For clients who want flexibility in their working relationships, simply “start a tab” with us and you get billed only once a month!
Retainer contracts commit your Designer to provide unlimited design for small to medium-sized business budgets.
Print Graphic Design Layouts
Layout design for sales sheets, advertising design, direct mailers, stationery, flyers, banners, brochures, signage, business cards, etc.
Graphic Design for Web
Digital banners, email signature design, GIF creation, video editing, portrait retouching, product photo retouching, advertising design, setting up landing pages, social media graphics, and more.
Additional Services
If you don’t see a service above, feel free to make a request to see if it would fall under the program. *Note: Print production of physical goods are not included in retainer and will need to be purchased separately.
Not Included in Design Retainer and Incur Separate Charge: Printing or Production, Website Design & Development, Branding & Logo Design, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Management
We understand your business, what you sell, discuss your current obstacles, your needs moving forward, and what your business means to you.
Have a one-on-one meet with your Designer to review your expected Design Deliverables, or give the O.K. electronically.
Each concept design includes a strategic approach to enter and dominate your market, as well as actionable steps for future brand opportunities.
You’ll never have to wonder if you can afford a particular design, nor experience the delays of getting a price quote before work starts.
Everything is included in the monthly fee of your Design Retainer. With a secured amount of prioritized design service time, you are always given a higher priority when it comes to your projects.
You will enjoy the creative consistency of using a single Designer for all your marketing needs. Our work considers your reputation, and presents your business or organization in the best light. If you work with a different designer for each part of your branding and marketing visuals, you could end up with a jumbled mix of design styles, ideas, and—unfortunately—quality. That could, at best, dilute your branding so it isn’t as effective (or awesome) as it could be. Or at worst, it could be a confusing mess that repels customers. With consistency of style and quality across all your branding materials, it positions your brand to be effective and memorable. Plus it attracts loyal customers and, we know you really like this part, it makes your competitors jealous of how awesome you are.
Whether you need a graphic designer for minor monthly updates, or you have a major project coming up that requires a week or two each month, we work with you to develop a plan for your needs.
Along with securing a lower rate and the convenience of monthly billing, unused hours may be carried forward to future months (however must be used prior to determined end date).
With the monthly Design Retainer service, we become an extension of your business and you will have the resources available to get your graphic design done well without added employee costs. Consider the time and money saved when employing an in-house designer: Full-Time Salary (current national average is $88,001 according to a glassdoor.com salaries report.), Benefits Package (medical insurance, dental, vision, etc.), Overhead and workspace (office, expensive hardware and software, and payroll), vacation, sick leaves, and more. The cost of employing a full-time designer can put an unnecessary strain on your bottom line.
When you have a retainer, it can simplify your budgeting. You pay a fixed amount each month, quarter, or year. It is regular and it is predictable. Unlike with sporadic one-off projects, you know exactly what you will be paying and when, so you can stay organized and plan out your budget. Normally each new design project tends to come with their own quote, contract, invoice—that’s an awful lot of documents to keep track of. With an ongoing package, there is less paperwork to deal with. Once the package is set up, you’re probably just looking at one invoice per month. Yay!
You will receive a monthly overview of the work created, the time used, and retainer balance. A regular monthly or weekly call can be arranged to allow us to discuss your account, address your upcoming design needs, and go through the status of ongoing projects.
In addition to the regular calls to discuss your account, a secured Google Drive or Dropbox will be set up where you can review or download your requested work.
DESIGN RETAINER FAQ
Think of it as a monthly subscription to design services. You pay upfront at the beginning of each month to “reserve” a specific number of hours on your Designer’s schedule. This works great for the creation of specific social media graphics, advertising design, or website updates.
Monthly Retainer clients gain brand consistency, peace of mind, and of course job priority for your monthly advertising design needs. It is like having a professional designer in your back pocket whenever you need it—within business hours, of course.
Each retainer package has a 3 month minimum commitment. At the end of this period, we will re-evaluate the program to ensure the number of hours are fitting your business needs. We can then adjust to a 6, 9, or 12 month commitment.
If you acquire any overage in hours during the month, you will be billed at the standard hourly rate at the beginning of the next month. To prevent this, we can pause service until the retainer renews.
If there is no other pre-determined expiration date, unused hours expire at the end of each month to ensure time is properly allocated for your projects and planned accordingly for every month.
At the beginning of your pay period, you will receive your invoice payable upon receipt via ACH or credit card. Invoices will include your monthly retainer rate, and any additional charges from previous month where you may have gone over.
You will be notified if additional time is needed for the month. If we are close to hitting your monthly hours, you will be made aware beforehand. Your options would be to renew the retainer early, or be billed at the standard hourly rate at the beginning of the next month for the extra requests.
For example, design requests for May’s calendar would be submitted by May 1st. This ensures uninterrupted service throughout the busy year.
Great! I’d love to upgrade you to a retainer account. Let’s see what package best fits your needs.
By using a series of frameworks to determine your overall business position, we can better design for your audience. To discover your target audience, we analyze the following:
Example: Who is our target?
Tech savvy, 30 year old working professional, living in cities who want effective but aesthetically pleasing design to help conduct their business strategically and represent their mission creatively.
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