BraneBox v2 is live — and it's been a long road getting here.
This isn't just a website refresh. It's a restart.
After a period of hiatus and a full relocation from Nagoya, Japan to Quezon City, Philippines, BraneBox is officially back in business. The new site is deployed, we're listed on Clutch and coming soon to GoodFirms — and we're ready to start working with clients again.
I want to be upfront about where we are, where we're going, and why we think the timing is right.
Where We Are Right Now
We're building from the ground up — intentionally.
For now, BraneBox is focused on simple web design projects. Clean, fast, SEO-ready websites for businesses that need a strong foundation. Not complex enterprise builds or multi-platform systems — not yet. We have a backlog to work through, and we believe in delivering at a quality level we can genuinely stand behind before taking on more.
As that backlog clears and our systems mature, we'll open up to more complex projects. That's the plan. For now, we're keeping our scope tight so we can keep our quality high.
It's a long road ahead of us — and we're fine with that.
From Nagoya to Quezon City
The move from Japan to the Philippines wasn't just logistical. It was a reset.
I spent years building websites for international clients across the world. That experience gave me a 25-year track record and a very specific point of view on what separates websites that work from websites that merely exist.
Relocating to Quezon City opens up a different kind of opportunity. The Philippines has a real competitive advantage in web design — skilled talent, strong English, and a cost structure that makes premium work accessible to international clients who couldn't justify Western agency rates. That's the positioning BraneBox is built on: global standards at a fraction of Western prices.
What We're Building Toward
Web design is the starting point — but it's not the full picture of where BraneBox is going.
We're actively developing capabilities in AI-powered services: AI imagery and brand video production. These aren't distant future plans — they're in progress now. As more businesses start to understand what AI can do for their visual identity and content, we want to be the team they call in the Philippines.
The roadmap looks like this:
- Now — Simple web design. Clean, fast, SEO-ready sites for businesses ready to invest in a proper foundation.
- Soon — AI imagery and brand video services to complement every web project we deliver.
- Coming — More complex web projects as our backlog opens up and our team capacity grows.
We're not trying to be everything on day one. We're building the right way.
What Web Design Should Actually Do
Since we're here — let's talk about what good web design actually means, because it's more than most people think.
Most people picture web design as the visual layer: the colors, the layout, the fonts. That's maybe 30% of the work if you're doing it properly.
The rest is a system.
Performance. A beautiful site that loads slowly is a liability. Every design decision has a performance implication. We think about that before a pixel is placed.
SEO architecture. Heading structure, semantic HTML, schema markup, internal linking — these are structural decisions you make at the start, or you pay to retrofit them later. SEO isn't a service we add on. It's baked into how we build.
Conversion flow. Every page has a job. If a visitor can't immediately understand what they're supposed to do next, the page is decorated, not designed.
Content clarity. Copy and design have to work together. A clean layout carrying vague copy is still a weak page.
When those four elements are unified from the start, you get a website that ranks, earns trust, and moves people toward a decision. That's the standard we hold ourselves to — for our own site and for every client project we take on.
The Tech Behind v2 — A Deliberate Upgrade
BraneBox v2 is built on Next.js, styled with Tailwind CSS, powered by Payload CMS, and deployed on Vercel.
This marks a deliberate shift from how we used to build.
For years, BraneBox delivered websites on WordPress with Divi. It served clients well at the time — WordPress is accessible, Divi is flexible, and for many businesses it was the right tool for the job. But the web has moved on, and so have we.
Next.js gives us server-side rendering and static generation out of the box — pages load near-instantly and search engines crawl them without friction. Tailwind keeps the design system consistent and the codebase lean. Payload CMS is a headless content layer that completely separates content from presentation, giving clients full control over their content without touching code. And Vercel as our deployment platform means global CDN delivery, instant rollbacks, and rock-solid uptime.
The result is a faster, more scalable, more SEO-capable foundation than anything we could deliver on WordPress. It's the same stack we now use for every client project going forward.
The tech stack is a quality signal. If an agency can't tell you what they're building on or why, that's worth noting.
Now on Clutch — and Coming Soon to GoodFirms
As part of this relaunch, BraneBox is now listed on Clutch, one of the most trusted B2B ratings platforms in the world. We'll also be appearing on GoodFirms shortly.
These platforms matter because they're where serious buyers do their due diligence. Verified reviews, real client identities, and transparent project histories — exactly the kind of trust signals that anonymous agency testimonials can never provide.
If you've worked with us before, we'd genuinely appreciate a review on Clutch. It helps us build the record we've earned.
What We're Looking For in Clients Right Now
We're currently accepting simple web design projects — businesses that need a clean, fast, properly-built site and want to work with someone who takes the craft seriously.
If you're a local business in the Philippines or an international client looking to outsource web design at a fraction of Western rates without compromising quality, we'd like to hear from you.
We don't do free quotes. We do discovery calls — because the right website starts with understanding your business, your market, and what the site actually needs to do.
Book a discovery call and let's see if we're a fit.
BraneBox is a web design agency based in Quezon City, Philippines, led by Kenzo Kobayashi — 25+ years of experience across Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines. We build fast, SEO-ready websites for businesses that are serious about their online presence.