Quiet by design.
Haas & Reed is an independent software practice based in Utrecht, working with a handful of engagements at a time. We scale by saying no, by writing carefully, and by working with operators who value the same.
We don’t market ourselves. Our work travels by referral, in confidence, between operators who have already paid the price of a system built carelessly.
We also build and run our own products — among them the Image Engine and ProntoID — so the advice we give is advice we live with in production.
The cheapest software is the one you don’t have to rewrite. We charge accordingly — and we draw the boring diagram before the pretty one.— The Haas & Reed studio principles, 1.4
What we hold to.
Write it down first.
A decision that isn’t written down hasn’t been made. Every engagement starts with a hypothesis on paper.
Few engagements, fully held.
We take on a handful of clients at a time, so the people who start your work are the people who finish it.
Name the trade-off.
Every option costs something. We say what, in plain English, before anyone commits.
Boring diagram, then pretty one.
Data flow and failure modes come before screens. The polish is easier once the shape is right.
Answer for what ships.
We leave documentation a successor can read, and a memo on what is — and isn’t — finished.
Send us a considered brief.
We answer everything personally, within five working days.