To help potential clients, we’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions we receive. If there’s anything else you want to know or you need further explanation please get in touch.
What is your work philosophy?
What type of work do you do?
Do you specialize in any specific industries?
How did you get started?
Do you work with other freelancers?
How much does it cost to work with you?
What does the cost include?
What do I receive during the course of the project?
What artwork filetypes do you provide?
Could you offer me a special discount?
Designer “X” charges less. Can you match them?
What payment terms do you require?
Why do I have to pay 50% of the project fee up front?
How long will the project take to complete?
Can you start right away?
Do you accept rush jobs?
What’s involved in the design process?
I’ve never worked with a design team before. What can I expect?
Who owns the copyright for work you do for my organization?
Will you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement?
Will you feature my project in your portfolio?
Where can I see your work samples?
How can I reach you?
We craft designs that emphasize action and build your brand. We also care a great deal about designs that to do no harm. In essence, this means we are selective about the organizations we work with, giving preference to organizations that are working hard every day to keep the planet pristine and its inhabitants happy and healthy.
Our “do no harm” philosophy is evident in everything from the choices we make on a personal level through to our day-to-day design and production systems. We utilize digital technology as much as possible to, for example, reduce the amount of plastic (software) and paper (proofs, emails, receipts) required to run our business. We send proofs via email with PDF’s which also happens to save our clients time and money, too. We maximize the life of our computers rather than getting the latest and greatest version every 5 minutes. We strive to strike a balance between the need for face-to-face meetings (thus drive time) with technology that allows us to still communicate clearly and effectively with our clients. With our print projects, we encourage the consideration of materials in production. Standard sizes save paper and “green” paper reduces all kinds of destructive effects.
Every step of the way, our clients can count on Blank Slate Interactive to be not just mindful of the design’s quality and effectiveness but its ability to do good, too.
We design websites of all types and sizes, logos, stationery, and lots of other types of print materials for small to mid-size businesses around the country (and in a couple of cases, the world). We collaborate with our key partners to produce promotional or training videos, develop public relations campaigns, or to develop full marketing strategies and plans. Our services are perfect for the small business that can’t really afford a full-time marketing person as well as the mid-size business with a small marketing team and the need to delegate some of the bigger projects in order to focus on the day-to-day marketing tasks. We also do a fair amount of work for ad or marketing agencies whose internal resources are tapped out.
While we’re always eager to penetrate new and emerging industries that bring new challenges and opportunities, we do tend to work with specific types of organizations. These include “sustainable” businesses, architecture and engineering firms, construction companies, legal firms, real estate firms, financial firms (e.g. mortgage and investments), tech start-ups, medical technology manufacturers, and nonprofits and women-owned businesses.
Blank Slate Interactive’s founder, Kim Stone, always knew that she wanted to have her own business. She freelanced for about 5 years while working full-time as an employee, just waiting for the right opportunity to formalize her moonlighting efforts and make the transition once and for all. The recent recession helped her plans come together quite quickly. Not only did Kim realize how many extremely talented creatives were out there freelancing there way through the downturn, she also discovered that most small to mid-size firms could not afford to have a dedicated marketing team. Kim saw an opportunity to help businesses continue to build their brands through the recession and its aftermath with quality, affordable services and a team of like-minded freelancers.
So far so good. Businesses are in desperate need for sensible, action-oriented marketing both online and off. Blank Slate Interactive offers the best of a creative agency with the agility and reasonable prices of a freelancer. You can learn more about Kim and the firm’s key collaborators here.
Absolutely! That is one of the strengths of our business model. We recognize that it’s impossible for us to be masters of all aspects of marketing small businesses. We’d much prefer that we provide our clients with the best possible expertise on their project. This saves time and money for everyone because an expert can do big things much more quickly. By collaborating with freelancers this keeps our costs down and gives us the ability to serve a client based on their unique needs. When we are working on a big project with several freelancers Blank Slate Interactive becomes the project manager, much like a construction project with one company serving as the General Contractor and managing all the subcontractors. Blank Slate is extremely adept at project management and streamlining all the moving parts of a projects and keeping everyone on track. If you’re a freelancer and like this model of collaboration then give us a shout. While we have several key collaborations with experts we are always on the search for other experts in graphic design, illustration, SEO, printing, and more!
The cost to hire Blank Slate Interactive to work on a project varies widely depending on a number of factors including the size and type of an organization, the number of people involved (or effected) by the design process, and the depth of its marketing needs. For example, we might work with a small service-based company with one marketing person (or even just the owner) that just needs a simple 5-page website, a nice logo, and a stationery set (business cards, letterhead, etc.). On the other end of the spectrum, we might work with a larger company with a full marketing team and the need for approval of designs at several levels. They might need a 100-page website with e-commerce and CRM integration along with a logo, branding guidelines, stationery set, brochures, a promotional video, and public relations services to tell the world when the big project is complete. It really can vary greatly, so we prepare bids on a per project basis in most cases. We do this to ensure we’re charging only for what we’re delivering…no more, no less.
With all that said, we can tell you typical price ranges for our various services. This is meant only as a guideline. Again, we provide estimates on a per project basis.
Logo design: $1,000- $2,500
Business card design: $500 – $1,200
Letterhead design: $500 – $1,200
Brochure/flyer design: $1,000 – $2,500
Newsletters: $2,500 and up
Sales Packets / White Papers / Case Studies: $2,500 and up
We also design catalogs, packaging, banners, posters, invitations, and more.
Our websites typically range in cost from $2,500 – $15,000 depending on a clients needs in terms of number of pages, theme specifications and interactive features.
60-second promotional video: $2500 and up
Press Releases: $600 and up
Our consulting rate for for-profit organizations is $85 per hour. Nonprofits receive a discounted rate. We typically charge hourly for consulting services but are able to price per project as well.
A complete branding system that can include a logo, stationery, website, and more depending upon specific requirements. Clients can also rest assured that their branding will stand far above the competition thanks to our time-tested and proven design process. Full ownership of the completed artwork, along with all original files, is also included.
We will normally send clients a PDF presentation showing up to three effective solutions. You’ll have time to let the design stew and then we’ll work together to refine it so it works to resolve the marketing challenges your organization is facing.
For graphics, we deliver to you your native art, which will be in Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or Encapsulated PostScript (.eps). These files can be scaled to any size without loss of quality, and with the right software, clients can create any other filetype necessary (.jpg, .png, .gif, etc.). For print design, it’ll either be in Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or Adobe InDesign (.id). InDesign is specifically used for brochure and magazine layouts. Web design files will be delivered as a package and will include a variety of file types (CSS, HTML, PHP, JavaScript), etc. We’re more than happy to help with specific file requests, and answer any questions if clients are unsure.
As we mentioned above, our prices are based on the clients’ needs. If you’re a nonprofit, budding artist, small start-up, or just have a unique concept then we do want to work with you. If your discount request is within reason it’s likely that we’ll find a way to work together.
We even offer discounts for established businesses! We can offer you a discount if you pay 100% up front, or if you have several projects in the pipeline that you can commit to hiring Blank Slate to complete.
Just get in touch to discuss your needs and we’ll go from there.
Design is not a commodity. Just as a client must choose the design firm, the design firm also must choose the client. We make it as easy as possible for you to know whether we’re worth our weight or not. Our estimates are extremely detailed, so you know exactly what you’re getting for your money. Our satisfied client list is extensive, too, and you can read a few testimonials here.
We’ve found that the most successful projects have come from working with clients who value the personal service and expertise we provide. Here’s a quote that illustrates our philosophy on price matching well:
“A commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. In other words, copper is copper. Rice is rice. Stereos, on the other hand, have many levels of quality. And, the better a stereo is, the more it will cost.”
— Wikipedia
We require a deposit on all projects prior to beginning the work. This fee is payable by check, bank transfer, or PayPal. Details are included in the first invoice.
A 50% deposit serves to protect both you and us. With a deposit you can rest assured that you’re prioritized on our production schedule. It also gives us peace of mind that we’ll be able to cover our time and expenses for most important and intensive part of the design process.
As with cost, time frames vary. Most of our projects take from three weeks to three months to complete, with the “average” project duration lasting four to six weeks. Every project is different, so we learn individual needs before providing a schedule.
We schedule our workflow on a first-come, first-serve basis. Clients that are ready to commit get first priority. While we might be able to squeeze your project in we are typically booked out about 2 weeks in advance. Your best bet is to get in touch to discuss your needs and go from there.
We do our best to accommodate rush projects, but it depends on how full our production schedule is. To be fair to our current clients, if a project already in production is interrupted by a rush project, we reserve the right to add an additional 25%-50% on top of the normal price in order to organize and allocate the additional resources needed to meet all of our deadlines. Your best bet is to get in touch to discuss your needs and go from there.
A brief overview of the web design process is here.
Here’s a good set of standards by which you can measure us.
Copyright of the final work is yours upon receipt of final payment. Anything we create that is not used in your final design remains property of Blank Slate Interactive (e.g. graphic elements done in previous versions of your final design).
In certain cases, of course. Our standard terms and conditions indicate that we keep the right to display the outcome of any design in our portfolio and/or any of our affiliates sites. Just give us a call to discuss your needs and we’ll go from there.
Although we reserve the right to showcase our designs in our portfolio, time constraints (and sometimes non-disclosure agreements) mean not every project gets included. While our portfolio is representative of the type and quality of work we do, it’s by no means comprehensive. What you see on our portfolio today is about 5-10% of our total work. We prefer to showcase the fun, interesting, or challenging projects that best demonstrate our breadth of skill and experience.
In our portfolio here.
You can call (303) 517-6253 or email us at any time at. Better yet, schedule a free consultation with us to discuss your needs and determine the next steps. There’s no pressure, we just want to get a better understanding of your marketing challenges and how we might be able to help you overcome them. Fill out the request form here and we’ll be in touch within 1 business day.
In our latest free white paper, you'll learn what your organization is really offering, why traditional marketing isn't enough, what really persuades your market and how to write a high-impact case study that sells. Download it.
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