Design Retainer Frequently Asked Questions

Is a creative retainer right for you?

Meeting the design needs of your business can be tricky. If your design needs vary throughout the year, arise unexpectedly, or if you have ongoing projects that don’t necessarily require having a designer on staff, a creative retainer might be the best solution for your business.

What is a creative retainer?

A creative retainer is a 3, 6 or 12-month agreement between your business and ours that allows you to contract as few as 5 hours of design service per month. A creative retainer gives you instant access to a wide range of professional graphic design services without the overhead associated with a permanent employee.

What are the advantages of a creative retainer?

By entering a creative retainer agreement, you can save significantly on graphic design services. The more hours you commit to, the lower your hourly rate is. With a creative retainer, we reserve your retainer time exclusively for you, so even if you have rush work, or an unplanned need, our creative staff can respond to your needs immediately.

For multiple small projects, you can take advantage of your combined work volume, and avoid the need to seek estimates, manage multiple contracts, and pay multiple invoices. A creative retainer can also stabilize your monthly services budget. Combined with our printing and promotional item services, your time spent on projects is reduced even further. Our printing is high quality, competitively priced and one less step you need to take in completing your project.

What services are included in a creative retainer?

Graphic design, website design and maintenance, research, writing, editing, print management, recruiting and design project management services are all included in our creative retainer agreements. Services not included under your retainer will always be quoted before any work is performed.

What services are not included in a creative retainer agreement?

A creative retainer does not cover expenses like printing, stock photography licensing, specialty design services (CAD and Illustrating) and subcontractor fees. Our Creative Director will consult with you before beginning work to identify any fees or costs that may be billed in addition to your creative retainer agreement.

What if I don’t use all of my hours in one month?

You can roll unused hours into the following month. Rollover hours expire at the end of the third month, In the last month of the agreement, unused hours are forfeited. Hours in excess of the monthly agreement are billed at the rate outlined in your retainer agreement.