Spi-des-ign began as a passion project and has since evolved into a thriving creative studio built on the foundation of creative freedom and work-life balance.
In an interview with
Website Planet, Kelly-Marie Gurteen shared how the company started as Richard’s side hustle before growing into a full-service agency specializing in design, development, and digital marketing. Today, Spi-des-ign boasts a talented team that provides tailored, strategic solutions to help businesses stand out in a competitive digital landscape.
Despite its growth, the company remains committed to its original mission—delivering high-quality design with a personal, client-first approach.
What inspired you to start Spi-des-ign, and how has the company evolved over the years?
Spi-des-ign started as a side hustle for Richard while he was working full-time in the design industry. He had been in the industry for just over 10 years and spent five of those running Spi-des-ign in the evenings and at weekends while juggling a busy job and family life. He loved designing but wanted more creative freedom and a better work-life balance, so in 2011, he took the leap to go full-time with the business.
At first, he worked alone, but as Spi-des-ign grew, it became clear that he needed support with marketing, operations, and managing clients. In 2013, I made the decision to leave my teaching career to join Richard in the business. Like him, I wanted more freedom and flexibility to balance work and family life with our two young boys. It was a big shift, but one that made perfect sense for both of us.
Since then, Spi-des-ign has grown from a small, home-based venture into a thriving creative studio. We’ve expanded our team over the years to include specialists in web design/development, graphic design and digital marketing, allowing us to offer a full range of services to our clients. While the business has evolved, the core reason we started—creative freedom and a better work-life balance—remains at the heart of what we do.
Can you describe how your team’s combined expertise in design, development, and marketing helps deliver comprehensive solutions for your clients?
At Spi-des-ign, we have a well-rounded team that allows us to offer a full range of services, ensuring our clients get both creative and strategic solutions tailored to their needs. Richard, as our Creative Director, leads on design and branding, bringing years of experience in crafting visually striking and meaningful designs. I manage operations and marketing, making sure everything runs smoothly while also helping clients develop their digital presence and marketing strategies.
Our Web Designer/Developer plays a crucial role in transforming creative concepts into fully functional, user-friendly websites. They ensure that every site we build not only looks great but is also technically sound, responsive, and optimised for SEO. Our Graphic Designer works on various client projects, providing high-quality design work across a variety of mediums, from branding and logo development to print materials and digital assets. Whether it’s a brochure, packaging, or a complete visual identity, he ensures that each project is tailored to the client’s unique vision. Meanwhile, our Social Media Specialist focuses on content strategy, engagement, and digital campaigns, helping our clients connect with their audiences effectively.
This means that whether we’re designing a website, creating brand assets, or managing social media, every element is aligned with the client’s overall business goals.
What makes our team unique is our collaborative approach—rather than working in isolation, we combine design, technical development, and marketing strategy to provide a cohesive solution. Our clients don’t just get a website, a logo, or a social media campaign in isolation; they get a fully integrated approach that helps their business stand out and grow.
How do you approach creating a brand identity for a business, and what makes your process unique?
When we create a brand identity for a client, we start with research. We take the time to understand their business, target audience, and what makes them unique. This helps us ensure that the brand we develop truly represents their values and appeals to the right audience.
Once we have this foundation, we move into the creative stage, producing initial concept designs. These are our first-stage ideas, giving the client a few different directions to consider. We then gather their feedback, refine and develop their chosen concept further, and usually go through another round of revisions before finalising the design.
Once the logo is approved, we put together a
branding sheet, which includes the fonts used, colour breakdowns, and logo variations such as full-colour and single-colour. Some clients opt for a more detailed
brand guidelines document, which provides a more comprehensive overview, including logo placement, styles, and rules for how their brand should be used across different media.
What makes our process unique is that it’s truly collaborative. We don’t just hand over a logo and call it done—we work closely with our clients every step of the way, ensuring they end up with a brand identity that is both visually strong and practical for their business needs.
Could you share an example of how your SEO and digital marketing services have significantly impacted a client’s online presence?
One of our long-standing clients, Sarah Lovell, a CV Writer, has been working with us for over eight years to improve and maintain her online presence. As a CV writing specialist, it’s crucial for her to be easily found by job seekers across the UK.
Through a carefully structured SEO strategy, we’ve helped Sarah achieve and
maintain top 3 rankings on Google for the majority of her search terms. This ensures she consistently attracts clients from all over the UK. Her strong search rankings have been sustained for over six years, allowing her to remain competitive in a crowded market.
Our work includes
ongoing optimisation, technical SEO, and strategic content refinement, ensuring that her website remains search-engine-friendly despite algorithm changes. Rather than relying on frequent blog posts, our focus has been on
optimizing key pages, refining keyword targeting, and ensuring a seamless user experience—all of which contribute to her continued success.
What sets us apart is our
human-focused approach to SEO. We don’t rely on automated programs to generate content or insert artificial backlinks for quick results. Instead, we prioritize
genuine, high-quality content and ethical SEO practices that create sustainable growth. We also ensure that websites remain
visually appealing, easy to navigate, and accessible for real users, rather than just adding elements purely for Google’s benefit. After all, SEO isn’t just about ranking—it’s about making sure the right people find and engage with your business in a meaningful way
How do you balance creative design with functionality in your web and print projects?
Balancing creative design with functionality is central to our approach at Spi-des-ign. We start by understanding the primary objectives and user needs associated with each project. Our design team collaborates closely with developers and print specialists to ensure that aesthetic elements do not compromise usability or performance. By prioritising user experience and aligning design choices with functional requirements, we create solutions that are both visually compelling and highly effective.
What do you think sets Spi-des-ign apart from other design studios in the industry?
What really sets us apart is the relationships we build with our clients. We don’t just complete a project and move on—we make sure our clients know that
our door (and phone line) is always open. Whether they need advice, support, or just want to pop in for a coffee and chat about their projects, we want them to feel comfortable coming to us openly and honestly.
I always say that
people buy from people, and we truly believe in that approach. We take the time to get to know our clients, understand their businesses, and work collaboratively to help them achieve their goals. This personal, friendly approach means they feel comfortable coming to us with any challenge—whether it’s a website update, a new branding idea, or just reassurance that they’re on the right track.
Alongside this, we offer a fully integrated service, covering all aspects of web design, development, branding, SEO, and digital marketing. Because we have expertise across these areas, we can create joined-up solutions that not only look great but also function effectively and drive real results. Our team doesn’t work in silos; we collaborate across disciplines to ensure every project delivers the best outcome for our clients.
Beyond that, we
go above and beyond to make sure our clients get the best possible service. We don’t do one-size-fits-all solutions; every website, brand, and marketing strategy we create is
tailored to the client’s needs. Plus, we’re always keeping up with the latest design, digital, and marketing trends to ensure our clients stay ahead of the curve.
At Spi-des-ign, it’s not just about delivering great design and marketing—it’s about
genuine relationships and being a trusted part of our clients’ journey.
Find out more at:
www.spi-des-ign.co.uk
