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Issue No. 11 · The Process

§ 01 · The Cadence

Six weeks.
One complete identity system.

BROOKLYN · EST. 2014 184 SYSTEMS SHIPPED 12 SENIOR PRACTITIONERS 92% NPS · 2022–2024

A note before you scroll: nothing on this page is a template. Every system is built to the brief in front of us — but the cadence, the deliverables, and the checkpoints below are the same on every engagement, every time. ↓

§ 02 · Weeks 01 – 06

Six chapters of one system.

A working week-by-week account of what we do, what you do, and what crosses your desk on Friday of each week. The cadence is built so that nothing is presented cold — every artifact you see on Day X has been pressure-tested against decisions you made on Day X − 7.

  1. 01 Week 01

    Discovery & Strategic Frame

    We start with a 90-minute founder interview, a stakeholder survey, and a teardown of the three brands your category keeps copying. Out of that comes a written Strategic Frame: positioning, voice posture, audience segmentation, and the visual territories we will and will not explore.

    What you receive
    Strategic Frame document (PDF, 18–24 pages) · three visual territory boards · a written risk register.
    What we need from you
    Two founder hours · access to a customer interview panel (we'll provide the script) · your honest answer to "what must be true for this rebrand to be worth $74K."
  2. 02 Week 02

    Mark & Type System

    Two partner-led directions run in parallel: one conservative, one speculative. Both arrive as working marks — not comps — set in a commissioned or licensed wordmark, a custom display face, and a paired text family with optical-size variants.

    What you receive
    Two mark directions · primary & secondary lockups · a 600-glyph wordmark sheet · type pairings with rationale · first motion sketch (15 seconds, no music).
    What we need from you
    A 60-minute working session with your founders and one marketing lead · a hard yes/no on a direction by Friday of Week 02.
  3. 03 Week 03

    Color, System & Voice

    The chosen direction is grown into a system: primary, secondary, and surface palettes with HEX / RGB / Pantone / CMYK crosswalks; a tone-of-voice guide with do/don't examples; and the grid that every downstream asset will inherit.

    What you receive
    Color system with print + screen specs · voice & messaging guide · grid + spacing tokens · photography and illustration direction · the first round of motion principles.
    What we need from you
    Sign-off on the color system · a list of the three internal voices (sales, support, leadership) we should write against · access to your in-house copy lead for one paired review.
  4. 04 Week 04

    Applications, Round One

    The system meets reality. We build a curated set of applications across your highest-traffic touchpoints: web hero, packaging dielines, social templates, one environmental surface, and one print piece — chosen with you on Monday.

    What you receive
    Four to six application comps at production fidelity · packaging or print dielines · a motion reel of the system in motion (60–90 seconds) · a written note flagging the two areas where the system is currently under strain.
    What we need from you
    Approval to proceed into the Brand Elasticity Score · the names of two internal champions who'll defend the system after launch.
  5. 05 Week 05

    Elasticity Test & Refinement

    Every asset is run through our proprietary 41-point Brand Elasticity Score, which stress-tests the system against 14 real touchpoints — from a 16-px favicon to a 30-foot tradeshow wall — before any file is finalized.

    What you receive
    A printed Elasticity Score report · a list of every touchpoint tested and the system's score on each · a revised round of applications tuned to the weak points.
    What we need from you
    A 90-minute review with your product and growth leads to pressure-test the worst-performing touchpoint before we lock the files.
  6. 06 Week 06

    Delivery, Files & Launch Support

    Every file is exported, named, versioned, and handed off in a single deliverable package. We sit with your team for two weeks after launch to handle the inevitable "we need a 4,000-px version of this for a press release" requests — included.

    What you receive
    The complete Shipped Package (see § 03) · two 60-minute launch-week office hours · a written handover document · a lifetime visual-asset warranty: any logo, type, or motion file is re-versioned free, for the life of the brand.
    What we need from you
    A launch date we can plan backwards from · one contact on your team who owns the rollout comms.

What you actually own at the end of Week 06 is itemized on the next page. ↓

§ 03 · The Shipped Package

Every file you own at handoff.

A flat index of the deliverables that cross your desk on the Friday of Week 06. No "available on request." No "for an additional fee." The list below is what ships, in the formats listed, named per the convention documented in the handover.

  1. I.

    Logo & Mark System

    Primary, secondary, and tertiary lockups · monogram & favicon · light / dark / mono variants · co-branding rules · a 12-page usage guide. Delivered as SVG, AI, PDF (vector), and PNG @1x / @2x / @3x.

    28 files · 6 formats · 1 usage guide

  2. II.

    Type System

    Display, text, and mono families (commissioned or licensed) · optical-size variants · a numeric figure set · web-licensed webfonts with a five-year seat allowance · fallback stack documentation.

    3 families · web + desktop licenses · typespec PDF

  3. III.

    Color, Grid & Tokens

    Primary, secondary, surface, and signal palettes · HEX / RGB / Pantone / CMYK crosswalks · an 8-pt grid system · design tokens exported as JSON, CSS variables, and Figma variables · a contrast-tested accessibility sheet.

    42 tokens · 3 export formats · a11y report

  4. IV.

    Applications, Motion & Voice

    Six production-ready application comps · packaging or print dielines · a 60–90 second motion reel (Lottie + MP4 + transparent WEB) · a tone-of-voice guide with do/don't examples · photography and illustration direction boards.

    6 applications · 3 motion formats · voice guide

Every package is run through the Brand Elasticity Score before the box is sealed. ↓

§ 04 · A Defined Checkpoint

The Brand Elasticity Score.

A 41-point, in-house instrument that stress-tests the system against 14 real touchpoints before any file is delivered. It is not a vibe check, and it is not a checklist you grade yourself. Every identity we ship carries a printed score, and the system is only considered final when it passes.

A printed Brand Elasticity Score report lying open on a linen-covered studio desk.
The 41-point Brand Elasticity Score booklet — one of two printed deliverables every engagement closes with.

The 14 touchpoints we test against.

  1. 01 16-px favicon at 100% zoom
  2. 02 Wordmark at 12-pt body copy
  3. 03 Mobile product UI, dark mode
  4. 04 Email signature line
  5. 05 LinkedIn cover at 1584 × 396
  6. 06 Square Instagram tile
  7. 07 Six-color print dieline
  8. 08 Packaging primary face
  9. 09 Tradeshow wall, 30 feet
  10. 10 Vehicle livery, side panel
  11. 11 Out-of-home billboard, 14 × 48
  12. 12 Retail window, 6 × 9
  13. 13 Animated logo sting, 2 sec
  14. 14 End-of-year investor letter

A promise we will not negotiate: no system ships below a passing score. ↓

§ 05 · Quantified

6.2wks

Average turnaround, last 12 engagements

vs. 14–18 week agency-industry benchmark

92%

Net Promoter Score, 2022–2024

across 92 client engagements, zero client churn in four years

184

Identity systems shipped since 2014

across 9 countries · 41 onboarded in 2024 alone

Numbers get more convincing in context. Four recent systems, built on this exact cadence. ↓

§ 06 · Recent Systems

Built on this cadence.

Four identity systems shipped through the 6-week process in the last 18 months. Sector, year, and deliverables are listed per row so you can pattern-match your own brand against real, recent work.

  1. Helio Foods packaging system — olive-green tins with a minimal black wordmark on a sunlit counter.

    Helio Foods

    CPG / Pantry Staples

    Year 2024

    Scope Wordmark, type system, packaging across 14 SKUs, retail fixture system, motion language for in-store screens.

    Turnaround 5.8 weeks

  2. Northbeam Capital annual report — navy and cream paper with a foil-stamped wordmark on a walnut desk.

    Northbeam Capital

    B2B / Asset Management

    Year 2024

    Scope Mark, type, voice, investor-deck template, annual-report layout system, signage at three offices.

    Turnaround 6.4 weeks

  3. Praxis Hotels in-room collateral — cream and burnt-orange paper goods on a linen bedspread.

    Praxis Hotels

    Hospitality / 22-Property Group

    Year 2024

    Scope Master brand + sub-brand architecture, in-room collateral, signage system, photography direction, booking-flow UI kit.

    Turnaround 6.1 weeks (largest single engagement to date)

  4. Verdant Capital reception — a sandblasted sans-serif wordmark on frosted glass in warm interior light.

    Verdant Capital

    B2B / Climate-Focused Venture

    Year 2025

    Scope Mark, type, color, motion, website UI kit, pitch-deck system, environmental signage at HQ.

    Turnaround 5.9 weeks

If your brand could sit at the top of this list in 6.2 weeks, the next move is a Discovery Sprint.

Book a Discovery Sprint