Research
User needs to market trends.
Insights first, always. We don't guess — we measure. Qualitative and quantitative research that uncovers what your users need, validates direction with data, and grounds every recommendation in evidence.
What's included
- User interviews and contextual inquiry
- Usability testing as a service (moderated and unmoderated)
- Heuristic evaluation
- Fixed-scope discovery sprints
- Surveys and quantitative analysis
- Personas, user profiles, and journey mapping
- Competitive analysis
- International and cross-cultural research
Evidence, not assumptions
Research informs strategy. Data validates direction. Every recommendation we make is backed by evidence — from understanding user needs to reading market trends. It's the foundation the rest of our work stands on.
We run the full spectrum of methods: generative research to discover what to build, and evaluative research to prove it works. Contextual inquiries in the field, moderated usability sessions, surveys at scale, and analytics review — matched to the question at hand, not to a template.
Productized offering
Discovery Sprints
A structured, fixed-scope sprint that takes one product question from framing to a user-tested prototype — decisions in days, not quarters. Run remotely or on site, with a dedicated site of its own.
- One sharp product question, scoped together up front
- A prototype built and tested with real users inside the sprint
- A clear, evidence-backed decision at the end
Productized offering
Heuristic Evaluation
A senior expert evaluates your product against established usability heuristics — fast, systematic, and independent. You get a prioritized, actionable report your team can start fixing from the same week.
- Expert walkthrough of your key flows
- Findings mapped to established usability heuristics
- A prioritized report with concrete, actionable fixes
Productized offering
Accessibility Audit & Improvements
An expert audit of your product against WCAG 2.2, AI-accelerated and expert-led. You get a prioritized remediation plan — and optional hands-on fixes — that reduces legal risk under the ADA and the European Accessibility Act while making the product better for everyone.
- Expert audit of your key flows against WCAG 2.2
- A prioritized, actionable remediation plan
- Optional hands-on remediation of the findings
Productized offering
Usability Testing
Recurring moderated and unmoderated testing with real users, run end-to-end — we handle recruiting, sessions, and synthesis, and deliver prioritized findings your team can act on every cycle.
- Participant recruiting and screening
- Moderated and unmoderated sessions
- Synthesis with prioritized, actionable findings
Productized offering
UXR Course
A self-paced UX research course taught by the studio's founder — the same methods we use in client work, from planning studies to synthesizing findings, on its own dedicated site.
- Practical UX research methods, end to end
- Taught by a UC Berkeley Extension UXR instructor
- Learn the exact process behind our research services
Research that moves at product speed
Traditional research cycles are too slow for modern product teams. By pairing senior research judgment with AI-accelerated synthesis, we've completed full-cycle UX research in under one week — a 150% efficiency gain — without sacrificing rigor.
Global experience
We've led research across the US, Japan, and Europe — from pharma sales representatives in Tokyo field visits to year-long international research programs for global enterprises. Cultural context isn't an afterthought; it shapes the findings.