About
Who we are
Tropical Year is a founder-led creative studio for brand experiences. We help small, mission-driven teams, founders, and small businesses define who they are, design how they show up, and build the digital presence that makes it real.
We're based in Chicago and work with clients everywhere.
WHY THE NAME?
A tropical year is one full orbit around the sun — a complete cycle. That's how we think about the work: understanding, trust, and momentum are built gradually, through consistent experiences over time.
Your business is the sun — the center of your universe. Brand is the light: how you show up, what people see and feel. We help you shape that light so it reflects who you actually are.
What We Believe
Solve the right problem.
We're not here to decorate the surface. We dig into the "why" before solving the "how" — so we're addressing the underlying friction, not just polishing symptoms.
Design for real people.
We build for humans, not slide decks. That means clear language, intuitive flows, and accessible interfaces that work for more than one kind of brain.
Keep structure + soul.
Great work has both a strong backbone and a beating heart. We make systems that protect the brand, not flatten it — and leave room for play and evolution.
Make it maintainable.
We don't believe in black boxes or fragile one-offs. We want what we build to be understandable, fixable, and extendable by the teams who live with it.
TESTIMONIALS
What it's like in our orbit?
The best proof of our work isn’t a deck—it’s how it feels to build together. Our clients come to us with complex ideas and big stakes. They leave with products, websites, and foundations they can actually run—and a partner they know will ask the hard questions, keep things human, and see the project through the full orbit, not just the launch.
I can't recommend Tropical Year enough. I've had the pleasure of working with Claudia and Reid on multiple projects, and every time, they've been professional, punctual, and incredibly receptive to feedback. As a fellow designer (in jewelry, not graphic design), I deeply appreciate the passion and attention to detail they bring to their work. I'll definitely be working with them again in the future.
Viviana Langhoff, Founder
ADORNMENT + THEORYAfter interviewing several design firms, Tropical Year was clearly the right partner for us. They took the time to understand our customers, our business, and our product offerings. They helped our team establish a consistent vocabulary, which then translated into a well-structured information architecture and UX design. We were able to go from “concept” to a detailed set of design guides and specifications in less than 90 days. And we had fun doing it!
Bill Phelan, CPO
BRILLIONOur collaborations with Tropical Year have been outstanding - great work with some great people. They have allowed us to offer a much wider breadth of services to our clients by partnering with us and leading us through a process that continues to produce really great results. To have so many capabilities under one roof - from project management to design to development - has been fantastic. Together, we have been able to create some really great work and really enjoy the collaborative process, which has made this partnership exceptional.
Bryan Taylor, CEO
DRAWN AGENCY