The envoy's manifesto
I am Davide Filippini. And I don't design "beautiful graphics" for your company.
If you are looking for someone who experiments with abstract colour and aims at design awards, this is the wrong place.
I am the first Direct Response Designer in Italy. I founded Keryx Design with one measurable objective: apply Readability Engineering so your copywriting gets read, understood and turned into revenue.
keryx · the envoy, from ancient Greek The manifesto
The creative approach aims to please. What you need is an envoy.
In ancient Greece the Keryx was the official envoy: he spoke with the king's voice. He did not entertain the crowd and added nothing of his own to the message — he delivered it intact, carrying the authority of whoever sent him.
He had one job: to be heard through to the last word.
In modern marketing, the traditional creative approach works the other way around.
It aims to impress with abstract layouts, microscopic type and dense walls of text, because that is what wins design awards. The result is visual friction: the reader gets tired, leaves the page or puts the brochure down, and the ad budget returns less than it could.
At Keryx Design, we act as envoys.
My visual voice is entirely subordinate to what the copywriter wrote. I build invisible geometric architecture that removes eye strain and holds the reader on the page all the way to the call to action. Because the best copy in the world is useless if your prospect's eyes get tired after three lines.
The track record
Where the method comes from, and where the obsession started.
I don't run pre-made templates and I don't work by trial and error. My Readability Engineering protocol rests on a specific professional and academic path.
The academic first
I codified this discipline by writing the first-ever degree thesis on Direct Response Design in Italy (Accademia di Belle Arti di Santa Giulia, 2019/2020), anchoring the craft to academic and scientific standards.
Running the department
I spent 3 years as Chief Design Officer for Metodo Merenda, leading and structuring the creative department of the country's largest direct marketing operation.
The international school
I am the first Italian designer to complete Lori Haller's advanced training — the legendary visual signature behind multimillion-dollar controls for firms like Agora Inc. — working with her directly on the frameworks used stateside.
Reading the copy
I learned the rules of written persuasion from inside Marco Lutzu's team.
Which is why I read the copy first: I understand the psychology of the text before touching a single pixel in Figma or InDesign.
The bridge between two worlds
Where sales psychology meets the rigour of data.
Most designers ignore the numbers; most CRO technicians ignore the psychology of the text. My method joins the two ends.
The cause
Direct Response Design
I use the geometric school of direct response to engineer millimetre-level layout readability: heading hierarchy, structural bolding, reading rhythm, click triggers next to every CTA.
The effect
Conversion Rate Optimization
I use CRO analytics to measure the effect: heatmaps, drop-off rates, session recordings. I optimise on real data, not on subjective opinion.
Whether it is a digital landing page or a printed positioning book, every square millimetre has one job: to produce a trackable action.
We don't work with everyone.
Keryx Design is a boutique studio. We don't do low-cost hourly design and we don't work with companies that have no clear marketing strategy. If your strategic copy is ready and you want to protect your ROI by removing visual friction, send it over and I'll tell you what I see.
Send me your material