# Justin Schueler — Founder & Designer

I’m a designer, founder and creative strategist. I run [smalltribe](https://justinschueler.com/projects/smalltribe), a studio for brands and products, and [tribehouse](https://justinschueler.com/projects/tribehouse), a creative house in Leipzig.

Alongside, I build my own products: [Verk](https://justinschueler.com/projects/verk), [Manual](https://justinschueler.com/projects/manual), [omou](https://justinschueler.com/projects/omou) and [heev](https://justinschueler.com/projects/heev).

My work sits at the intersection of strategy, design and craft, and has for over fifteen years. I lead design, shape direction, align stakeholders, and care about the details. Whether it's visual systems or a product interface, I'm as interested in the thinking as I am in the output.

## Services

1. **Fractional design lead** — Embed with your team a few days per month to set direction, raise the design bar, and coach designers.
2. **Brand and product design** — From early-stage positioning to product UI, I help teams shape the narrative and the interface around it.
3. **AI design engineering** — Designing in code with AI: prototypes, agents and tools that go from idea to something people can use, fast.
4. **Strategic design partner** — A sounding board for founders and product leaders on vision, prioritisation, and what "good" looks like.

I mostly work with early-stage to growth-stage tech companies, founders, and product teams who care about design as a strategic lever, not just decoration.

If you're looking for someone who can see the whole system and still ship the details, email [justin@smalltribe.studio](mailto:justin@smalltribe.studio).

## Elsewhere on this site

- [Projects](https://justinschueler.com/projects) — companies and selected projects
- [Thoughts](https://justinschueler.com/thoughts) — writing on design and technology
- [Artifacts](https://justinschueler.com/playground) — posters, photos, and experiments
- [Contact](https://justinschueler.com/contact)