About
An independent editorial review lab for the design community.
TheLayer.co covers mockups, PSD workflow, license clarity and visual asset quality. We publish methodology before opinion, evidence before judgement, and disclose every material relationship.
What we do
We test mockups as working files — not as thumbnails. Our scored reviews require evidence: test data, screenshots, license checks and a named human reviewer. The methodology page explains the rubric.
Editorial leadership
The publication is led by an Editor-in-Chief who holds the editorial team to a standard published in the manifesto: evidence-led reviews, named human reviewers, full disclosure of material relationships, and a refusal of black-hat acquisition tactics — even where that means slower growth.
How we relate to other publications and brands
Some coverage references Creatsy,
a related design tooling platform. That relationship is disclosed on the relevant
articles and in the footer of every page on this site. Affiliate and material
relationship links are marked with rel="sponsored". Read the full
disclosures and our
editorial policy.
What we will not do
No fake authors. No fake reviews. No fake aggregate ratings. No back-dated publication dates. No black-hat SEO of any kind — no PBNs, link spam, cloaking, doorway pages, or AI-generated review fabrications. No undisclosed affiliations. No paid placement dressed as editorial. The manifesto states this in full and the editorial policy spells out the operational rules.
Contact
Tips, corrections and editorial inquiries: editors@thelayer.co. For commercial inquiries write partners@thelayer.co; please note that paid editorial coverage is not available — only ad placements that are clearly labelled as such.