We are an experienced team of researchers, designers and software engineers, working with clients big and small on their digital projects.
We champion economic democracy and social justice, which is why we are incorporated as a worker’s cooperative, collectively owned by all employees.
It takes a village: We are a multidisciplinary team of designers, developers and strategists, combining our skills to create excellent digital products and infrastructure. We marry delight with function, for ourselves and for hire! Let’s team up!
Building better online spaces: We amplify humanity through design and technology, adhering to ethical design and calm tech principles. At the same time we’re no solutionists—human problems can rarely be solved by technology alone.
Hell yeah or nope: We value people and planet over profit, so we only accept projects and clients we believe in—genuine enthusiasm leads to the best work after all (consequently we also maintain a blocklist of industries we consider harmful and exploitative).
We team up with individuals, organisations and companies who share our optimism that a better world is possible. Like what you see? You could be up there as well!
Visual presentation, digital tools and a comprehensive website for Publix, the house for journalism and democracy in Berlin → Visit website
Strategy, Research, Website design, Product design, Website dev, Accessibility audit, SEO audit
Facilitating tens of thousands of unlikely conversations, to bridge societal divide—with a custom, secure software platform → Visit website
Product design, Product dev, Tech audit, Award-winning
Bold new website and custom online shop for TypeMates, the passionately-eclectic type foundry → Visit website
Website dev, E-commerce, Data migration
New online platform to showcase, empower and connect the next generation of Berlin-based fashion designers → Visit website
Website design, Website dev
Naming, visual identity, website and merch for STA—the German gov program strengthening open-source software and digital resilience → Visit website
Strategy, Visual identity, Naming, Website design, Website dev, Accessibility audit
Brand refresh and website relaunch for Media Lab, the innovation hub and funding program for digital media in Bavaria → Visit website
Strategy, Research, Visual identity, Website design, Website dev, Data migration, Accessibility audit, SEO audit
Invoicing: We work with a single day rate for all our services. At the end of each month we send you an invoice over the actual hours we worked on your project, with detailed timesheets if needed. Non-profit clients and cooperatives get 10% off every invoice, with our common good discount.
Tech stacks: Elixir Phoenix, Ruby on Rails, Next.js, React, Typescript, Node.js, GSAP, Framer Motion, Craft CMS, Craft Commerce, Kirby, GraphQL, serverless
Methods: Remote and in-person workshops, Scrum, Kanban, prototyping, usability testing, journey mapping, visual compass, accessibility evaluation, information architecture
Leonid A. Klimov Science Editor, dekoderI’d like to say thank you for this incredible collaboration. Not just in terms of the excellent outcome, but also about how to do things (together) and why. Love in all directions!
Andreas Karsten CEO, Youth Policy LabsIt is such a pleasure working with you. Your sense of purpose; your empathy and respect; sense of beauty and design; the clean and smart coding; your pragmatism and professionalism. It fills me with great joy to know that we'll keep working together.
Powen Shiah Communications Manager, Sovereign Tech FundVillage One has worked with us to develop a brand identity for the Sovereign Tech Fund that is not just coherent: it also strengthens our message and clarifies our vision, mission and identity.
Patricia Leu Co-Director, Prototype Fund12/10 – would do again! I want to give a huge thanks to the entire team at Village One for their tremendous work on our website relaunch. Working together has been an absolute pleasure.
Claudia Chzwalisz Founder + CEO, DemocracyNextWe immensely enjoyed working with this amazing team. If anyone is looking for a creative, talented, value-driven team for design & web development I would highly recommend to reach out!
Our aim is to assemble a team of roughly 12 people over time, because we think that’s a healthy size for a creative team. Good things take time though and while we enjoy meeting new people, we’re not actively hiring right now. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about open positions!
Type design and icon systems
Interface and brand designer, who also co-founded Village One. Since early 2025 he has been freelancing on his own again.
Branding and interface design
Visualising data and editorial design
Backend development
Tommi is Village One’s connections weaver, community organizer and indie tech / open-source activist.
Here’s a selection of people we like to team up with, from our extensive network. These collaborations allow us to take on more complex projects, despite being a small core team ourselves.
This is Fei, writing you probably for the last time as a Village One co-op member. But before we get into that, let me start with a small story.
We supported dekoder.org with design and code on an ambitious project: launching an online documentary series that tells the overlooked stories of civilian victims in Nazi-occupied parts of the Soviet Union during WW2.
Village One is a studio with strong values and our goal is to win over clients and projects we feel genuinely excited about—that leads to the best work, after all. Below are our wishlist, red lines and a few personal statements from members.
Got a project to talk about or just want to chat? First contact can be daunting, but we make it easy: Just schedule a video call (or send us an email)!
Over the last years we have created some stickers and shared them with friends, clients and at events. Want some? We can send you a pack, or you can print them yourself for personal use.
When we got serious about founding Village One we didn’t yet know that it would become a cooperative. Rather, we conceptualized what our ideal company would look like, based on the tensions we had felt in previous employments and what inspired us in other organizations.
We use our digital garden to document processes, values, organizational knowledge, newsletters and everything in between.
Got a project to discuss or simply want to say hello? Book a video call right away!
Our main social presence is on Mastodon, follow for inspiration and regular updates: