The Studio

Small team. No intermediaries. Full cycle.

UIforgelab was founded in 2024 in Liège, Belgium. We build web interfaces for startups and SMBs — design and code handled by the same team, from brief to launch.

The premise is straightforward: most clients who hire a design agency end up with Figma files they can't implement. Most clients who hire a development agency end up with code that doesn't match what they imagined. We eliminate that gap by doing both ourselves.

We work with startups that need to move fast and don't have the budget for enterprise-scale agencies. We work with small businesses that need a credible web presence without a six-month timeline. We work with agencies that need a reliable white-label partner for frontend-heavy projects.

We don't work with clients who treat the brief as optional or the deadline as a suggestion.

How we think

Working principles

Scope first

Every project starts with a written scope document. Not a discovery call. Not a proposal. A document you can approve, modify, or reject. This prevents the conversations that happen at the end of projects that should have happened at the start.

Design in the browser

We design with implementation constraints in mind. Decisions that look good in Figma but are expensive to build get caught before they're built. You see working prototypes early.

Clarity over decoration

Visual choices earn their place by doing something — guiding attention, communicating structure, signalling value. A site that's beautiful but slow or confusing has failed regardless of the design quality.

You own everything

Source files, design assets, and code are yours on delivery. We don't lock clients into maintenance contracts or proprietary systems. If you want to continue working with us, it's because the work is good, not because leaving is difficult.

The team

Who writes and builds

Rafael Koenig

Design Lead

Rafael spent six years in product design at B2B software companies before moving to agency work. His background is in information architecture and interaction design — not visual styling. He builds design systems that developers can actually work with.

Writes on: UI structure, conversion-focused design, design system maintenance.

Yara Volkov

Development Lead

Yara's background is in frontend engineering at scale-up companies. She joined UIforgelab to work closer to product decisions. She specialises in performance-focused HTML/CSS/JS and React — and has a well-documented intolerance for unnecessary JavaScript.

Writes on: frontend performance, CSS architecture, handoff-free development.

Where we are

Based in Belgium, working worldwide

UIforgelab is registered in Belgium (Liège). We work with clients across the EU, UK, and North America. All project communication is in English. We operate on CET timezone and adjust for client schedules across time zones.

Registered office: Rue Grétry 72E, 4020 Liège, Belgium.
Contact: [email protected] · +32 33 75 27 69

Want to work together?

Tell us about the project. We'll tell you what it would take and whether we're the right fit.

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