

  • Rhea Kapoor, Head of Brand

    Turns insights into ideas people repeat.

    Rhea Kapoor

    Head of Brand

  • Jordan Reyes, Growth Strategist

    SQL, spreadsheets, storytelling.

    Jordan Reyes

    Growth Strategist

Studio life

A place to do the best work of your life.

Studio culture is not a perk sheet. It is the quiet decisions the team makes when nobody is watching — and how proud they are of last Friday.

SF · Studio floor
SF · Studio floor
Design crit · Tuesday
Design crit · Tuesday

Let’s build something

Make things people remember.

Tell us about your ambition. We usually reply in under a business day.