01
Scope the opportunity
A business brings a need — a website, product flow, research sprint, prototype, or software build. We shape it into a clear brief the studio can own.
Now forming our first cohort
Ship real work. Build your portfolio.
Ratchet Studio is a collective of emerging designers and developers taking on real client projects. No gatekeeping and no fake internships — just real work, shared feedback, and portfolio-ready outcomes. When a project is paid, you get paid.
- Real client work
- Portfolio-ready outcomes
- Paid when the project is paid
How the studio works
Real projects, built by doing — not gatekeeping.
You don't work in isolation. Each project is scoped, built, and reviewed as a group, so clients get useful outcomes and you leave with real, credible experience.
02
Build as a team
You work like a small studio: discovery, design, iteration, implementation, and client communication — sharing feedback and learning openly as a group.
03
Ship an outcome
Paid work includes compensation. Unpaid work still produces real portfolio evidence: artifacts, rationale, process, and outcomes you can show off.
Two-sided value
Built for emerging builders and the businesses they help.
For students & grads
Experience that reads like experience.
- Build portfolio-ready case studies from actual client constraints.
- Practice critique, handoff, stakeholder updates, and scope tradeoffs.
- Get paid when a project is paid by the client.
For businesses
Fresh talent and a fair price for real work.
- Get UX, web, app, and software support from a motivated emerging team.
- Back up-and-coming talent while receiving clear project artifacts.
- Choose paid or impact-friendly briefs depending on scope and budget.
Featured project tracks
Real briefs become tangible proof of skill.
Representative examples of what a studio cohort can deliver.
UX + prototype
Local nonprofit donation flow
Students research donor friction, redesign the giving journey, prototype key screens, and prepare handoff notes for the client.
Software build
Founder dashboard MVP
A small student dev team builds a focused dashboard, documents decisions, and presents a usable release candidate.
Product strategy
Service booking redesign
Students audit an existing service flow, identify conversion gaps, and deliver a prioritized redesign roadmap.
Join the studio — or bring us a project to build.
Whether you're an emerging designer or developer — student or recent grad — looking for real experience, or a business with a meaningful digital brief, Ratchet Studio turns real work into learning and useful output.