Atlas · creative freelancer platform
One app from first search to final booking.
Atlas needed a clear position, a public website and a working web application that let creative teams find, shortlist, message and book vetted freelancers without a spreadsheet, an inbox and a pile of PDFs.
Creative hiring still runs on job boards and PDFs.
Atlas is a platform for finding and booking creative freelancers in the UK: actors, dancers, photographers, videographers, content creators, security and more. Casting directors, producers, brands and agencies describe who they need, and Atlas returns a ranked shortlist.
The platforms hirers use today mostly work like job boards. Freelancers pay to apply to posts, and hirers sift through a wall of results. A single booking can still mean agency PDFs, emails to check availability and a spreadsheet rebuilt by hand. Atlas had to replace that whole chain with one product.
A brand, a website and a real product, built as one.
This was not a brochure site. The client needed a positioning that could stand apart from established players, a public website to explain it, and a working application behind it: accounts, profiles, search, filters, shortlists, messaging, projects, a jobs board and bookings.
Each step had to feel simple, because hirers are often working to tight shoot dates. And the website had to show the product honestly, without borrowed logos, invented reviews or numbers the product could not yet support.
Flip the direction: the brief finds the freelancer.
Find the one ideastrategy
A competitor audit of the main casting and freelance platforms showed they are built around posting and applying. Atlas became “creative freelancer discovery”, where the brief finds the person, set out in a full brand book.
POSITIONINGSearch like you briefsearch
Hirers describe the person in plain words. Atlas reads the brief and returns ranked matches, each with a match score and the reasons behind it.
CLARITYOne workflow to the bookingproduct
Filters on every profile field, shortlists, one message thread per freelancer, projects for the whole team and the day rate visible from the start.
ACTIONOnly claim what is trueproof
The “trusted by” logo banner stayed empty until the claims could be confirmed. Sample reviews and demo profiles are labelled as samples and demos.
TRUSTA 39-page feedback document, turned into a 7-phase plan.
We built Atlas in stages between June and September 2026, with the client reviewing the working product rather than static mock-ups. In September, the client sent 39 pages of detailed feedback. We turned it into a seven-phase build plan and worked through it section by section.
That pass covered profile and search fixes, new profile fields with real unit conversion, a warmer homepage, a team projects area with shot lists and mood boards, and a site-wide change of wording from “talent” to “freelancer”, with old links redirected. We then re-read all 39 pages against the plan to catch anything missed.
Anything outside the agreed scope, such as payment escrow, was flagged to the client rather than quietly added or dropped.
A live product with a website that explains it.
- A competitor audit and a brand book covering positioning, audiences, voice and visual direction.
- A public website that explains the product, shows a five-step workflow and routes hirers and freelancers to sign up.
- Plain-language AI search with ranked matches, match reasons and structured filters.
- Freelancer profiles with photos, skills, credits, availability, day rates, reviews and PDF export.
- Shortlists, direct messaging, and team projects with briefs, files, tasks and group chat.
- A jobs board with location search and job advert packages for employers.
The visual system pairs a bold headline face with deep purple, bright blue and warm red accents. Real portrait photography does most of the work, so the product always feels like it is about people.
We did the strategy, designed the website, and designed and built the web application. See our web application service for how we approach projects like this.
Verified now
The product is live and the journeys can be inspected.
The search, freelancer profiles, messaging, jobs board, product tour and sign-up routes are visible on the live website. The build figures on this page come from the project’s own code history.
Measurement pending: no sign-up, booking, usage or revenue figures are claimed in this case study. Verified performance results can be added once the measurement period and source are available.
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