01 Scope
I don't do one-off projects for new clients.
If you're not interested in a multi-year relationship, you'll be happier with a different shop. Long-haul is the whole point.
How I work
Same craft. Faster velocity.
Long-haul creative isn't a project shop. Here's the shape of how a JKCA engagement actually runs — and the honest version of how the work gets made in 2026.
The arc
A JKCA engagement isn't a project. It's a relationship.
Five phases, then we stay. Most clients have been with me five-to-twelve years. The arc happens once. The work continues.
01
Listen, then look.
Two-week discovery. I learn the brand from the inside — the founder's story, the customer's words, the work that's already there. No Figma file in week one.
Discovery · 2 weeks 02
Show you two paths.
Two distinct creative directions, not five iterations of the same idea. Real comps on actual content. You pick one. We move. No design-by-committee.
Direction · 1–2 weeks 03
Build it the way it'll live.
Real content, real components, real photography (yours or commissioned, never stock). We build what gets shipped — not a prototype we throw away.
Build · 4–10 weeks depending on scope 04
Launch quietly.
No agency-style confetti reel. The site goes live, I monitor, I fix what only shows up in production. Then it's yours.
Launch + 2-week stabilization 05
And I stay.
Almost everyone keeps me on retainer. Twenty-five years on Fishcamp, fifteen with Treebones, fifteen with J King Neptunes, fifteen with World Food Products. The work after launch is where brands compound.
Ongoing · most relationships run 10+ yearsHow I work in 2026
The honest answer about AI.
JKCA is one operator shipping at the velocity of a six-person agency. Here's how, and what doesn't change.
The work hasn't changed. The thinking partner has. Since 2024 I've worked alongside Claude — AI built for long, careful work — the way a senior creative used to work with a junior. I write the brief, I make the calls, I sit in the room with you. The AI handles parts that don't need taste: scaffolding, polish, the eighth draft of a paragraph.
This isn't a marketing line. It's the reason a one-person shop ships a Treebones-quality site in eight weeks. The work has more depth, not less. Every decision still passes through one human in one room.
I want you to know this up front because the alternative — saying nothing — would be the wrong way to start a multi-year relationship.
What's the same as 2011
- One creative director, end to end.
- Real photography. No stock.
- Two real directions, not five iterations.
- Multi-year relationships, not project flings.
- Every word and every line passes through me.
What's different in 2026
- Ship in weeks, not months.
- Same craft, lower cost — a real one-person shop.
- Drafts iterate in hours, not days.
- You see options sooner, decide faster.
- The slow part is now the human part, on purpose.
What you can expect
What lasts.
Four things every JKCA client signs up for.
- You ship in weeks, not months. Same craft, smaller team, fewer rooms to schedule.
- You pay for the work, not the studio overhead. Founder budgets, agency craft.
- You email me, I answer. No account manager between you and the work.
- Five years in, I'm still the one on the calls. The room doesn't change.
That's the whole pitch.
What I don't do
Just as important.
Defining the not-fit is how the fit gets clear. If any of these are dealbreakers, we'd both rather know now.
02 Capacity
I don't take more than five active brands at a time.
Depth is the product. Five is the cap. If I'm full, I'll tell you when a slot opens.
03 Strategy
I don't outsource the thinking.
Strategy, brand calls, design direction — all me. AI handles execution support, not judgment.
04 Process
I don't do pitch decks for free.
A real discovery is paid work. The first call is free and exploratory. Anything that produces deliverables has a number on it.
Sound like the right room?
Almost everyone found me by referral. The rest start with a short email. Tell me about your brand and what you're trying to do.
Start a conversation →