<about>
Built by practitioners. Run that way since 2012.
TJ Pitre founded Southleft in 2012 as a front-end studio with one rule: the people selling the work are the people doing the work. Fourteen years later, that rule still holds — and the work is design systems and AI.
<our-story>
No sales team. No marketing department. Our work is our pipeline.
We’re a small, senior team of design systems engineers, founded in New Orleans in 2012. We’ve never had a sales, advertising, or marketing department; word of mouth built this company, project by project, from a two-person shop into a multi-million dollar studio. Our portfolio runs from IBM, Google, Caterpillar, and PetSmart to nonprofits and community organizations — the same care either way.
Through collaboration, education, and guidance, we build design systems — and the AI workflows around them — that are made to last.
See the work →Fourteen years of word-of-mouth referrals, from tech giants to community organizations.
<the-2026-chapter>
Where we are now
In 2026, Southleft opened its next chapter — a formalized partnership with Baseline, and new leadership at the top. The team is the same. The clients are the same. The standards are the same.
southleft × baseline
One path from strategy to shipped system
We formalized a partnership with Baseline, Joey Banks’s design systems studio. Baseline covers strategy, discovery, architecture, and visual design; Southleft covers design systems engineering, front end, and AI integration.
- Baseline — strategy, discovery, design
- Southleft — engineering, front end, AI
new leadership
Nicole Hampton, CEO
Nicole Hampton — twenty-plus years leading the business side of creative and technical agencies, and a longtime collaborator of TJ’s going back to SuperFriendly — stepped in as CEO. TJ, who has joined Figma, remains founder and chairman.
Read the announcement →<values>
Five things we won’t compromise on
The same values since 2012 — tightened for the work we do now.
Creative innovation
We push design and technical problem-solving past the obvious answer.
People first
The well-being of our clients and collaborators comes before everything. Healthy people, healthy projects.
Truth & respect
Southlefters are loyal, honest, open, respectful, and kind.
Always learning
In this industry, curiosity isn’t optional. We’re on the cutting edge because we genuinely want to be.
Evergreen
We build things that outlast us — systems that future-proof your organization and empower your team.
// the manifesto, in one line
Fundamentals over trends. Empowerment over micromanagement. Quality as legacy.
<leadership>
Who’s at the wheel
A founder who still writes code, and a CEO who’s spent two decades running agencies like this one.
<nicole-hampton>
Nicole Hampton
CEO
Twenty-plus years leading the business side of creative and technical agencies, and a longtime collaborator of TJ’s going back to SuperFriendly. Nicole stepped in as CEO in 2026 to lead Southleft’s next chapter.
<tj-pitre>
TJ Pitre
Founder & Chairman
Founded Southleft in New Orleans in 2012 with one rule: the people selling the work are the people doing the work. TJ has joined Figma and remains Southleft’s founder and chairman.
<how-we-work>
What working with us feels like
01
The right people, fast
Whatever your stack or situation, someone at Southleft is an expert in it — or knows the person who is. We assemble the team around your problem, not the other way around.
02
Direct access, always
You get a shared Slack channel with the actual engineers and designers on your project, plus a weekly 30-minute sync. No account-manager filter.
03
Kickoff in 2–3 weeks
That’s our standard runway after signing. On a deadline? Ask about rush scheduling.
<cta>
Let’s talk about your design system.
You’ll hear back from a practitioner, not a pipeline.