About DRGNFLY

There's a reason for the name.

It starts with something personal. It continues with what a dragonfly actually represents. And even the way DRAGONFLY became DRGNFLY says something about how this studio approaches a problem.

First, it's personal

Why DRGNFLY?

Dragonflies were the founder's late mother's favourite insect. She kept a number of dragonfly-related things around her.

Naming the studio after them creates a personal connection to her — one that was there before it was ever a piece of branding. It was only afterwards that the qualities people associate with a dragonfly turned out to fit the kind of company this was becoming.

Why lose the vowels?

DRGNFLY, not DRAGONFLY.

DRAGONFLY
→
DRGNFLY

DRGNFLY is DRAGONFLY reduced to its essential elements. The meaning is still there. The identity is still there. What's unnecessary isn't.

That's a useful description of how we think about technology, too. The best solution isn't necessarily the one with the most features, the most technology or the most complexity. It's the one that keeps everything the business actually needs and removes as much friction as possible.

And the dragonfly itself fits too

Qualities worth building around.

A dragonfly is agile, precise and quick to change direction, and it moves with very little wasted effort. Those qualities didn't define the studio's philosophy — but they reinforced one that was already taking shape.

Agility
Technology and businesses change. The solution should be able to adapt.
Precision
Build what solves the problem. Avoid unnecessary complexity.
Adaptability
Don't force every business into the same template or technology.
Speed
Move quickly where speed matters, without confusing speed with cutting corners.
Efficient movement
Remove friction, unnecessary steps and wasted effort.
How that shows up in our work

Keep what matters. Remove what doesn't.

01
Start with the problem
We don't begin by deciding which technology to sell.
02
Build for the business
The solution should fit how the business and its customers actually work.
03
Keep it understandable
Plain English. Clients should understand what has been built and why.
04
Leave clients in control
No unnecessary lock-in or dependency. The client owns what DRGNFLY builds for them.
Two sides of the studio

Client work, and our own.

DRGNFLY operates in two complementary ways.

Client Work

Businesses bring DRGNFLY problems, opportunities or product ideas. We work out the appropriate solution, then design and build it.

Our Products

DRGNFLY also identifies problems itself, and turns some of those into standalone digital products. Building our own products means we experience product decisions, launches and iteration from the owner's side too.

Explore Our Products →
Who's behind it

DRGNFLY is founder-led.

James Edwards, founder of DRGNFLY Studios

That means you stay close to the person responsible for the thinking and direction of the work.

James Edwards

James is the founder of DRGNFLY Studios. His career has been spent leading planning and operations for luxury automotive brands in fast-moving creative environments, using data, analytics and technology to solve problems, improve decision-making and make complex operations work more effectively.

DRGNFLY grew from that experience. Rather than starting with a particular technology, James starts by understanding how a business works, where the friction is and what could work better — then uses the right combination of technology, automation and intelligent systems to solve it.

Alongside client work, he also develops DRGNFLY's own digital products, taking ideas from an identified problem through to design, build and launch.

Got a problem worth solving properly?

You don't need to know what the solution is yet. Start by telling us what's not working.

Start a Conversation →