Working together
No mystery, no jargon, no surprise invoices.
Good design projects are mostly good conversations with deadlines attached. Here's exactly how mine run, so you know what you're getting into.
The stages
01
A first conversation
Free, no obligation, usually half an hour. What you're making, who it's for, when it needs to exist. You don't need a written brief.
02
A written proposal
Scope, stages, deliverables, timings and a fixed project price — so you can say yes, no, or 'can we trim this' before anything starts.
03
Understanding and direction
I get properly into the material: your audience, your competitors, the constraints. Then one or two clear directions rather than a wall of options.
04
Design and refinement
We develop the chosen direction together across an agreed number of rounds. Feedback in one place, one round at a time.
05
Artwork and production
Final artwork prepared for the real printer, fabricator or platform, with paper, finishing and specs discussed early.
06
Handover
Organised files, a short plain-English guideline document, and everything you need to keep using the work without me.
What I need from you
One decision-maker, or a small group who've agreed what they want before feedback arrives.
Whatever you already have: copy, images, old artwork, audience research, half-formed ideas on a napkin.
Honesty about the budget and the deadline. Both make the work better, not worse.
Feedback in one go per round, ideally written, so nothing gets lost between emails.
How budgets work
Every project is priced individually and quoted as a fixed fee for an agreed scope, not an open-ended hourly rate. You see the number, the stages and the number of rounds before anything begins.
Budgets vary enormously between a single piece of print and a full identity or national campaign, so tell me what you have to work with. I'll either scope something that fits it or say so plainly — and charity and community budgets are always taken as they are.
Larger projects are invoiced in stages, usually a deposit to book the time and the balance on completion. Print, photography and licensing are quoted separately at cost so nothing is hidden inside a design fee.
On completion the final design and artwork are yours, along with organised files and a short guideline document. More detail on the FAQs.
Ready when you are
You don't need a finished brief or a fixed budget to get in touch. If something's on your mind, that's enough to start.