About us
We build software that helps teams find their north
NorthWind Studio is an independent software studio. We design, engineer and run our own products, with one aim: make everyday teamwork feel calm, clear and quick.
Our mission
Make everyday teamwork feel calm, clear and quick.
Who we are
An independent studio with one standard
NorthWind Studio was founded by Hamza Ishtiaq with a simple aim: build software that is clear, fast and respectful of people’s time.
We make our own products. Each one is designed, engineered, launched and run inside the studio, so the people who sketch the first screen are the same people who keep it running well.
Our first product, Glidely, brings a team’s boards, chat and tasks into one workspace on the web, with an Android app now in testing. It is the first of a small family of tools we plan to build.
Principles
Four rules behind everything we make
- 01 · Clarity
If it needs explaining, it isn’t finished.
Every interface is a quiet conversation. When someone has to stop and wonder where to click, the design has failed, so we remove clutter until only purpose remains.
- 02 · Systems
Fast trends rot fast. Systems endure.
We don’t build screens that expire after one sprint. We build design tokens, reusable components and workflows that grow more valuable with every release.
- 03 · Direction
Find your north.
Every product starts with one clear job. We decide what it is, then say no to everything that pulls away from it.
- 04 · Care
Respect people’s time and their data.
Fast screens, honest words and sensible defaults, and people can delete their account and its data whenever they want.
Our process
From first sketch to final deploy
One team carries every product the whole way, so nothing gets lost between the idea and the thing people use.
- 01
Understand
We start with the job a team needs done, and write down what success looks like before anything is drawn.
- 02
Design
We design the whole experience, from the empty state to the error message, on a shared system of tokens and components.
- 03
Build
We engineer for the web and Android from one codebase, with type checks, tests and accessibility built in.
- 04
Run
We ship to the edge, keep an eye on how it behaves and keep improving it, release after release.
Leadership
Meet the founder
Find your north.
Questions, partnerships or press? We’d love to hear from you.