One orbit, on purpose.
Tropical Year is a founder-led creative studio for digital products and brands. We blend story, design, and code to help small, mission-driven teams and founders move through their seasons of change without losing the thread.
Who we are
We’re a small studio with a big soft spot for complex, slightly-messy problems. The kind where there are too many opinions, too much history, and not enough time to untangle it all.
We’ve been the in-house team, the founding team, and the "can you help us fix this" call. That’s why we built Tropical Year: to be the kind of partner we always wanted—curious, clear-eyed, and unafraid to ask the “stupid” questions that unlock better work.
We’re based in Chicago and collaborate with clients across different time zones, but the throughline is the same: mission-driven teams, thoughtful founders, and organizations that care how their work shows up in the world.
THE SHORT VERSION
We don't polish symptoms. We find the real "it"—a core user friction, a business truth that should steer decisions, or the operating pattern (design, content, or code) everything else should follow—then build the smallest durable system around it.
How we work
Plain language, honest questions. We’ll share our thinking as we go, surface tradeoffs, and push back when something doesn’t align with the bigger picture.
Structure + soul. We love a tidy system, but we’re not here to sand off all the personality. Your product or site should feel like you—just clearer and more confident.
Co-creation, not black boxes. We keep you close through check-ins, shared docs, and open files. You see the messy middle, not just the glossy end.
Built to hand off. We document, organize, and leave patterns you can actually use, whether you’re growing an internal team or working with other partners later.
TESTIMONIALS
What it's like in our orbit?
The best proof of our work isn't a deck—it's how it feels to build together. Our clients come to us with complex ideas and big stakes. They leave with products, websites, and foundations they can actually run—and a partner they know will ask the hard questions, keep things human, and see the project through the full orbit, not just the launch.
ADORNMENT + THEORY
Viviana Langhoff, Founder
I can't recommend Tropical Year enough. I've had the pleasure of working with Claudia and Reid on multiple projects, and every time, they've been professional, punctual, and incredibly receptive to feedback. As a fellow designer (in jewelry, not graphic design), I deeply appreciate the passion and attention to detail they bring to their work. I'll definitely be working with them again in the future.
BRILLION
Bill Phelan, Chief Product Officer
After interviewing several design firms, Tropical Year was clearly the right partner for us. They took the time to understand our customers, our business, and our product offerings. They helped our team establish a consistent vocabulary, which then translated into a well-structured information architecture and UX design. We were able to go from “concept” to a detailed set of design guides and specifications in less than 90 days. And we had fun doing it!
DRAWN AGENCY
Bryan Taylor, CEO
Our collaborations with Tropical Year have been outstanding - great work with some great people. They have allowed us to offer a much wider breadth of services to our clients by partnering with us and leading us through a process that continues to produce really great results. To have so many capabilities under one roof - from project management to design to development - has been fantastic. Together, we have been able to create some really great work and really enjoy the collaborative process, which has made this partnership exceptional.