The fastest way to make a website is to skip the listening. Pick a template, drop in some copy, hit publish. I've watched plenty of organizations do exactly that — and watched the site quietly fail them six months later.
My process is built around a different assumption: that the discovery and design phases are where the real value gets made, and that rushing them costs more in the long run than slowing down ever does.
Listening first
Every project starts with conversation. Not a questionnaire — a conversation. I want to understand the organization, the people behind it, and the audience it's trying to reach. I'm listening for the things that don't fit on a brief.
Drafting in pencil
Before I open Figma, I sketch. I talk through the architecture. I map the user's path. The website only becomes a website once the underlying thinking is solid.
“Slow doesn't mean late. It means lasting.”
When I finally start designing, the decisions feel almost obvious — because the foundation underneath them is. That's the value of slowing down. Not romance. Quality.
Written from the Marigold & Mercy studio.