After Midnight Lab started as a side habit — a few people staying late to work on the part of a project that actually needed craft, after the day's meetings had already used up the easier hours. Eventually the side habit became the studio.
We built the studio to protect those three things, project by project. That's the whole model. Everything else — the process, the naming, the late hours in the name — follows from it.
A handful of independent creatives in Sofia, trading late-night favors and finishing each other's projects. No studio name yet — just a shared habit of working best once the day had emptied out.
The informal group formalized into After Midnight Lab, with a defined service set, a fixed-scope process, and a small physical studio space in Sofia.
We still take on a limited number of projects at a time, by design. The studio grows in depth of craft, not headcount.
A short list of things we actually hold ourselves to.
We'd rather show you one considered idea than five safe ones. Concepting is the part of the job we take most seriously.
Every project has a defined scope and delivery date before work starts. No open-ended retainers billed by the hour of vague effort.
You talk to the people making the work — no account layer relaying notes back and forth.
We turn down more projects than we take, so the ones we take get the attention they need.
If something can't be done well in the time available, we say so before the contract, not after.
We design for a brand's next few years, not just the launch week.
A small, fixed core team — supplemented project by project with specialists in production, photography and development.
Leads concepting and creative direction across every project. Ten years across branding and campaign work before co-founding the studio.
Directs and edits brand film and motion work. Background in documentary and commercial production.
Designs audio identity systems and scores brand film. Trained composer with a background in game audio.
Leads front-end build and product interface work. Focused on shipping fast, well-built sites without a bloated stack.
A vetted network of photographers, editors, illustrators and developers brought onto projects that need extra hands.
A small working studio space in Sofia, used for shoots, client sessions and the late hours the name is built around.
We read every message ourselves — there's no inbox triage team between you and the studio.