We Thought Launching the Site Was the Finish Line…
Spoiler: it was just the starting gun.
When we decided to build the new DesignLabs website, we knew it would take strategy, content, code, and creativity. What we didn’t expect was how much the process would reveal — about our own identity, our gaps, our mindset, and the friction points we hadn’t noticed when working inside the business.
This post isn’t a launch celebration. It’s a reflection.
Here’s what caught us off guard.
1. Writing Our Own Story Was the Hardest Part
We do this for clients all the time: distill who they are, what they offer, and why it matters. But when it came to ourselves, every sentence felt… bigger.
Do we position ourselves as a studio? A product lab? A brand consultancy?
The truth is — we’re a mix. And embracing that instead of trying to simplify it into a neat label was one of the most liberating (and challenging) parts of the process.
What we learned:
Your brand voice doesn’t have to be one-dimensional. It just has to be consistent.
2. The Content Snowballed Fast
We planned for four pages and a Journal section. Seemed simple, right?
But once we started writing, designing, and refining, new questions came up:
Should we split the Services page into sections?
Do we need a proper product landing page now?
What about category pages for the blog?
Should we start a newsletter immediately?
Suddenly, we had a full roadmap instead of a “small launch.”
What we learned:
No website is ever “done.” But that’s okay. It’s a living asset, not a locked archive.
3. Making Decisions as Designers Is Hard
When you’re the client and the creative team, every design decision becomes a rabbit hole. We spent way too long deciding on button shapes, corner radii, type pairings, and microinteractions.
We’d never let a client burn that much time on perfectionism — but somehow, for our own brand, every pixel felt personal.
What we learned:
Perfection is subjective. Progress is tangible. And most users don’t care if your nav is 2px taller.
4. The Smallest Pages Took the Longest
Want to guess which page took the most back-and-forth?
Not the homepage.
Not the services breakdown.
The contact page.
What tone should the form have?
Do we want leads from everyone — or just the right ones?
Should we include a Calendly link or email address?
It forced us to confront how we wanted to work — not just how we wanted to look.
What we learned:
Even the smallest details shape your business direction.
5. Post-Launch Emotions Are Real
When we hit publish, we expected excitement. What we got instead was… silence.
Because the real truth is, a website doesn’t launch you. It reflects you. And it’s up to you to carry that message forward.
What helped us?
Creating a Journal content plan
Mapping how the site supports our products and leads
Talking about the launch (and lessons) openly — like this post
What we learned:
A website is a mirror. You have to keep showing up in it.
So, What’s Next?
We’re not done. Not even close.
We’ll be rolling out digital products soon — starting with the Brand Clarity Kit and T-shirt Design Bundles. We’re refining the Journal, building out a lightweight CRM, and prepping our first email series.
But for now, we’re just proud to have launched — with clarity, with intention, and with a little bit of imperfection (on purpose).
Thinking of launching or relaunching your own brand site?
Skip the templates. Let’s start with the strategy. Book a consult or explore our Journal for more behind-the-scenes reflections like this.
