Design Services & Working Guide
This guide explains what the studio does, how a project runs from brief to handover, what is included in a fee and what is not, and what all those file formats are actually for. It is a reference document — there is nothing to fill in or return. Timings and inclusions below are indicative; the figures that bind us are the ones written into your signed agreement.
| | |
|---|
| Discovery, two to three logo directions, full lockup set, colour palette, type system, a short usage guide | |
| Stationery, brochures, flyers, posters, signage; artwork prepared to the printer's specification | |
| Dieline setup, front-of-pack design, back-of-pack layout, barcode placement, print-ready artwork per SKU | |
| Post and story templates, profile assets, ad variants, banner sets, editable working files | |
Presentation & document design | Master slide template, section layouts, chart and table styling, report and proposal templates | |
| Reserved monthly capacity across any of the above, with priority scheduling | |
Turnaround is measured in working days from a complete brief and a signed agreement — not from the first email. Waiting on content, feedback or approvals pauses the clock.
Section 2 — How a Project Runs
- Brief. We agree what is being made, who it is for, where it will appear and when it is needed. Everything downstream is measured against this.
- Proposal and agreement. We send scope, fee, milestones and schedule. Work is scheduled once the agreement is signed and any deposit has cleared.
- Concepts. We present a small number of distinct directions with the reasoning behind each. You choose one to develop — not a blend of all of them.
- Revisions. The chosen direction is refined across the agreed number of rounds. Each round is one consolidated set of feedback from your side.
- Pre-flight and proofing. Artwork is checked for bleed, resolution, colour mode, fonts and spelling. For print, we ask for your written approval on a final proof.
- Final handoff. On final payment we deliver the agreed formats in a clearly named folder structure, with a short note on what each file is for.
Section 3 — Revisions & Scope
Included in a standard project fee
- The number of revision rounds stated in your agreement — commonly two on the chosen direction, plus a final proofing pass.
- Refinement within the agreed direction: spacing, hierarchy, crops, colour balance, copy corrections you supply.
- Preparing the agreed deliverable in the formats listed in the agreement, including print-ready and screen versions.
- One consolidated feedback list per round, gathered by you from all your stakeholders.
Out of scope — quoted separately before any work starts
- Returning to a rejected direction, or asking for fresh concepts after one has been selected.
- A change to the brief itself — new audience, new format, new size, new message, added SKUs or added languages.
- Revision rounds beyond the number agreed, billed at the hourly rate in your agreement.
- Copywriting, translation, photography, illustration, retouching and video, unless the agreement says otherwise.
- Reformatting a finished piece for a new channel, size or printer after handoff.
- Rush work that displaces scheduled commitments, which carries a surcharge quoted in advance.
Section 4 — File Formats Explained
| | |
|---|
| Editable vector master — infinitely scalable, needs design software to open | Archive; hand to a printer, signmaker or another designer |
| Vector for the web — sharp at any size, tiny file | |
| Locked print artwork with fonts embedded, bleed and crop marks included | Anything going to a commercial printer |
| Compressed RGB version, no crop marks | Emailing, sharing, on-screen review |
| Fixed-size pixel image that supports transparency | Logos on slides, documents and social posts |
| Compressed photographic image, no transparency | Photos on the web and in social feeds |
CMYK, RGB, bleed and safe area
- CMYK is ink on paper; RGB is light on a screen. A colour that glows on your monitor will always sit slightly duller in print — this is physics, not an error.
- Where colour accuracy matters, we specify a Pantone or a printed proof rather than trusting an on-screen match.
- Bleed is artwork extended past the trim line, usually 3 mm, so a slight cutting shift never leaves a white edge.
- The safe area is the margin inside the trim where text and logos must stay so nothing important is cropped.
- Print artwork is built at 300 dpi at final size; screen artwork at 72–150 dpi. Enlarging a small image does not add detail back.
Section 5 — What We Need From You
- Final copy, signed off before layout begins. Rewriting text after layout is a revision round, not a typo fix.
- Photography at full resolution and original size — not images pulled from a website or a messaging app.
- Existing brand assets in vector form where they exist, plus any brand guidelines already in force.
- The printer's specification sheet before packaging or large-format work starts: dieline, trim, bleed, colour profile and file format.
- One named approver and one consolidated feedback list per round. Conflicting comments from several people cost a round each.
- Legal, regulatory and barcode content checked by you — we typeset what you supply, we do not verify it.
Section 6 — Fonts, Stock & Licensing
- Typefaces are licensed, not bought outright. A licence is scoped — desktop, web, app, broadcast — and often capped by page views or installs.
- Commercial font licences are normally held in the client's name, so the right to use the brand typeface does not depend on the studio.
- Font files themselves are never redistributed. We hand over outlined artwork and tell you exactly which licence to buy.
- Stock images, icons and illustrations carry their own licence, which may exclude resale items, packaging, or use as a logo. Extended licences cost more and are quoted separately.
- Where a person is recognisable in a photograph, a model release is required before commercial use.
- Design does not confer trademark protection. Registering a mark is a legal step, handled by your counsel, and is worth doing before a large print run.
Section 7 — Handover & Archiving
- Final files are released once the closing invoice is settled, in a dated folder structure separating print, screen and source assets.
- Ownership of the approved deliverables transfers to you on final payment, as set out in your agreement. Unused concepts and working drafts stay with the studio.
- We keep a project archive for a defined period after handover and can re-issue files on request. Please still keep your own copy — an archive is a backstop, not your library.
- Store the master vector files somewhere findable and use the agreed naming convention. Most emergency re-artwork requests are really lost-file requests.
- Reopening a closed project — a new size, a new printer, a fresh language — is quoted as new work, usually briefly and cheaply.
This guide describes how the studio generally works and is not a contract. Where it differs from your signed agreement, the agreement governs.