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Independent practice · Design & front-end
I'm Iris Vandeleur. I design and build the public-facing pages that founders, studios and independent operators actually need — scoped in weeks, written in plain HTML and CSS, handed over so your team can keep editing it.
01 — What I take on
Every engagement begins with a written scope: what ships, what it depends on from you, and what is explicitly out. If a request doesn't fit one of these lanes, I'll say so rather than stretch it.
S / 01
A complete public site: structure, copy shaping, layout, and a hand-written front end. Built as static pages or wired into the CMS your team already pays for, so editing doesn't route back through me.
Typical shape5–8 pages over four to six weeks, with two review rounds built into the schedule.
S / 02
One page, one job — a product launch, a hiring push, a waitlist. I write the layout around the single action you need, then instrument nothing you can't read in your own analytics.
Typical shapeTwo weeks from kickoff, including one round of revisions after the first build.
S / 03
For sites that already exist and have drifted: broken responsive breakpoints, unreadable contrast, keyboard traps, pages that weigh more than they should. You get a written findings list first, then the fixes in priority order.
Typical shapeFindings in week one; fixes billed against an agreed block of hours.
02 — Selected work
Names are shortened at the clients' request. What matters here is the shape of the problem — most briefs I receive look like one of these.
Split one long page into an issue index, an article template and a subscribe page, then handed the editor a short guide for publishing each issue without me.
Rewrote the structure around three named engagements with the scope and timeline on the page, so enquiries arrived with a budget range already in mind.
An accessibility and breakpoint pass: focus order rebuilt, contrast lifted to pass at every text size, and the booking panel made usable at 390px where it previously overflowed.
03 — Engagement models
Most people arrive unsure whether they need a project or a standing arrangement. This is the honest comparison I'd give you on a first call.
| Model | Sprint | Retainer | Build-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | One defined page or feature with a date attached. | Teams shipping changes every month who need a steady hand. | A full site replacement or a first site from scratch. |
| How it runs | Two weeks, fixed scope, one revision round. | A reserved block of days each month, planned at the start of it. | Four to six weeks in stages, each signed off before the next. |
| You supply | Copy and assets before kickoff day. | A prioritised list by the first working day of the month. | One decision-maker and access to your CMS or repository. |
| You get | The built page, source files and a short handover note. | A monthly summary of what changed and what's queued. | The full front end, a component reference and a training call. |
| Not included | Ongoing edits after handover. | Unused days rolling into the next month. | Brand identity, photography or copywriting from blank. |
04 — How the work runs
You send the form below. I reply with questions, then a written scope covering deliverables, dates and what sits outside the work. Nothing starts until you've agreed it.
Before any visual design, we settle the page order and what each section has to do. This is the cheapest stage to change your mind in, so I push hard on it.
Layouts go straight into a working front end rather than a static mockup, so you review the real thing at real sizes. Reviews happen on the standing Thursday call.
You receive the source, a plain-language note on how to edit each part, and two weeks of follow-up for anything that surfaces after launch.
05 — Studio note
Fern Notch has stayed a single desk for six years. It means I take fewer projects than an agency would, and it means the person you brief is the person writing the markup. These are the principles I hold to on every engagement.
06 — Start a brief
A few sentences is plenty. If it isn't a fit, I'll say so quickly rather than leave you waiting.