A fractional partner, not a headcount
You get senior design and engineering judgement on the days you need it. No juniors learning on your budget, no retainer you forget you are paying, no full-time salary for part-time work.
About
A small, senior-only studio that builds software and digital presence for businesses too big to wing it and too small for an in-house team.
What "fractional" actually means
Most small businesses face the same gap. An agency is expensive and slow, and often hands your work to a junior. A full-time hire is R600k+ a year for work that is not full-time. So nothing gets done, and the website that was launched in 2019 quietly costs you customers every month.
Fractional Design fills that gap. You get senior design and engineering capability at the fraction of a headcount it actually takes to do the job. That means real architecture decisions made by someone who has shipped at scale, without a payroll commitment.
We are deliberately small. That is a feature: the person who scopes your project is the person who builds it, and you can reach them directly.
Who we work with
South African businesses, mostly owner-run, mostly between two and fifty people. Manufacturing and distribution, professional services, trades, logistics, recruitment, retail.
Geographically we are based in Brackenhurst, Alberton, and work with clients across Gauteng and the rest of South Africa. Everything is done remotely, with on-site visits by arrangement.
We have delivered production work for QTEC Trailers, Tektalent and SDGA, and built high-traffic platforms in the betting, retail and payments sectors.
Straight talk
What we are not the right fit for
- The cheapest quote on a tender list — we are not the cheapest and we will not pretend to be.
- Unlimited revisions on a fixed price. That model rewards scope creep and punishes both sides.
- AI bolted onto a process that is broken. Fix the process, then automate it.
- Work we cannot measure. If we cannot agree on how success is counted, the project is not ready.
Why Fractional Design
Small business constraints, engineered around.
We optimise for outcomes, not deliverables
More traffic, fewer manual hours, faster enquiries. Every engagement starts by agreeing on the number we are trying to move, so you can tell whether it worked.
AI used where it actually pays off
We will tell you when AI is the wrong answer. When it is the right one, we build assistants and automations that fit your existing tools instead of adding another subscription.
You own what we build
Code, content, hosting and accounts are all in your name from day one. No lock-in, no ransom, and documented handover if you ever want to take it in-house.
How we work
Four steps, no mystery.
Intro call
Thirty minutes to understand the goal, the constraints and the budget. If we are not the right fit, we will say so and point you somewhere better.
Scope and fixed quote
You get a written scope with a fixed price and a delivery date. No hourly surprises and no change-order games.
Build in the open
A staging link from week one, so you see progress in the real product rather than in a status update.
Launch and improve
We ship, measure against the number we agreed on, and keep improving. You can stop at any point and keep everything.
Who you will be working with
Fractional Design is run by Gavin Hardaker, a software engineer and designer based in Alberton, Gauteng. The work spans front-end and back-end engineering, product and interface design, systems integration and practical AI adoption.
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Let's build something that earns its keep
Tell us what you are trying to achieve. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, what it takes, and what it costs.