Great websites start before the design does.
Partial History is a web design and development studio specializing in custom site builds, strategy, and brand identity for founders and small businesses.
Built on Webby-nominated agency work, enterprise UX for financial institutions, and over a decade across brand, design, and development.
Most founders I talk to aren’t coming to me because their site is ugly.
They’re coming because their site isn't doing what they need it to do, and they’ve run out of easy explanations for why.
The design looks good and the copy is fine, but something about the whole thing isn’t working: the inquiries aren’t what they expected, the ones that come in aren’t always the right fit, and the site feels like it’s describing the business rather than representing it.
Sometimes that’s a copy problem, and sometimes it’s a structural problem — the navigation buries the right information, the services page doesn’t answer the right questions, and the homepage talks about the company instead of what the company can do for the person reading. Sometimes, it’s a deeper issue, which is why a new design doesn’t usually fix it. You can make the surface of the site look better, but unless you address what’s actually going on, you’ve just dressed up the problem.
The first thing I do on any project isn’t design. It’s diagnosis.
Strategy isn't a phase. It's the whole thing.
When strategy, design, and development are handed off to different people, each loses something in translation. What gets lost isn't always obvious. It shows up later, in the gap between what the strategy called for and what the site actually does.
I've watched this happen from inside large agencies and on enterprise projects. The handoff problem isn't a failure of skill. It's structural. When the thinking and the making are separated, the thinking struggles to survive because it was never baked into the work.
Keeping the thinking and the making together changes what's possible. When strategy, design, and development come from the same person, the thinking doesn't get interpreted. It gets executed. What the site needs to accomplish shapes every layout decision; every layout decision shapes every line of code. Nothing works against anything else, because none of it had to survive a handoff.
What I Do
The right site, done right.
For founders and small businesses who are done compromising on the quality of the work.
The Site
A complete Webflow build for businesses that know who they are and need it expressed properly online. UX strategy, design, and development are handled as one continuous process, so the thinking lives in the work, not in a document no one reads after kickoff.
For founders who've outgrown what they have and need a site that can carry the weight of a serious business.
The Launch
A professional Squarespace site for small businesses who are ready to show up properly. Strategically considered, thoughtfully designed, and built to be managed without technical support. Fixed scope, fixed price, four weeks.
For businesses that need a credible, well-built web presence and don't need the full complexity of a custom Webflow build.
The REview
Not sure what you need yet?
Most founders who contact me know something isn't working but aren't sure whether the problem is the brand, the site, the copy, or all three.
The Review is a structured audit of your website and brand presence — what's working, what isn't, and what the highest-leverage changes would be. It's the right starting point if you want an informed read on where things stand before committing to a larger engagement.
Every project has a before and an after.
Previously
Enterprise UX. Global product launches. Award-recognized work. Over a decade across brand strategy, design, and front-end development.
Partial History is a solo web design and development studio. No account managers, no junior teams, no game of telephone between the person who sets the strategy and the person who builds the site. When you work with Partial History, you work with the person who does the work.
That means over a decade of craft — UX strategy, web design, front-end development, and brand identity — applied directly to every part of your project, without parcelling it out between people. The experience comes from the top of the industry, and the work gets done without the overhead that usually comes with it.
The name reflects my conviction that a brand is never finished. Partial History exists to make sure the right parts of the story are visible.
How it Works
Unhurried. Deliberate. Thorough.
01
Discussion.
It starts with a conversation about the project, the business, and what success actually looks like. No brief required.
02
Foundation.
Before anything is designed or built, we establish what's actually going on. What does this site need to do, who does it need to do it for, and what's currently standing in the way?
03
Making.
Design and development happen as one continuous process, not in sequence. Strategy lives in the work itself, in the layout decisions, the content hierarchy, the interactions, rather than a separate document that predates them.
04
Handoff.
Clean files, clear documentation, and a site you understand how to manage. The goal is your independence after your site launches, not your ongoing dependency on me to keep it running.
Let's figure out what you need.
Most projects start with a conversation about the problem, not a brief, budget, or timeline. Just an honest exchange about what you're trying to accomplish and whether there's a good fit.