Startup tactics
Strategy
Unbounded Artistry
Startup tactics
Strategy
Unbounded Artistry
We combine branding, experience design, and strategy into one seamless practice—no handoffs, no wasted time on re-briefing. From research and naming to visual identity and go-to-market—we move with clarity, intensity, and creative depth. Our clients become friends. Our friends become clients. Our families still have no idea what we do.
After 13+ years working behind the scenes in design leadership roles with high-growth teams and running her own endeavors, founder Laura Zheng saw the pattern: marketing and design teams needed support, but agencies were often slow, lacked clear ROI, and too far removed.
DBA fills that gap—combining the rigor of in-house, with the cultural fluency and precision of a top performing studio.
Having branding, product design, and strategy consulting under one roof means we're not just expert executors, but seamless orchestrators—guiding every aspect of your launch, rebrand, or growth with an artistic, entrepreneurial, and outcome-driven mindset.
We combine branding, experience design, and strategy into one seamless practice—no handoffs, no wasted time on rebriefing. From research and naming to visual identity and go-to-market—we move with clarity, intensity, and creative depth. Our clients become friends. Our friends become clients. Our families still have no idea what we do.
After 12 years working in design leadership roles with high-growth teams and running her own startup, Laura saw the pattern: internal teams lacked edge, but agencies were often slow, lacked clear ROI, and too far removed.
D.B.A. fills that gap—combining the rigor of in-house, with the cultural fluency and precision of a top performing studio to:
▪ Create, launch or refocus your brand
▪ Create, launch or refocus your brand
▪ Unlock new business value
▪ Unlock new business value
▪ Align internal culture with external identity
▪ Align internal culture with external identity
What we do
For startups and new ventures
Having been in the trenches ourselves, we know that the speed of business requires us to take as many calculated shots as possible to win, and the timing of this iteration is the true advantage of any entrant business.
Launch strategy
Naming and linguistics testing
Foundational brand
Research and testing
Prototyping
Assembling a team
UX/UI
Creative direction
For enterprise
We know the pain and opportunity cost of teams moving too slowly, or missing alignment with external teams. The majority of our expertise comes from launching and restructuring brands from the inside out, collaboratively and through earned trust.
Rebranding
Category creation
Org design/hiring
Strategic, time-bound initiatives
Fractional design leadership
Coaching and critique
Expansion
Design and product team evaluations
Character witnesses
Branding
❝
She inspired creativity and led the often messy path to finding impactful creative solutions within constraints. Laura's approach was unique in that she tested the creative boundaries and didn't compromise on quality. She elevated design quality, direction and our brand.
Laura is the reason we have our brand today, which appeals much more broadly to our new TAM of non-event verticals, gender inclusive, and more up-market/high end.
—Daniel B. Head of Product Innovation
❝
Laura has clear vision and a refined creative approach that allow her to bring abstract ideas to life in district and beautiful ways. She’s also wicked funny and has a pulse on the popular zeitgeist which allows her work to break through the noise and ring true.
—Natalie W. Head of Content
More
Branding
❝
She inspired creativity and led the often messy path to finding impactful creative solutions within constraints. Laura's approach was unique in that she tested the creative boundaries and didn't compromise on quality. She elevated design quality, direction and our brand.
Laura is the reason we have our brand today, which appeals much more broadly to our new TAM of non-event verticals, gender inclusive, and more up-market/high end.
—Daniel B. Head of Product Innovation
❝
Laura has clear vision and a refined creative approach that allow her to bring abstract ideas to life in district and beautiful ways. She’s also wicked funny and has a pulse on the popular zeitgeist which allows her work to break through the noise and ring true.
—Natalie W. Head of Content
More
A strategic design partner can look around corners for you. DBA means we transform your business from the inside out, acting as if it were our own.
What we do
For startups and new ventures
Having been in the trenches ourselves, we know that the speed of business requires us to take as many calculated shots as possible to win, and the timing of this iteration is the true advantage of any entrant business.
Launch strategy
Naming and linguistics testing
Foundational brand
Research and testing
Prototyping
Assembling a team
UX/UI
Creative direction
For enterprise
We know the pain and opportunity cost of teams moving too slowly, or missing alignment with external teams. The majority of our expertise comes from launching and restructuring brands from the inside out, collaboratively and through earned trust.
Rebranding
Category creation
Org design/hiring
Strategic, time-bound initiatives
Fractional design leadership
Coaching and critique
Expansion
Design & product team evaluations
FAQs
FAQs
How it works
What makes us different?
We are not a traditional agency. Our years spent leading design in startups ingrained within us (read, beat into us) an entrepreneurial approach. That means we move fast, think strategically, and ask better questions—of you, and your audience. Where many studios focus on sensationalism, we’re obsessed with resonance. We dig deep into your audience, your offering, and your internal strengths to design with you—not at you.
Yes, we make beautiful things. But in 2025 that’s table stakes. What sets us apart is how we ground creative work in insight, instinct, and human-made cultural appeal. We research. We get into the trenches of your business so the work doesn’t just look good—it lands, resonates, and performs in the real world.
What is your pricing?
Full branding projects vary but generally sit between $15K-$90K, in retainer and project based models, with huge variance based on needs.
Done with you and coaching for teams and select businesses starts at $300 per month.
Get in touch with us and we'll walk through your unique details.
Do you take equity?
For projects of larger scope, we have taken a mix of payment and equity. We evaluate based on mutual fit, alignment on longer term strategies, and most importantly, we interrogate our unique ability to supercharge the trajectory of the company.
What makes us different?
We are not a traditional agency. Our years spent leading design in startups ingrained within us (read, beat into us) an entrepreneurial approach. That means we move fast, think strategically, and ask better questions—of you, and your audience. Where many studios focus on sensationalism, we’re obsessed with resonance. We dig deep into your audience, your offering, and your internal strengths to design with you—not at you.
Yes, we make beautiful things. But in 2025 that’s table stakes. What sets us apart is how we ground creative work in insight, instinct, and human-made cultural appeal. We research. We get into the trenches of your business so the work doesn’t just look good—it lands, resonates, and performs in the real world.
What is your pricing?
Full branding projects vary but generally sit between $15K-$90K, in retainer and project based models, with huge variance based on needs.
Done with you and coaching for teams and select businesses starts at $300 per month.
Get in touch with us and we'll walk through your unique details.
Do you take equity?
For projects of larger scope, we have taken a mix of payment and equity. We evaluate based on mutual fit, alignment on longer term strategies, and most importantly, we interrogate our unique ability to supercharge the trajectory of the company.
What makes us different?
We are not a traditional agency. Our years spent leading design in startups ingrained within us (read, beat into us) an entrepreneurial approach. That means we move fast, think strategically, and ask better questions—of you, and your audience. Where many studios focus on sensationalism, we’re obsessed with resonance. We dig deep into your audience, your offering, and your internal strengths to design with you—not at you.
Yes, we make beautiful things. But in 2025 that’s table stakes. What sets us apart is how we ground creative work in insight, instinct, and human-made cultural appeal. We research. We get into the trenches of your business so the work doesn’t just look good—it lands, resonates, and performs in the real world.
What is your pricing?
Full branding projects vary but generally sit between $15K-$90K, in retainer and project based models, with huge variance based on needs.
Done with you and coaching for teams and select businesses starts at $300 per month.
Get in touch with us and we'll walk through your unique details.
Do you take equity?
For projects of larger scope, we have taken a mix of payment and equity. We evaluate based on mutual fit, alignment on longer term strategies, and most importantly, we interrogate our unique ability to supercharge the trajectory of the company.
About Laura
What are your qualifications?
13 years of design experience, leadership level managing teams, stakeholders and external resources. Having been the hiring manager and decision maker means I have personal experience on operations and ROI for the companies that partner with us.
Background in fine art, traditional animation, gaming, early advent social media, every app I've ever worked on has been featured in the App Store.
Self taught designer, honed skills from 13 years on the job and from the best mentors.
2x startup founder
For more background checks, and see my network leverage, see linkedin.com/in/laurazheng
What are your qualifications?
13 years of design experience, leadership level managing teams, stakeholders and external resources. Having been the hiring manager and decision maker means I have personal experience on operations and ROI for the companies that partner with us.
Background in fine art, traditional animation, gaming, early advent social media, every app I've ever worked on has been featured in the App Store.
Self taught designer, honed skills from 13 years on the job and from the best mentors.
2x startup founder
For more background checks, and see my network leverage, see linkedin.com/in/laurazheng
What are your qualifications?
13 years of design experience, leadership level managing teams, stakeholders and external resources. Having been the hiring manager and decision maker means I have personal experience on operations and ROI for the companies that partner with us.
Background in fine art, traditional animation, gaming, early advent social media, every app I've ever worked on has been featured in the App Store.
Self taught designer, honed skills from 13 years on the job and from the best mentors.
2x startup founder
For more background checks, and see my network leverage, see linkedin.com/in/laurazheng
What's it like to work with you?
See the reviews above. The overall gist is that I'm bold and passionate but extremely empathetic. People feel very heard.
Clients report feeling like they and their teams gain a new partner and level up in product and design skills. I love the mutual learning from everyone I work with. I have big dreams and a plan. That's the energy I bring.
My own moto is best summed up by Jay Z, "Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week"
What's it like to work with you?
See the reviews above. The overall gist is that I'm bold and passionate but extremely empathetic. People feel very heard.
Clients report feeling like they and their teams gain a new partner and level up in product and design skills. I love the mutual learning from everyone I work with. I have big dreams and a plan. That's the energy I bring.
My own moto is best summed up by Jay Z, "Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week"
What's it like to work with you?
See the reviews above. The overall gist is that I'm bold and passionate but extremely empathetic. People feel very heard.
Clients report feeling like they and their teams gain a new partner and level up in product and design skills. I love the mutual learning from everyone I work with. I have big dreams and a plan. That's the energy I bring.
My own moto is best summed up by Jay Z, "Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week"
What's your approach to design?
Laura: Human-centered in all regards, including how I partner with clients. I always strive to listen and understand people.
Branding: Artistic expression, in unorthodox ways. Emotional presence is important to me and with my art background we can really do something different.
Design: See my secret manifesto below; I find the juxtaposition of sparse interfaces that showcase and elevate content, and hand made components produce unique results.
Strategy: My background across a diverse range of domains and industries gives me a unique way of spotting patterns, anomalies, and think impact first. As a org leader and manager I know how to communicate and support the people who's buy-in matters the most. Selling and storytelling is a key skill when it comes to stakeholder relations as well as end customer approach ;)
What's your approach to design?
Laura: Human-centered in all regards, including how I partner with clients. I always strive to listen and understand people.
Branding: Artistic expression, in unorthodox ways. Emotional presence is important to me and with my art background we can really do something different.
Design: See my secret manifesto below; I find the juxtaposition of sparse interfaces that showcase and elevate content, and hand made components produce unique results.
Strategy: My background across a diverse range of domains and industries gives me a unique way of spotting patterns, anomalies, and think impact first. As a org leader and manager I know how to communicate and support the people who's buy-in matters the most. Selling and storytelling is a key skill when it comes to stakeholder relations as well as end customer approach ;)
What's your approach to design?
Laura: Human-centered in all regards, including how I partner with clients. I always strive to listen and understand people.
Branding: Artistic expression, in unorthodox ways. Emotional presence is important to me and with my art background we can really do something different.
Design: See my secret manifesto below; I find the juxtaposition of sparse interfaces that showcase and elevate content, and hand made components produce unique results.
Strategy: My background across a diverse range of domains and industries gives me a unique way of spotting patterns, anomalies, and think impact first. As a org leader and manager I know how to communicate and support the people who's buy-in matters the most. Selling and storytelling is a key skill when it comes to stakeholder relations as well as end customer approach ;)
Secret nerd manifesto
Laura: You could say I'm a bit of an interaction design purist. I don't like busy artsy design work that gets in the way of accessibility. There's a reason for that.
My foray into UX/UI began in the early 2000s (I’m very old), when I was working as a game concept artist—painting monsters, muscle-y dudes, and weapons, when the Apple App Store was just coming alive. That era drilled into me a deep respect for behavioral psychology and the foundations of human-centered design. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines weren’t just aesthetic — they were strategy disguised as standardization. Accessible, intuitive, and frictionless by design.
Web design, by contrast, still feels like the Wild Wild West—lawless, bloated, and driven more by ego than utility. I love expressive, experimental sites as much as the next Cool Person™, but when you’re designing for real people—with real decisions to make and limited time to make them—prioritizing aesthetic stunts over usability isn’t clever. It’s disrespectful. If you’re not showing up for your users, you’re just showing off.
Here’s the contradiction that allows my work to stand apart: I’m obsessive about visual polish and interaction nuance—but only in service of clarity, trust, and real business results. I see the forest and the trees. I know the value of surprise and delight, which details are worth sweating, and which ones are for vanity.
I love when my work sits right in the delta between precision and performance. Good design tells the right story, plants the right seeds, earns trust—and gets the hell out of the way when people show up in droves.
Secret nerd manifesto
Laura: You could say I'm a bit of an interaction design purist. I don't like busy artsy design work that gets in the way of accessibility. There's a reason for that.
My foray into UX/UI began in the early 2000s (I’m very old), when I was working as a game concept artist—painting monsters, muscle-y dudes, and weapons, when the Apple App Store was just coming alive. That era drilled into me a deep respect for behavioral psychology and the foundations of human-centered design. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines weren’t just aesthetic — they were strategy disguised as standardization. Accessible, intuitive, and frictionless by design.
Web design, by contrast, still feels like the Wild Wild West—lawless, bloated, and driven more by ego than utility. I love expressive, experimental sites as much as the next Cool Person™, but when you’re designing for real people—with real decisions to make and limited time to make them—prioritizing aesthetic stunts over usability isn’t clever. It’s disrespectful. If you’re not showing up for your users, you’re just showing off.
Here’s the contradiction that allows my work to stand apart: I’m obsessive about visual polish and interaction nuance—but only in service of clarity, trust, and real business results. I see the forest and the trees. I know the value of surprise and delight, which details are worth sweating, and which ones are for vanity.
I love when my work sits right in the delta between precision and performance. Good design tells the right story, plants the right seeds, earns trust—and gets the hell out of the way when people show up in droves.
Secret nerd manifesto
Laura: You could say I'm a bit of an interaction design purist. I don't like busy artsy design work that gets in the way of accessibility. There's a reason for that.
My foray into UX/UI began in the early 2000s (I’m very old), when I was working as a game concept artist—painting monsters, muscle-y dudes, and weapons, when the App Store was just coming alive. That era drilled into me a deep respect for behavioral psychology and the foundations of human-centered design. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines weren’t just aesthetic — they were strategy disguised as standardization. Accessible, intuitive, and frictionless by design.
Web design, by contrast, still feels like the Wild Wild West—lawless, bloated, and driven more by ego than utility. I love expressive, experimental sites as much as the next Cool Person™, but when you’re designing for real people—with real decisions to make and limited time to make them—prioritizing aesthetic stunts over usability isn’t clever. It’s disrespectful. If you’re not showing up for your users, you’re just showing off.
Here’s the contradiction that allows my work to stand apart: I’m obsessive about visual polish and interaction nuance—but only in service of clarity, trust, and real business results. I see the forest and the trees. I know the value of surprise and delight, which details are worth sweating, and which ones are for vanity.
I love when my work sits right in the delta between precision and performance. Good design tells the right story, plants the right seeds, earns trust—and gets the hell out of the way when people show up in droves.
Let us help
Our founder, Laura offers complimentary scoping and strategy calls to help shape your project or problem. Many clients find this process helpful in itself. Just bring your raw questions, opportunities, ideas, and a sense of timing and budget. In just a few conversations, we'll help translate it all into a smart path forward and tailored engagement options.
Text or WhatsApp me +1 (646) 287-2725
Let us help
Our founder, Laura offers complimentary scoping and strategy calls to help shape your project or problem. Many clients find this process helpful in itself. Just bring your raw questions, opportunities, ideas, and a sense of timing and budget. In just a few conversations, we'll help translate it all into a smart path forward and tailored engagement options.
Text or WhatsApp me +1 (646) 287-2725
Let us help
Our founder, Laura offers complimentary scoping and strategy calls to help shape your project or problem. Many clients find this process helpful in itself. Just bring your raw questions, opportunities, ideas, and a sense of timing and budget. In just a few conversations, we'll help translate it all into a smart path forward and tailored engagement options.
© 2025 Made in NYC, serving globally.
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© 2025 Made in NYC, serving globally.
Site Version 0.5
© 2025 Made in NYC, serving globally.
Site Version 0.5
© 2025 Made in NYC, serving globally.
Site Version 0.5
© 2025 Made in NYC, serving globally.