From
strategy
to ship

For founders who need more than just a website

A carefully constructed mountain of logos representing different brands and companies Dead Keen, and its founder, Ryan Taylor, has created, and is most proud of, culminating with the Dead Keen log at its peak.

Common challenges.
Uncommonly joined-up solutions.

Let’s be honest: growth is messy. You’re either scaling too fast to think straight or stuck in systems that feel like they’re held together with sticky tape and hope.

tech start-ups

Need to look and feel like the big players, yesterday?

I help start-ups craft brands that punch above their weight and build customer-facing websites, apps and SaaS platforms people actually want to use.

→ Often this starts as a brand + website project or MVP build, and grows into an ongoing partnership as you scale.

professional services

Still using a logo designed in 2003? Or 1993? Oh lord, not 1983?!

Lawyers, accountants, engineers and consultants deserve better than dusty "heritage" branding and brochure sites that look like they were last updated pre-smartphone.

→ Typically this looks like a brand refresh + new website, with optional ongoing support as a part-time "head of brand/CMO" outside your org chart.

ambitious SMEs

Outgrowing your old systems? Kudos on the growth, but it's time to level up.

When your success starts to feel like a liability, it's usually a sign your brand, website and internal systems are lagging behind.

→ Often this starts with a diagnostic session and priority plan, followed by targeted project work.

No faff, no fluff. Just joined-up thinking and solutions that stick.

I work with founders and leadership teams to line up brand, website, product and tech so they’re telling the same story and pulling in the same direction.

Sometimes that’s a defined project: new brand, new site, new product. Sometimes it’s an ongoing fractional CTO/CMO-style partnership, where you’ve got someone thinking about the whole thing with you, not just a small slice.

How can I help?

Dead Keen helps you reach real humans through razor-sharp branding, websites built for humans—not just algorithms—and apps people actually want to use.

Because I work across strategy, design, development and leadership, you don't need three different suppliers just to ship one good thing. From one-off projects to ongoing fractional CTO/CMO-style support, everything stays joined up.

Tech That Means Business

From slick customer apps to robust backend systems. SaaS, native, web, or enterprise—whatever your business needs to thrive. I can help you shape product strategy, design the experience, and then actually build it. All explained in a way that doesn't mean you need a computer science degree to use it.

Content & Communication

Messaging and storytelling that makes folks stop and think, and sounds like it was—and actually is—written by a human. From positioning and tone of voice to web copy and decks, I help you decide what to say, how to say it, and where it should live.

Brand & Identity

Not just another pretty logo—we’re talking about the whole kit and caboodle from strategy to visuals. We’ll get clear on who you are, what you stand for and how you show up, then give your team the tools and assets to use that brand consistently in the real world.

Digital Presence

Websites that work as hard as you do. Founder sites, marketing sites, and landing pages that showcase your expertise, build trust and turn visitors into leads—without feeling like every other template on the internet.

Fractional Partner + Sounding Board

Not every problem needs a full-blown project. Sometimes you just need someone who understands brand, product and tech to sit with you, look at the whole picture and help you decide what to do next.

For some clients, that's a focused 90-minute strategy session to untangle the mess and leave with a clear plan. For others, I plug in as a fractional CTO/CMO-style partner – joining leadership calls, shaping roadmaps and guarding the quality of what gets shipped, without you needing another full-time headcount.

Either way, you get a trusted brain you can lean on, not just another supplier.

Who is Dead Keen anyway?

Fair question. Hello! I’m Ryan Taylor, the founder and creative behind Dead Keen, my independent studio.

I spent a decade running a branding agency before going solo so I could work more closely with the people actually making decisions – founders, partners and leadership teams. These days I split my time between hands-on work (branding, design, development) and acting as a fractional CTO/CMO-style partner for a small number of teams who need someone thinking about the whole picture with them.

Going it alone means you work directly with the person who understands the brand, the product and the code. No big team, no corporate nonsense—just me, plus trusted collaborators where a project demands it.

I spend roughly six months of the year in Manchester and six in Berlin, which gives me access to the markets and networks you care about in two of Europe’s most interesting cities for tech, professional services and creative work.

Design, code and brands are all just languages.

I’ve always been obsessed with languages—English, German, Japanese, even British Sign Language. It turns out brands, interfaces and code are also just different ways of saying: “here’s who we are, and here’s what we want you to do next.”

A lot of my job is translation: taking what’s in your head as a founder or leader and turning it into something your team, your users and your systems can actually understand and act on.