About

We design it. Then we build it.

The New Buro is a product design and engineering studio in Carlsbad, California. We work as a fractional product & tech team for startups and product teams, from first prototype to production.

PortraitFounder · Jerome Lacote

The studio is led by our founder, Jerome Lacote. He started in design and the early web in 1998, spent years leading game UI at Rockstar Games, and has spent the last decade building products where software meets data, sensors and people in a hurry.

Today most of our work is about one transition: from something that works in a demo to something real customers rely on. AI tools have made the first part fast. The second part still needs senior judgment on architecture, security, data and UX, and the hands to do the work.

We work as designers and engineers at the same time. That means fewer handoffs, faster decisions, and product thinking that survives contact with the code.

How we take MVPs to production
A Jay The Hill mountain bike frame in the fabrication jig in our founder’s workshop
Jay The Hill · a frame our founder designed, in the jig

Off the clock

Our founder: mountain biker, bike designer.

Jerome rides mountain bikes around Carlsbad and designs his own under Jay The Hill, a side project where he does everything from branding to fabrication. It is the same loop as our product work: design, build, test, repeat.

Jay The Hill in the portfolio
  1. 1998–2003

    Design, Flash and the early web

    Generative art, editorial design and interactive work for Sony, Adidas, Diesel and Orange.

  2. 2005–2010

    Rockstar Games

    UI design and ActionScript for Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, Table Tennis, Midnight Club: Los Angeles (entire game UI) and Red Dead Redemption.

  3. 2012–2015

    Activision, Disney

    UI/UX for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ghosts of Mistwood and Disney Princess.

  4. 2016–2020

    Qualcomm, Microsoft, Fox

    Art direction, UX and real-time 3D: Qualcomm showcases in Unreal Engine, a Microsoft HoloLens launch, UI for a Fox sci-fi film.

  5. 2018–now

    Victorise

    Our sports-technology brand: athlete apps, smart-glass prototypes and now Victorise Studio.

  6. 2024–now

    BrakeAce, Transfyr, ShokIQ

    Product and technology lead on sensor, telemetry and scientific AI products, from prototype to production.

Client reviews

What clients say.

  • “Incredible work! Your exceptional ability to thrive under pressure and produce work of superior quality is genuinely impressive.”

    Upwork clientFigma Designer Time Sensitive (48-Hours) · March 2024 · 5.0/5

  • “Jerome is legit, very talented, detailed and easy to communicate with directly.”

    Upwork clientMoodboard creation · May 2024 · 5.0/5

  • “Extremely professional, timely and quality oriented. Would rehire Jerome again!”

    Ashish S.Mobile App Designer & Copy Expert needed to QA Beta App · December 2021 · 5.0/5

  • “Excellent. Jerome communicates very well and completes work quickly”

    Upwork clientUX/UI Consulting And Assessment · January 2025 · 5.0/5

  • “Jerome is AMAZING. It has been a pleasure to work with him.”

    uba u.Consultation / Assessment - Monetization Of Mobile Game · September 2021 · 5.0/5

  • “Very knowledgeable and honest. I have used him a few times and he explains the issues and resolves and updates the website in a timely manner!”

    Upwork clientWebsite maintenance · February 2023 · 5.0/5

Reviews of our founder’s client work, quoted from Upwork. 4.7 average from 48 reviews · 100% Job Success · Top Rated Plus on Upwork.

Working on something hard? We’d like to hear about it.

Book a call

or email contact@thenewburo.com