KOMBU

Websites, photography, design and marketing. One person who sees how it all fits.

Independent creative studio
Southampton & beyond

Websites

Bespoke, fast, design-led websites and web apps. No templates, no agency runaround.

The Grand Southampton website, designed by Kombu

Photography

Food, interiors, product and brand photography that earns the booking.

A bowl of golden battered bites with chilli and coriander, restaurant food photography by Kombu

Graphic design

Brand identities, menus, print and editorial, with two decades behind the pen.

An Ideal Produce catalogue spread, designed by Kombu

The Kwackers burger menu, designed by Kombu

Marketing& infrastructure

Strategy, ads, social and local SEO, plus the systems, sourcing and tools that tie a business together.

Ryan Stanikk at a cafe table, listening across two coffees

The front of the 2026 Padharo menu, designed by Kombu

One brand,
kept together

For Padharo, I handle the photography, menus, website, social and strategy. Every piece comes from the same person, so it all belongs together.

From the first impression online to the menu on the table, the same care runs through it. One conversation, with the person doing the work.

Explore Padharo

Padharo restaurant website — The website

The 2026 Padharo menu, with cream, navy and terracotta sections — The menu

The Padharo Christmas campaign, a full feast photographed under gold script — The campaign

Whatever the missing piece is, I build it

A menu, a website, or the practical thing nobody else has picked up. I work out what is needed, then make it happen.

Tell me what you need

Selected work

Case studies More websites

Padharo

Award-winning vegetarian Indian restaurant. Reservations, menus, and room for the photography to work.

Read the case study

Visit

Grumpy Monkey

A late night bar that trades on neon and noise. Weekly events, menus and table bookings, quick on a phone.

Read the case study

Visit

Ark Angels

A live act with a lot to fit on one page. Gigs, residencies, videos and bookings, none of it cramped.

Visit

Ryan Stanikk

I'm a Southampton designer, photographer and web developer running Kombu as a one-person studio. In Japanese cooking, kombu is the ingredient you never see, the quiet foundation that makes everything around it better. That is roughly the idea here: the base layer a business is built on, kept in one place instead of farmed out across a chain of agencies. Twenty years of graphic design, fifteen behind the camera, and a habit of building the thing rather than charging you to wait for it.

More about me

What clients say

5.0 from 4 Google reviews

I recommend Ryan to anyone looking for someone who will understand their business, care about the details and put genuine thought into their website and marketing.
Read Ankit’s full review
Ankit VaghelaPadharo · Website and ongoing marketing
Since working with Kombu our websites have been performing brilliantly, as well as looking the part. Everything with Ryan is so honest, straight forward and easy. I would recommend Ryan and Kombu to anyone who will listen.

Kirsty McCullochMustang Group
Really pleased with the website Ryan created for us. It looks professional, reflects our business well, and has helped us come across much better to customers. Great service from start to finish and I would definitely recommend him.

Simone JiojiorasSoleto
Ryan utilises what I would call an integrated systems approach to his work. He is highly grounded in data and ever-changing trends, so you can rest assured his output will be consistent with the needs of your business and the drivers that win you more leads and clients.

Mahesh SharmaKesarum