Aside Project Studio

What Aside Project Studio does

Aside Project Studio is a one-person independent design studio and consultancy founded and operated by George Middlebrooks from a home office in Knoxville, Tennessee. The studio delivers a discrete suite of professional design services — responsive website design and redesign, CSS/stylesheet consultation, WordPress production and consultation, logo and brand identity development, print collateral design, photography, and photo editing and management. Its underlying technology stack is conventional and self-hosted: WordPress as the CMS, hand-written responsive CSS for cross-device layouts, and standard digital photography/editing tooling. There is no proprietary software platform, mobile app, or API.

The studio earns revenue through project-based fees on a one-time/perpetual-license basis, with publicly disclosed pricing tiers ranging from $1-5K for small deliverables (album art, print ads, brochures, pitch decks) to $13K+ for large-scale branding suites and WordPress-based websites built to scale. Engagements are initiated via a "Hire Me" contact form on the portfolio website, which captures project type, timeline, and budget. There are no retainer subscriptions, no SaaS products, and no formal partnerships or external investors; the business is a founder-owned sole proprietorship that has operated continuously for 25+ years.

Its customer base is broadly diversified across SMBs, nonprofits, government and public-sector entities (including US DOE National Laboratories and Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management), musicians and independent recording artists, and select enterprises such as Wärtsilä, Excellis Health Solutions, and IACMI's METAL initiative. The portfolio spans 60+ projects across websites, branding, album art, posters, and photography, and serves as the primary marketing and credibility asset. Geographic scope is limited to the United States, and headcount remains at a single full-time proprietor.

Name

Aside Project Studio

Legal name

Aside Project Studio

Website

https://asideproject.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aside Project Studio is a one-person independent design studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, run by George Middlebrooks, delivering responsive website design, WordPress production, CSS consultation, brand identity, print collateral, and photography to SMBs, nonprofits, government clients, and musicians across the United States on a project-fee basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Graphic Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production) (MPAAAHAD), Cover Design, Illustration & Book Interior Design Services (MPAJAJAH)

Keywords

• Graphic design services
• Web design services
• Brand identity design
• Print design services
• Wordpress development

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Design and Development Services: Project-based fees for responsive website design and development, CSS consultation, WordPress production, logo and brand identity development, print collateral design, photography, and photo editing services. The proprietor offers full-service delivery from concept to launch, or can integrate with existing teams for specific deliverables.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

A one-person independent design studio providing responsive website design and development, CSS and WordPress consultation, logo and brand identity development, print collateral design, and photography and photo editing services. Engagements are delivered on a project basis, either end-to-end from concept to launch or as an integrated contributor within an existing client design team, for SMBs, nonprofits, government entities, musicians, and select enterprise organizations.

Product overview

Aside Project Studio is a single-person independent design studio run by George Middlebrooks that provides a comprehensive suite of design services. The studio does not operate as a software platform but offers discrete professional service offerings including responsive website design and redesign, CSS/stylesheet consultation, WordPress production and consultation, logo and brand identity development, print collateral design, photography services, and photo editing and management. Services are delivered directly by the proprietor, a designer with over 25 years of professional experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Responsive Website Design and Redesign

Named customers25 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Focus Lab: Boutique branding and web design agency that delivers identity, web design, and development for funded startups and SMBs. Closely comparable to Aside Project Studio in service mix (branding + web) and client tier, though Focus Lab is a multi-person team.
• Lounge Lizard: Digital agency specializing in website design and development, branding, and marketing. Comparable to Aside Project Studio on the website design/development and branding axis, though larger and more marketing-focused.
• Franke Creative: Independent branding and web design studio run by a senior practitioner serving SMBs and nonprofits. Highly comparable one-person-style operation delivering concept-to-launch web and brand work similar to Aside Project Studio's offering.

Others

• Upwork: Global freelance marketplace where SMBs hire independent designers and developers for project-based web and brand work. Functionally comparable to Aside Project Studio's project-based SMB design offering, serving as a low-cost channel substitute.
• 99designs by Vista: Online marketplace connecting SMB clients with freelance graphic designers for logos, branding, and web work. Comparable service categories (branding, logo, web) to Aside Project Studio but operates as a low-cost marketplace alternative.
• Squarespace Design Agencies: Platform that hosts a marketplace of vetted designers building sites on its own CMS. Comparable to Aside Project Studio because it aggregates SMB web-design demand but uses a templated platform that competes with bespoke WordPress builds.
• Webflow Professional Partners: Network of certified freelancers and agencies building sites on Webflow's no-code platform. Directly comparable to Aside Project Studio's WordPress-based web practice, representing a competitive substitute for SMB web builds.

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Iconic multidisciplinary design firm offering branding, web, print, and identity work at the high end. Comparable to Aside Project Studio in service mix (branding, web, print, album-adjacent collateral) but operates as a broad incumbent at vastly greater scale and price point.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep roots in UX, web, and brand experience work. Comparable to Aside Project Studio's accessibility- and UX-driven design approach, though IDEO operates at enterprise scale across many disciplines.
• Frog Design: Large multinational design and strategy firm delivering brand, product, and digital experience work. Comparable service categories to Aside Project Studio (digital design, brand identity) but at significantly larger scale and enterprise focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asdprjct
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aside-project-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aside Project Studio