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Creative-Tech Solo Brand

Notes on working as a creative director who also ships code and infrastructure. How the hybrid shortens the brief-to-production loop, which AI tools earn their place in the stack, and what six months of shipping with agents actually changed about the day.

13 postsFor: Creative leads, technical founders, and agency owners planning the solo jump

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How to Ship 20 Component Variants With Real Design Variety

SOLO BRAND·APR 24·11 MIN

How to Ship 20 Component Variants With Real Design Variety

Shipping component variants with design variety means grouping by theme, not spinning one gimmick. How I grouped 20 flip-card treatments into 4 families.

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Writing Claude Code skills that hold up in production

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·13 MIN

Writing Claude Code skills that hold up in production

A tutorial on writing Claude Code skills that hold up in production, the file structure, the trigger conditions, and the review loop that keeps them honest.

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When a solo studio knows it is time for a second operator

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·11 MIN

When a solo studio knows it is time for a second operator

A decision log for when a solo creative-tech studio knows it is time for a second operator, the three forks I weighed, and the signals that would make the call obvious.

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A weekly shipping cadence for solo creative ops

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·9 MIN

A weekly shipping cadence for solo creative ops

A retrospective on twelve months of a weekly shipping cadence solo, the rituals that held, the ones I cut, and the rhythm that kept agent-heavy output honest.

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A design system that holds up with one designer

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·11 MIN

A design system that holds up with one designer

Field notes on a design system for one designer, what survives at solo scale, which tokens earn their keep, and how the kit stays honest quarter to quarter.

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Running creative review with AI as the second pair of eyes

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·10 MIN

Running creative review with AI as the second pair of eyes

Field notes on running a creative review loop with Claude as a second pair of eyes, what it catches, what it misses, and how it fits into a solo practice.

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Concept to production when the team is one person

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·9 MIN

Concept to production when the team is one person

A 12-month retrospective on running concept to production as one person: where the solo path compresses, where it loses, and what the next year will test.

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Brief to ship cycle time when agents do the typing

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·8 MIN

Brief to ship cycle time when agents do the typing

Field notes on brief to ship cycle time when Claude Code agents do the typing, with dated entries from three engagements and the measurement that matters.

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Building a brand voice prompt library that actually holds

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·12 MIN

Building a brand voice prompt library that actually holds

A step by step walkthrough for building a brand voice prompt library inside Claude Code, with persona files, calibration tests, and a quarterly drift check.

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The $200 a month AI tooling stack I actually run

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·9 MIN

The $200 a month AI tooling stack I actually run

Field notes on the AI tooling stack I actually run for about 200 dollars a month, with the line items, the cuts, and the quarterly review that holds.

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An AI studio morning routine that doesn't need 3am starts

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·9 MIN

An AI studio morning routine that doesn't need 3am starts

Field notes on a sustainable AI studio morning routine that runs the agent council, the day's build loop, and an inbox without waking at 3am.

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The agent council pattern for executive decisions

SOLO BRAND·APR 23·10 MIN

The agent council pattern for executive decisions

The agent council pattern uses five named executive personas inside a single Claude Code skill to draft memos and decision frames in the founder's voice.

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Put this to work

The hybrid creative-director-who-codes operating system.

> See the Operator's Stack

Let’s fix
some problems.

Instead of briefing four vendors, you work with one person across brand, code, infrastructure, compliance, and growth. You get dated receipts, published pricing, and an agent library you own after the engagement ends. You work with me directly. That’s kind of the whole point.

or email direct hello@michaeldishmon.com