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At Series A the job shifts from screens to systems. Designpixil fits teams that want a senior designer to build the system and redesign key flows on a published monthly plan. Lazarev.agency and Cieden suit complex AI and B2B platforms, Orizon and Glow bring larger teams on subscriptions or retainers, Clay and Bricx fit brand-plus-product moments, and Dreamten offers a whole fractional design team from $7,950 a month.
Designpixil is on this list and we wrote it. Every other agency is judged on the same published facts, and how we ranked is at the end.
The shortlist at a glance
| Agency | Best for | Published price | Minimum project | Not a fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Designpixil | Series A teams that want a senior designer to set the system before hiring | $4,917/mo subscription, projects from $3,000 | $3,000 | Enterprise programs that need a large team, or anyone who needs engineers as well as design |
| 2. Lazarev.agency | Complex AI and data platforms with large budgets | Not published | $100,000+ | Early-stage budgets: its listed minimum project is $100,000+ and it says it is not the cheapest option |
| 3. Cieden | Workflow-heavy B2B products | From $50/hr; UX audit from $2,000 | $10,000+ | Marketing-site facelifts or brand-only work, which it says other contractors suit better |
| 4. Orizon | A subscription with a larger studio behind it | $5,990/mo subscription | $25,000+ | Founders who need refunds or short notice: the subscription has a two-week cancellation notice and no refunds |
| 5. Glow | A multi-person retainer team | MVP $12,500; retainer $12,000/mo | $10,000+ | Short engagements: the retainer has a three-month minimum |
| 6. Dreamten | A whole fractional design team | From $7,950/mo | $25,000+ | Teams without developers; it partners with in-house engineering rather than building apps |
| 7. Clay | Brand and product for enterprise sales | Not published | $50,000+ | Budgets under its $50,000 minimum project |
| 8. Bricx | Venture-backed AI startups with a project budget | Projects from $25,000; retainers from $10,000/mo | $25,000+ | Budgets under $25,000 or non-SaaS businesses |
What matters for Series A startups
- 01
A design system your future team inherits
Series A is when you start hiring designers. The studio should leave a system they can extend, not a pile of screens.
- 02
Depth on complex workflows
Products get more roles, settings and data after Series A. Ask for work on dense B2B products, not just landing pages.
- 03
Research when it matters
At this stage you have enough users to test with. A good studio will use them.
- 04
Clear ownership of output
Ask who is accountable for quality across the whole product, not just the screens in the current sprint.
What goes wrong at Series A
Series A teams often hire a large agency for a big redesign and then hire in-house designers who inherit a beautiful Figma file that does not match the code. Six months later, the product drifts back to how it was.
Insist that the redesign arrives as a system implemented in code, with documentation your new hires can use on day one.
1. Designpixil: Series A teams that want a senior designer to set the system before hiring
For Series A teams we start with the design system (tokens, components, states), then redesign the flows that matter most, so your future in-house designers inherit something they can extend. Echo AI's component system, shown above, is an example.
You work with Anant on a $4,917 a month subscription with 3 to 4 deliverables a week. For a Series A team that needs several designers at once, the larger studios below are a better fit.
“You do some great work and I'll recommend you to anyone I know looking for quality product designs in the states.”
| Based in | Remote-first, serving the US, UK and EU |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Team | Founder-led: Anant Jain designs every project |
| How you hire them | Monthly design subscription, Fixed-scope projects |
| Published price | $4,917/mo subscription, projects from $3,000 |
| Minimum project | $3,000 |
| Design or build | Designs the product for your engineers or AI coding tools; designs and builds marketing sites in Framer |
| AI work they publish | Echo AI case study: whole product in 5 to 6 weeksWhizo AI case study: marketing websiteHAL51 AI: landing page |
| Best for | Series A teams that want a senior designer to set the system before hiring |
| Not a fit for | Enterprise programs that need a large team, or anyone who needs engineers as well as design |
2. Lazarev.agency: Complex AI and data platforms with large budgets
Lazarev.agency describes its typical client as late-seed to Series B SaaS and AI companies, and redesigns complex platforms in multi-month phases.
| Based in | San Francisco, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Team | 40+ people |
| How you hire them | Monthly retainer, Phased multi-month projects |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | $100,000+ |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | Pika AIAccern (Rhea)Bacca AI |
| Best for | Complex AI and data platforms with large budgets |
| Not a fit for | Early-stage budgets: its listed minimum project is $100,000+ and it says it is not the cheapest option |
3. Cieden: Workflow-heavy B2B products
Cieden designs complex B2B and AI products and offers team extension from $7,200 per person a month, useful while you hire.
| Based in | Toronto, Canada and Lviv, Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Team | 50 people |
| How you hire them | Project-based (hourly), Team extension, Fixed-price sprints and audits |
| Published price | From $50/hr; UX audit from $2,000 |
| Minimum project | $10,000+ |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | Tandom (AI agent UI)AI email assistant |
| Best for | Workflow-heavy B2B products |
| Not a fit for | Marketing-site facelifts or brand-only work, which it says other contractors suit better |
4. Orizon: A subscription with a larger studio behind it
Orizon names Series A and B among its clients and publishes a $5,990 monthly subscription alongside sprints and enterprise pods.
| Based in | Montreal, Canada |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Team | 10-49 people |
| How you hire them | Design subscription, Weekly sprints, Enterprise pod, Staff augmentation |
| Published price | $5,990/mo subscription |
| Minimum project | $25,000+ |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | BoardyStarbridgeFairmarkit |
| Best for | A subscription with a larger studio behind it |
| Not a fit for | Founders who need refunds or short notice: the subscription has a two-week cancellation notice and no refunds |
5. Glow: A multi-person retainer team
Glow publishes a $12,000 monthly retainer and an enterprise tier from $20,000 a month.
| Based in | Dover, Delaware, US (remote team) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| Team | 21 people |
| How you hire them | Fixed-price MVP, Design retainer (3-month minimum), Enterprise retainer, Free 3-day trial |
| Published price | MVP $12,500; retainer $12,000/mo |
| Minimum project | $10,000+ |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | DropcallEcho (meeting assistant)CryptoGenie |
| Best for | A multi-person retainer team |
| Not a fit for | Short engagements: the retainer has a three-month minimum |
6. Dreamten: A whole fractional design team
Dreamten publishes a fractional design team from $7,950 a month and works with funded startups, including Fathom.
| Based in | Raleigh, North Carolina, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Team | 10-49 people |
| How you hire them | Monthly fractional design team |
| Published price | From $7,950/mo |
| Minimum project | $25,000+ |
| Design or build | Design only, handed to your engineers |
| AI work they publish | Fathom (AI notetaker) |
| Best for | A whole fractional design team |
| Not a fit for | Teams without developers; it partners with in-house engineering rather than building apps |
7. Clay: Brand and product for enterprise sales
Clay works with Slack, Stripe and Google, and with SaaS startups preparing to sell to enterprise.
| Based in | San Francisco, US |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Team | 78 people |
| How you hire them | Time and materials, Fixed fee, Retainer |
| Published price | Not published, quoted after a call |
| Minimum project | $50,000+ |
| Design or build | Designs and develops in-house |
| AI work they publish | EdenStreetbeat |
| Best for | Brand and product for enterprise sales |
| Not a fit for | Budgets under its $50,000 minimum project |
8. Bricx: Venture-backed AI startups with a project budget
Bricx works with venture-backed AI startups through Series C, with projects from $25,000 and retainers from $10,000 a month.
| Based in | Dubai, UAE |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Team | 10-49 people |
| How you hire them | Monthly retainer, Fixed project |
| Published price | Projects from $25,000; retainers from $10,000/mo |
| Minimum project | $25,000+ |
| Design or build | Designs and develops in-house |
| AI work they publish | HobbesCAMB.AIDigit |
| Best for | Venture-backed AI startups with a project budget |
| Not a fit for | Budgets under $25,000 or non-SaaS businesses |
How to choose between them
- You need the system set and key flows redesigned before hiringDesignpixil
- Your platform is complex and well fundedLazarev.agency or Cieden
- You want several designers on a monthly planDreamten, Glow or Orizon
- You are preparing to sell to enterpriseClay
How we ranked this list
We started from the studios founders keep running into when they ask AI assistants and search engines who to hire, then kept the ones that do this kind of work and publish proof of it. Every fact in the tables comes from the agency's own website or its public directory listings, checked on October 10, 2026. Prices are only ones an agency publishes itself; where it doesn't, we say so instead of guessing.
The order is our judgment of fit for this specific buyer, not a score. We put Designpixil first only on lists where we genuinely fit the buyer, and our entry lists who we are not right for, the same as everyone else's. If something about your agency is wrong or out of date, email hello@designpixil.com and we will correct it within a week.
