Qaynaq STUDIO ’26 / BAKU
Approach · How we work

Who decides, who executes —
for every step of the work.

Unlike the standard "our methodology" page, this isn't a marketing document — it's our internal work split. Every partner gets the same table when a project starts.

Approach · How we work

AI is how the studio works.
It is not the pitch.

Who decides, who executes — written down for every step. This table is a working reference; partners get the same one when a project starts.

No. Step Human AI Note
01 Concept Human — Strategy, positioning, brand decisions. Off the table for AI.
02 Direction exploration Human leads AI accelerates Twenty visual directions in a day. A human picks three and kills the rest.
03 Execution (design / code) Human + AI together AI tool Component assembly, code, ports — together. Every step gets reviewed.
04 Review Human — Every commit and every brand call ships with a human signature.
05 Documentation Human dictates AI drafts Partner docs, status reports, brand guidelines — AI drafts, human edits.
Phases · 1 — 4

Every project moves through four phases.

  1. Phase 1 1 week

    Understanding

    Users, market, existing system, decision-makers. No visual work begins — only documentation and decision points.

  2. Phase 2 1 week

    Direction

    Two or three direction explorations (human-led, AI-accelerated). One meeting picks the direction. Either side can stop the project here — half the fee returns.

  3. Phase 3 remaining time

    Execution

    Design and engineering, side by side. A live build every week. Change requests get reviewed in batches, not by Slack ping.

  4. Phase 4 1 week

    Delivery + handover

    Full documentation, handoff to the partner's team, 30-day post-launch support. Then the contract closes. Extensions are optional.

AI use · Rules in the open

Where AI works for us —
and where we keep it out.

In

  • Direction exploration — twenty visual variants in a day.
  • Code drafting — typical components, test cases, documentation.
  • Audit synthesis — collapsing Lighthouse + axe-core data into prose.
  • Translation drafts — first pass, human edits second.
  • Partner-facing documents — drafts, then human revision.

Out

  • Strategic and positioning calls.
  • Final brand voice.
  • Direct partner conversations (no chatbot).
  • Code review — that's human work.
  • Sending partner data to third parties — only anonymised fragments leave the system.

Technical detail — models in use, prompt-cache strategy, cost structure — is in the journal post.