How We Work
Fixed-cost or fractional?
Fixed-Cost Project
A fixed cost works when we can see the finish line. You know roughly what has to exist, so we can list the deliverables, estimate how long each one takes, and give you one number before anything starts.
The method is simple and it has not changed in 25 years. We review the full scope, estimate the hours from start to finish, and multiply production time by our hourly rate. That is your fixed cost.
If the work takes longer than we estimated, you do not pay more. That is on us, provided the reason is not scope expansion or backtracking on decisions already made. If it takes less time, there is no refund. Same trade in both directions.
Estimates are free, detailed, and carry no obligation. You will know exactly what you are getting before you commit to anything.
Fractional Design Services
Fractional works when the deliverables are not defined yet. An idea, a shifting roadmap, or a product still finding its shape cannot be estimated honestly, and any fixed number would be a guess dressed up as a quote.
Instead you buy blocks of studio time. $150 an hour with a 40-hour monthly minimum, so $6,000 a month. That is a full week of our time aimed at whatever the product needs that month, and you can always add more.
Priorities are yours to set and reset as the product changes. Time is prepaid and tracked in a private Google Sheet you can open any time to see who worked on what and how many hours are left. We track in quarter-hour increments.
There is no contract beyond what we agree to, and multi-month arrangements can be cancelled whenever you like. Unused hours do not roll over, since that time was held for you and no one else.
Most startups use both
Fractional to figure out what the product actually is, then a fixed cost for the final design work once the scope is clear enough to quote. You are not choosing one forever. You are choosing where to start.