Doghouse Recruitment

Recruitment agency website with WebGL brand layer and headless CMS

Doghouse is an Amsterdam-based recruitment agency that connects world-class talent with high-performing technology teams, while also helping candidates find roles that match their ambition.

Client
Doghouse Recruitment
Strategy
Noam Erlich
Design
Roy van Dijk
Project type
Company site, job listing
Role
WebGL, front-end build, SEO setup, CMS modeling, DevOps + CI/CD
Timeline
6 weeks
Date
2022

Objective

The experience has to serve two audiences equally well

"Hiring teams" and "candidates" arrive with different intent and different expectations. The site also has to deliver a distinctive visual identity that signals "tech" without sacrificing speed, stability, or usability across devices.

Approach

Keep the story simple and the paths obvious

The platform is built to keep the story simple and the paths obvious, so the brand message lands quickly and the next step is never hidden. The design stays controlled at the layout level so the experience remains consistent, while the content stays fully manageable so the Doghouse team can operate independently.

Execution

WebGL as a brand layer

The visual center of gravity is a custom WebGL system that renders ASCII art into either a random shape or a predefined pattern, with video used as the input that drives the visual. The motion is intentionally non-interactive and plays as a loop, because the goal is to feel precise and cinematic rather than gimmicky. The WebGL layer is implemented without libraries, which keeps the implementation lean and avoids unnecessary dependency weight.

Build and performance

The site uses Next.js to keep navigation snappy and the overall experience modular, because the platform has to scale as content grows without becoming fragile. The front-end is structured so the WebGL experience supports the content instead of competing with it, and the site remains fully responsive so it reads cleanly and behaves predictably on mobile, tablet, and desktop.

CMS and content operations

DatoCMS powers the content layer so the client can update every piece of copy and media, while the layout remains system-owned to preserve quality and consistency. The jobs flow is designed so the team can add new roles directly in the CMS, and candidates can apply through a quick form that routes submissions via email to the right contact person.

SEO, tracking, and delivery

SEO is set up as part of the build so pages are structured to be discoverable and shareable from day one. Google Tag Manager is included so Doghouse can measure engagement and improve the funnel over time. The site is hosted on Vercel, which supports a clean CI/CD workflow and makes releases predictable, repeatable, and low-friction.

Result

A fast, controlled experience that feels engineered rather than decorated

The finished website presents Doghouse as a modern, tech-native recruitment partner through a fast, controlled experience and a distinctive motion system that feels engineered rather than decorated. It gives hiring teams and candidates equally clear routes forward, and it gives the Doghouse team a maintainable platform that stays easy to run after launch without sacrificing the polish that defines the brand.