Artone Studio vs Baked Design: Which Design Partner is Smarter for Startups?

TL,DR

Baked Design is a subscription-based product design studio offering two tiers at $5,417/month (Basic, 2 updates per week) and $6,917/month (Pro, 3 updates per week), with a strict no-meetings policy and async Slack collaboration.

Artone Studio is a digital design partner for startups providing product design, branding, web design, and Framer development at $3,995/month with 2-3 tasks per week, unlimited brands and users, optional strategy calls, and Slack collaboration.

Baked Design focuses purely on product design and marketing websites with an async-only model, while Artone combines design execution with strategic thinking and offers broader service coverage including branding and flexible communication.

For most early-stage startups needing comprehensive design support across multiple disciplines, Artone Studio delivers better value, more flexibility, and lower cost.

What each service is

Baked Design at a glance:

Baked Design positions itself as a product design partner for startup founders, specializing in helping founders raise capital, build products from zero to one, and launch quickly.

The studio operates on a subscription model with two tiers:

• Basic: $5,417/month with 2 updates per week

• Pro: $6,917/month with 3 updates per week.

They work with senior designers who previously worked at Meta, Netflix, HubSpot, and Expa, serving startups across AI, banking, crypto, health, gaming, and education sectors.

Baked Design emphasizes a strict no-meetings approach with all collaboration happening asynchronously via private Slack channels.

Artone Studio at a glance:

Artone Studio is a digital design partner for startups and growing teams, offering product design, web design, branding, and Framer development at $3,995/month.

Unlike pure product studios, Artone brings a comprehensive approach covering:

• Brand identity and visual systems

• Marketing websites and landing pages

• Product interfaces for web and mobile

• Design systems and component libraries

• Framer development and implementation

Clients include VC-backed startups funded by Y Combinator, Global Brain, and Pioneer Fund, alongside enterprise brands like Samsung, Lenovo, and Logitech.

Artone delivers 2-3 scoped tasks per week with unlimited brands and users, Slack collaboration with optional strategy calls, and a 75% first-week refund policy.

The studio combines startup velocity with senior-level craft, embedding with teams to move at founder speed without the overhead of in-house hiring.

Pricing and value

Baked Design pricing:

Baked Design offers two subscription tiers:

• Basic: $5,417/month with 2 updates per week, marketing websites and product design

• Pro: $6,917/month with 3 updates per week, adds Framer development

Both plans include a senior designer, private Slack channel, no contracts with the ability to cancel anytime, and a strict no-meetings policy.

The pricing is 36-73% higher than comparable design subscription services.

Artone Studio pricing:

Artone Studio charges $3,995/month for comprehensive design coverage including product design, branding, web design, and Framer development.

The subscription includes:

• 2-3 tasks per week

• Unlimited brands and users

• Slack collaboration with optional strategy calls

• 75% refund in the first week if not satisfied

• Pause for up to 2 months or cancel anytime

This single tier delivers the same breadth of services as Baked Design's Pro plan at 42% lower cost.

Verdict:

For early-stage startups watching runway, Artone Studio offers substantially better value.

At $3,995/month, founders get product design, branding, web design, and Framer development with flexible communication including optional calls. Compare this to Baked Design's $6,917/month Pro plan that excludes branding and prohibits meetings entirely.

Baked Design serves startups well but targets those with larger budgets or narrower product-focused needs.

Artone delivers broader service coverage, more communication flexibility, and lower monthly cost, making it the more accessible and versatile choice for most pre-seed to Series B startups.

Delivery model and speed

Baked Design:

Baked Design operates on a weekly cadence with 2 updates per week (Basic) or 3 updates per week (Pro) delivered through private Slack channels.

The studio emphasizes a strict no-meetings policy, meaning all collaboration happens asynchronously without calls or video meetings.

Clients can pause or cancel anytime and reuse remaining days for quick fixes or pitch decks for investor calls. The model prioritizes predictable async delivery over real-time collaboration.

Artone Studio:

Artone Studio delivers 2-3 scoped tasks per week with frequent updates and flexible prioritization.

Collaboration happens primarily through Slack with optional strategy calls when founders need real-time alignment or feedback.

This means startups can run multiple design streams in parallel:

• A product interface update

• A new landing page build

• Brand guidelines refinement

• Pitch deck for fundraising

All progressing simultaneously within the same week.

The model combines the efficiency of async work with the clarity of synchronous strategy sessions when needed.

For startups balancing product development, fundraising materials, website updates, and brand evolution, Artone's flexibility allows teams to shift priorities mid-week without waiting for the next update cycle.

The optional calls become valuable when discussing complex product strategy, presenting design rationale to stakeholders, or aligning cross-functional teams.

Baked Design's strict no-meetings approach works well for founders who prefer pure async, but can create bottlenecks when strategic alignment requires conversation rather than Slack threads.

Services and capabilities

Both studios cover core product design needs including web apps, mobile apps, and marketing websites.

The key differentiator lies in breadth and access:

• Artone includes comprehensive branding, product design, web design, and Framer development at the base $3,995/month tier with unlimited brands and users

• Baked Design gates Framer development behind the $6,917/month Pro tier and focuses primarily on product interfaces and marketing sites with limited branding work.

Baked Design offers Webflow development alongside Framer, giving clients platform choice.

Artone specializes in Framer for its superior design flexibility and performance, bringing deeper product thinking and strategic positioning to every project rather than pure visual execution.

Collaboration and communication

Baked Design:

Baked Design operates with a strict no-meetings policy, handling all collaboration asynchronously through private Slack channels.

Updates are delivered 2-3 times per week depending on the plan tier.

The studio emphasizes this constraint upfront, positioning it as a feature for founders who want to avoid calendar bloat. All feedback, questions, and strategic discussions happen in writing without calls or video meetings.

Artone Studio:

Artone Studio uses Slack as the primary collaboration hub with optional strategy calls available when founders need them.

This hybrid approach combines:

• The efficiency of async Slack updates

• The clarity of real-time conversations for complex strategic decisions

• Flexibility for stakeholder presentations

• Quick alignment with cross-functional teams

The team embeds with clients, responding quickly in Slack while remaining available for calls when synchronous discussion adds value over written threads.

For founders managing investor updates, coordinating with engineering teams, or making strategic product decisions, the ability to jump on a call can accelerate alignment and prevent miscommunication.

Artone's optional calls provide this flexibility without forcing rigid meeting schedules.

Baked Design's pure async model works well for highly independent founders comfortable making decisions from Slack messages alone, but can slow down projects requiring nuanced strategic discussion or rapid iteration with multiple stakeholders.

Clients and credibility

Baked Design:

Baked Design has worked with founders from Stanford, Aragon, WatchGang, UC Penn, and startups including Supered, Fantasy, Instage, Saturn, EventSprout, VastAI, and Kaedim.

The studio highlights senior designers who previously worked at Meta, Netflix, HubSpot, Expa, and served as founding designers at 25+ startups.

Artone Studio:

Artone Studio serves VC-backed startups funded by Y Combinator, Global Brain, and Pioneer Fund, alongside enterprise brands including Samsung, Lenovo, and Logitech.

Recent clients include early-stage companies like Clipido, Open.cx, and Sero.

This mix demonstrates versatility:

• Delivering startup speed and scrappiness for pre-seed founders

• Maintaining the polish and rigor enterprise brands demand

• Scaling from MVP through Series B and beyond

Artone combines the craft of premium agencies with the velocity and flexibility startups need, serving as a scalable design partner across company stages.

The credibility contrast reveals positioning: Baked Design targets pure startup product work, while Artone serves a wider spectrum from early-stage founders to growth-stage teams and established enterprise clients.

This range proves Artone's ability to scale quality and process across company stages, not just early-stage MVP work.

Side-by-side comparison

When Artone is the better fit

• Startups need product design, branding, and web design handled in parallel without juggling multiple vendors

• Founders want flexible communication including optional strategy calls for complex decisions or stakeholder alignment

• Teams require comprehensive branding and identity work beyond basic logos or color palettes

• Companies value transparent pricing with full service coverage at $3,995/month rather than $6,917/month for equivalent capabilities

• Startups need unlimited brands and users, allowing multiple product lines or client-facing work within one subscription

• Teams want Framer development included at the base tier without paying premium pricing

• Founders prefer a design partner that embeds with their team and brings product strategy thinking, not just visual execution

Final take

Both Baked Design and Artone Studio deliver high-quality design work for startups with flexible subscription models and experienced teams.

Baked Design serves founders well with its strict async approach and product-focused expertise from senior designers with big tech backgrounds.

However, for most startups and product teams from pre-seed through Series B, Artone Studio provides stronger value through:

• Broader service coverage (product, brand, web, Framer development)

• More flexible communication (Slack plus optional calls)

• Transparent pricing at $3,995/month (42% less than Baked Design's comparable Pro tier)

• Unlimited brands and users for growing companies

Artone combines the craft of premium agencies with startup velocity, strategic product thinking, and founder-friendly flexibility, making it the more comprehensive and cost-efficient design partner for ambitious early-stage companies managing multiple design needs simultaneously.

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