A business need without the right tool
Work relies on spreadsheets, repurposed tools or an application that no longer keeps up. The need is clear; the product is still to be designed.
Engagement model
Mobile and web applications,
from your needs to a product
launched and supported.
You have a business need or a product idea and are looking for an agency to deliver it. We cover discovery, UX/UI design, development, launch and ongoing evolution.
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PRIMARY BUTTON SELECTEDDISCOVERY · UX/UI · DEVELOPMENT
Situations
What brings a project to us.
A product to launch
An offering to bring to market, with a first release usable by real people, not just a demonstration.
An application that needs deeper changes
The product exists, but its technical foundations or user journeys limit what you can add without making it fragile.
Integration with your systems
Your application needs to connect to existing business tools, internal APIs and data spread across several systems.
Scope of work
What we can take on for your product.
One team for design, engineering and production delivery. Entrust us with the whole journey or bring us in at the stage you need.
Product discovery
Priority journeys, initial scope, value, effort and risk trade-offs, and success criteria. Deliverables: a discovery brief, prioritised scope and an appropriate roadmap.
UX/UI design
Journeys, prototypes, interfaces and design rules, with user validation where agreed. Deliverables: designs, components and interface specifications.
Web and mobile applications
Native iOS and Android apps in Swift and Kotlin, or Flutter and React Native, and React, Next.js or Angular web applications. Store releases and incident monitoring.
APIs and data
NestJS, Java or Python APIs, PostgreSQL data models, documented contracts and versioned migrations.
Integrations
Connect to existing systems, authentication, payments, third-party services and data migration.
Launch and operations
Acceptance criteria, automated tests, continuous integration, monitoring and deployment procedures in place before launch.
Method
From discovery to production.
- 01
Understand and scope
What the product should enable, for whom and in what context. One to two weeks to agree priority journeys, initial scope and success criteria. Deliverables: a discovery brief and prioritised scope.
- 02
Design and validate
Journeys, prototypes, interfaces and design rules. Assumptions are tested with users where agreed. Deliverables: designs, components and interface specifications.
- 03
Build in usable increments
Architecture, development, code review, testing and continuous integration. The product is delivered in usable increments, with a demonstration at each stage.
- 04
Launch
Acceptance criteria, tests, monitoring and deployment procedures are prepared before a supported production release.
Responsibilities
Who decides what.
A typical division of responsibilities, agreed for each engagement.
| Topic | Your team | Black Tide |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | You decide what goes into each increment | We estimate and flag the consequences |
| Business rules and data | You provide rules and data sets | We translate them into models and journeys |
| Design | You approve journeys and interfaces | We propose, prototype and document trade-offs |
| Acceptance | You review each delivered increment | We address issues within the agreed scope |
| Production release | You decide the release date | We prepare, deploy and monitor |
Selected work
Products built, delivered and operated.
Meduz
Built and evolved a conversational AI product connected to hardware: a multi-model LLM pipeline with dynamic routing, and native Swift and Kotlin modules for real-time Bluetooth Low Energy integration.
Read the Meduz caseFantasy Alley
Built a reading application: a Flutter EPUB and PDF reader with DRM, a NestJS self-publishing API and a Python pipeline syncing around 125,000 books.
Read the Fantasy Alley caseEach case describes the work delivered, its scope and the current status of the product.
Budget and next steps
How a project is priced and continued.
What discovery establishes
Scope, risks, target architecture and delivery increments. This is the basis for a quote, rather than an estimate made before examining the need and existing systems.
What makes up the budget
Design and engineering time, integration complexity, the expected level of testing and any third-party costs.
Maintenance and evolution
Fixes, platform and store updates, and new features: ongoing work is agreed once the product is in production.
Join at the stage you need
Discovery only, design only or full delivery. The complete programme is not required for every engagement.
Useful questions
Before starting discovery.
Do we need a written specification before contacting you?
No. A business need, identified users and a target date are enough for a first conversation. Discovery turns these into a scoped and priced project.
Can you take over a project already in progress?
Yes. We first understand the product and review its code, interfaces and constraints before proposing the next steps.
Native or cross-platform?
The choice depends on usage, native integrations and product constraints. We compare the options during discovery.
What if the scope changes along the way?
We assess the impact on budget, timing and priorities together. The next increment is adjusted before additional work begins.
Next step
Let’s scope your project.
Your need, intended users, deadline and systems to integrate: the starting point for useful discovery.