Brand Foundation
Design Sprint
4-6 WKS
Building out the core components of you brand’s identity. The logo, color palette, typography, and graphic elements.
What's the point?
I call this the Brand Foundations for a reason. At some point, your brand will have to design marketing collateral, design a website, and design your product. ALL of these elements need to look like they came from the same place to garner trust and make you look legit. Here is where we create the pillars of a scalable brand identity that will support all your design decisions with marketing and product.
STEP BY STEP
Step by step
Step 1: Start a Project
Before we engage in a project, we need to find out if we are a good fit and if I am capable of solving your problem. This is done via Zoom or phone call and can be started by emailing me or filling out my contact form to get the ball rolling.
Step 2: Brand Definition
During the Brand Definitions workshop, we will define your brand. This is the bedrock of the design decisions we will make when building out your visual identity and it is how we will make sure we are aligned before we start making stuff.
Step 3: Creative Direction
Game time. Here is where we explore ideas and concepts for the visual language your brand will use. We will generate three, unique stylescapes that will demonstrate color palettes, typography, shape, graphic elements, and photo styling. With these elements decided upon, we can build specific assets like a logo or collateral with intention and brand alignment.
Step 4: Logo Design
I am not going to go away and comeback with a fully designed logo, that is a bad process. We first start out with rapid ideation and sketches of logo concepts. These help us focus on the idea rather than the details.
Once we've got our concept, I will generate a production-ready logo and show you how it will work on branded collateral.
Step 5: Style Guide
To make sure your design team or anyone else is not lost on how to use your brand identity, a style guide is created. This PDF will recap the Brand Definitions, logo usage, color palette, typography, iconography, shape, and photo styling. Give this to any designer and you can trust the brand identity will be uniform.
How I work:
Showing the Ugly
Rather than doing a dog-and-pony show to try and sell you on the work we create, my process is based on conversations that lead us to good ideas. I will show you the behind the scenes and we will sort through the ugly ideas together until we hit the mark.
Fixed Prices
Once I put on a price on paper (or the internet), I do not change it. No unexpected billable hours, no change orders, just fixed prices for clearly defined work and results. This helps your company know how much you will spend instead of guessing and suffering for it later.
Project Slots
Most designers open themselves up to as many projects as possible. This leads to two paths: they either farm the work to juniors or the quality diminishes because they work too much. I only take on three projects at a time to avoid those both of these problems.
got questions? Get answers
This is a list of commonly asked questions I've heard over the years. If there's something I missed, email me.
Do you only work with SaaS brands?
No.
I'll phrase it like this: if I had two projects to choose from and one was a software brand, I'd pick that one.
But, I'm never going to turn away a good client or an opportunity to make a kickass brand 🤘
Couldn’t I just hire a full-time designer?
Yes, you could, but you wouldn’t be here looking if that was the easy option 😉. Senior Designers are expensive (over $100,000 per year plus benefits) and you have to keep them busy to make it worthwhile.
Packages and subscriptions are less of an investment and offer you more flexibility.
How is this different from other design subscriptions?
One word: exclusivity.
Unlike other design subscriptions, my threshold is three clients max. This allows me to be fully invested in each project, solve bigger problems, and offer new ideas that move your business forward.
Also, I don’t have an aversion to creative workshops or meeting with my clients once a week. Partnership and innovation are built on those interactions.
Are the subscriptions really unlimited design tasks?
Yes. They are delivered one-by-one.
How do I know I’ll be happy with the project?
We work on a project until we are stoked and it accomplishes the goals we’ve assigned to it.
How do I know which package or subscription is right for me?
Give me a call and I’ll help you figure that out.
What are the payment terms for design packages?
Fixed scope projects are billed 50% at start, 50% upon delivery or payments in equal thirds if above $50k. This excludes consultation engagements like and 1-on-1 calls which are billed upfront.
Payment plans, lease agreements, and equity/profit sharing are also available for special cases.
What are the payment terms for design subscriptions?
Monthly subscriptions are billed at the beginning of every month. You can save some dough by locking in a quarterly or yearly payment.
We’re not in the same city, is that an issue?
Nope. I’ve been doing remote work since before we all wish we'd invested in Zoom’s stock.
Nice words from cool people
"I have hired Zach on several occasions to tackle high-stakes & complex products/branding projects and he has delivered beautiful solutions every single time."
"He is a graphic designer who actually gets branding and how it is connected to customers and revenue... something a lot of designers never get."
"I've learned so much from Zach just by his process. His brand identity engagements are detailed with competitive insights to guide his approach."
"Zach stepped in to help us on a time-sensitive project where we’d be let down by another Webflow developer."
"There's nothing cookie-cutter about this process. You'll be very happy with your results."
"He is creative, highly intellectual, and an all-around great dude!"
"He was totally right! Not only did he build the site wickedly fast, but he also ensured I, as the client, was well-trained and acclimated to the new design before we launched."
"He's extremely professional, organized, detailed, and his vision/work is incredible."
"Zach’s wealth of knowledge and expertise helped guide me through the discovery process and establish a new brand name within only two weeks!"
"Don’t overlook this guy, he’s very talented and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone needing branding or website work."
"Zach has an effective method through which he was able to learn and understand my needs, probably better than I did at times! I was constantly impressed with his creativity."
"Zach's professionalism is outmatched only by his positive spirit, as he is also a fun guy to be around."
"Zach's ability to evoke our company's essence and portray it across all of our marketing materials was a unique experience I have not had with other agencies."
“Zach has been an integral tool in helping us navigate our brand identity.”
"The greatest value he has brought is being able to take marketing-oriented projects such as logo, print work and website development, and align them perfectly with our overall branding strategy.""