Hi, I’m Aaron.
I run Sonnenberg Design out of Ladera Ranch, California. The studio is ten years this year. Designing has been my work for 25 years. Claude is the operations partner that lets it stay one designer at a small-org price.
The build is the start, not the end.
I started designing for the web in 2001. 25 years later, the work hasn’t changed as much as the tools have. The tools have changed a lot.
Sonnenberg Design started in 2016. It’s stayed small on purpose. The work is brand and site systems for independent California organizations: trade associations, restaurants, family businesses, small B2B SaaS. The kind of organization that doesn’t have a CMO, doesn’t want one, and needs the site to keep working anyway.
The thing I learned over a decade of running these systems is that the launch isn’t the end of the work. Most agencies treat the launch like the finish line, then disappear. I treat it like the start of the run phase. That’s what the year-10 studio is for: I build it, then I keep it running.
The retainer model is what makes the small-studio price possible. Productized scope, no surprises. See the services page for the menu.
One designer, one operations partner. The partnership is the studio.
Most small studios hit a ceiling. Hire a junior designer, the rate goes up. Stay solo, the throughput goes down. The Aaron-and-Claude partnership is how the studio ships at the volume of a five-person shop while staying at small-org pricing. The roles don’t blur; the line between them is the point.
Brand and design judgment. The decisions that need taste, not throughput. Client conversations and the calls that need a person on the line. The code I want to write myself.
DESIGN · STRATEGY · CLIENT · CRAFTDrafts I review. Code I’d have written anyway, shipped faster. Content pipelines, accessibility scanning, n8n workflows that keep the run phase running. Never talks to clients directly.
DRAFTS · CODE · n8n · OPSThree phases. Each one ends in something running.
You bring me a problem or an opportunity. We talk it through. I tell you whether I can help, what it’ll cost, and how long it’ll take. No discovery deck, no mystery, no estimate that triples on contact with reality.
I design and build. Claude drafts and codes; I edit and ship. You review at clear checkpoints. Nothing goes live without your sign-off. Most projects ship on a 4–8 week arc, depending on scope.
I keep it running. Updates, monitoring, accessibility, content, fixes. Public retainer pricing on the services page. This is what most agencies skip and what makes the small-studio model work. The build is where the system starts; the run is where it earns its keep.
What clients say.
His thought process is both critical and creative, which allows him to consistently contribute valuable art direction and beautifully executed designs that are functional for the most optimal user experience.Ryan Green / Sr Director of Ecommerce / TravisMathew