TRUSTED BY THESE ORGANIZATIONS
Critical work deserves design that matches its ambition.
Government agencies and NGOs often manage the world's most complex challenges, yet their digital presence rarely reflects their expertise. Mission-driven startups often have passionate founders and powerful ideas but lack the expertise to go from 0 to 1. We bridge the gap between institutional knowledge and high-fidelity design.
SERVICE AREAS
Discovery &
Strategy
We untangle complex requirements and conduct discovery research to find the core value of your project.
Design &
Prototyping
We build high-fidelity interfaces built on rigorous systems, designed for longevity and accessibility.
Comms &
Visual Strategy
We communicate the impact of your work through clear narratives and branded creative assets.
The work follows a path.
01
RESEARCH
02
STRATEGIZE
03
DESIGN
04
TEST
The Fieldframe
methodology
Our approach is rooted at the intersection of design thinking, social science, and the scientific method. Through Fieldframe™, Ecotone Studio ensures we don't just "make things look pretty"—we deeply interrogate problems, document reality, and craft digital tools with the clarity and intent your mission demands.
Context Before Solution
Understand the system, stakeholders, and power dynamics before defining the deliverables. Prevent misalignment and extractive design.
Clarify Core Problem
Don't jump to features. Pinpoint root problems and needs before prescribing solutions.
Co-Creation Over Extraction
Work with users, communities and collaborators, not for or about them. Build trust, relevance, and resilience in the final solution.
KIND WORDS
"If you need someone who can turn input from a variety of key stakeholders into a coherent product direction, Vanessa is exceptional. She is also funny, kind and a pleasure to work with!"
Heidi Schmalbach, PhD
Program Director, UT Planet Texas 2050 Platform
"She's quite talented at synthesizing vast amounts of information quickly and clearly identifying gaps and next steps. She's also exceedingly patient...I wholeheartedly recommend working with Vanessa for your UX needs."
Jonathan Lowell, PhD
Community Liason, UT Planet Texas 2050 Platform
"Her ability to translate complex scientific data into visually engaging stories...was a transformative element that made the assessment accessible and engaging to a broad audience."
Dr. Manmeet Singh
Assistant Professor, Distinguished Postdoc, UT-City Climate CoLab
"She consistently delivered solutions that were not only effective but also ethically sound, ensuring that all stakeholders' needs were met with the utmost integrity and transparency."
Luiza Romero
Product Manager, EY Advanced Technology Tax Lab
"Future collaborators should feel confident that their requests and communications will be addressed in a timely manner and with consistent quality."
Cynthia Morales
Design Manager, Texas Hospital Association
"Vanessa absolutely knocked it out of the park. She not only developed excellent designs, she contributed thoughtful and rich usability advice. I would recommend her to any project that needs a design specialist."
Marc DeLegge
Lead Developer, Duke Farms Digital Guide
"She was an extremely talented UX designer who...was able to provide high-quality design layouts...[and] understood what a good UX process delivered. She possesses a sharp eye for design [that] brought clarity and elegance to the applications she worked on."
John Christiana
UX Director, EY FSO
"Vanessa did an excellent job designing our website and conducting a comprehensive branding exercise for my environmental company, delivering exceptional logos, themes, and narratives."
Larry Dominguez, MES
Owner, EcoAssets Environmental
"Vivamus commodo nisl et tincidunt fringilla. Morbi feugiat orci et ligula consequat, vitae fermentum est bibendum. Vivamus sodales odio id placerat dapibus. Aliquam congue et enim sed vestibulum. Aenean vel tempus massa, non vehicula."
Armando Maldonado, PE
Principal, AMP Engineering