How a project runs
Five stages, and the audience sees the work before you decide.
Brief and audience definition
What the work must do and precisely who it is for, defined tightly enough that a representative sample can actually be drawn later.
Routes developed
Two or three distinct directions, each with written reasoning covering what it is doing and where it is likely to be weak.
Audience testing
Each route tested with a sample of your actual customers, in realistic conditions, measuring comprehension and recall rather than preference. Funded by us.
Results and recommendation
Findings reported in full, including where our favoured route performed badly, followed by a recommendation that follows the evidence.
Production and handover
Print-ready artwork or developer handover, plus layered source files, fonts licensed in your name and the full test data.
What this approach costs us
We pay for the testing. It is a real cost carried on every engagement and recovered from nobody.
We produce evidence against our own preferences. When a route we favoured tests badly the client sees it, and we have redone work at our own cost as a result.
We do not pitch speculatively. Businesses running free-pitch processes exclude us, including on projects we would have wanted.
We hand over files and fonts, which removes the retention mechanism most studios rely on.
Frequently asked
Who pays for the testing?
We do. It is funded by the studio rather than billed, because a research line is the first thing cut when a budget tightens and we would rather remove that possibility.
Why not ask people what they like?
Because preference predicts almost nothing. We measure whether people understood what the business does and what they recalled afterwards, which does predict behaviour.
What if the route we prefer tests badly?
You see the data and our recommendation follows the evidence. It has happened and the conversation is uncomfortable and worth having.
How large is the sample?
It varies by audience and decision, and we state the sample size and its limitations plainly rather than presenting small numbers as conclusive.
Can you test work we already have?
Yes, as fixed-fee standalone work, on creative another studio produced, before you commit to a launch or a print run.
Do you pitch speculatively?
No, for anyone. Work begins with a paid engagement rather than unpaid concepts.
Who owns the source files?
You do, on completion, layered and editable, with fonts licensed in your name and the full test data included.
How long does a brand project take?
Typically twelve to eighteen weeks including testing. Coastal clients working to a season should start considerably earlier than they usually do.