We don’t believe in surprises or ghosting. Here’s some clarity on our process, timelines, and how we show up for each other.
Frequently asked questions
How do you handle big picture strategy as a solo studio?
TL;DR: Being a solo studio means hyper focused execution, zero institutional bloat, and direct access to a seasoned director.
Being solo doesn't have to mean small scale. We can tackle complex, high stakes brand rollouts backed by over a decade of agency wins and senior level design experience. By removing account executives and project managers, your vision never gets caught up in telephone tag. You get to work side by side with the person asking the tough questions and executing the technical solutions.
What if we don’t have a compliance specialist for our packaging project?
TL;DR: No compliance team? No sweat. We bring our trusted industry compliance expert directly into your project workflow.
Managing GS1 barcode specs, nutrition/ingredient layouts, and legal compliance guidelines can be an absolute headache for independent founders. To prevent costly production delays or retail rejection, we hook you up with our vetted compliance partners right at kick off. We handle the technical red tape so your product lands on shelves perfectly retail ready — without any redos or extra costs later.
What’s the difference between working with a Director and a Graphic Designer?
TL;DR: A graphic designer focuses on making individual assets look good. A Creative Director builds the strategic framework for how your entire business scales.
Anyone can open software and design a pretty logo these days, but a pretty logo won't fix alignment friction or solve retail compliance issues if design projects are not setup properly the first time. Creative directors are always looking three steps ahead and focusing in on the why’s. They have years of experience, and they’ll protect your business from expensive mistakes—like printing thousands of labels that fail retail standards or building a service site your internal team can't update. We engineer design items built for real world endurance.
Why do you focus on independent businesses?
TL;DR: We come from a hardworking mining town where looking out for your neighbours was the baseline. We treat our clients like partners, not invoices.
Growing up in Timmins, Ontario taught us that building something from scratch is deeply personal. Every dollar invested carries weight, and every milestone is hard earned. There’s always a real person behind it, usually running on a lot of time, energy, and not enough sleep. We choose to work with independent brands and passionate teams because we want to see good people show up with confidence and win against massive corporate competitors.
When founders feel proud of where they’ve been and excited about where they’re going, that’s the kind of work we care about most. So we’ll always be looking out for independent businesses, because they’re what shape the spaces we spend most of our time in.
Can a solo studio handle a full scale brand rollout?
TL;DR: Absolutely. Our lean model allows us to build airtight brand systems that can out perform massive agency overhead.
Being small allows us to remain incredibly agile and intensely focused. We build comprehensive visual identities and multi-SKU packaging lines designed to go toe to toe with major industry players. For massive rollouts that need extra legs, we seamlessly scale up using our trusted network of specialized partners—giving you major agency output with zero headaches or friction.
What services do we specialize in?
TL;DR: We build complete brand identities, packaging design, art direction, and digital ecosystems for independent CPG, hospitality, and lifestyle brands.
Whether you’re launching a new venture, executing a service brand refresh, or finally fixing a legacy system that's been broken for years, we’re here to support you as a creative partner. We scale our work across four main buckets:
Brand Identity: Strategy and visual systems built to align your team and create a consistent direction.
Packaging Design: High impact, compliant, shelf ready packaging designed to dominate retail spaces.
Art Direction: Cohesive photography and content direction that ensures your assets look like they belong together.
Web & Digital: High performing sites and e-commerce stores built to convert and scale effortlessly.
How long does a typical branding or packaging project take?
TL;DR: 6 to 12 weeks for a core brand identity; 3 to 5 months for complex packaging rollouts or custom web builds.
Quality strategic work requires momentum, but we never drag our feet. We move fast enough to keep things moving, but slow enough to get it right the first time—saving you from costly post launch redos. Every timeline is mapped out early inside a custom proposal tailored to your specific scope.
What is the studios process for starting a new project?
TL;DR: It starts with a brief inquiry form, which will move to a low pressure discovery call, and ends with a crystal clear custom proposal.
Once you reach out, we’ll send a quick questionnaire to grab the baseline goals of your project. Then we’ll hop on a casual call to see if we click. If we’re a perfect fit, we run a deeper discovery session and hand you a line item roadmap before any design begins.
Do you work with startups or established brands?
TL;DR: Both! We build launch ready branding for independent startups and help legacy brands find new market momentum.
We love building powerful design systems for ambitious underdogs, agile internal teams, and scaling service providers who genuinely care about their community. If you have a fantastic product or service but your current visuals cause internal alignment debates or is falling flat in front of investors, our studio is built specifically for you. 🤘
How are project costs and timelines determined?
TL;DR: Every project is scoped individually based on system size, deliverables, SKU counts, and strategic depth.
Your investment is calculated entirely on the data from our discovery phase. Before we open a single design file, you get a transparent, line item breakdown of deliverables and milestones so there are zero hidden surprises down the line. This keeps the entire process transparent and predictable from start to finish.
Who will we be working with directly?
TL;DR: You work directly with Annie from kick off to handoff. No account managers and absolutely no telephone tag.
Annie leads every strategy and design phase personally. When a project requires specialized scaling—like custom web development, professional copywriting, or commercial photography—we bring in trusted experts from our vetted network. Best of all, we maintain an open book policy: you get direct access to collaborate with those specialists too, keeping communication seamless and it removes as much frustration as possible.
How does the studio handle collaborative trust and creative freedom?
TL;DR: Zero ego, total transparency. We combine your deep industry expertise with our strategic design to build a brand that actually works for you.
You know your business inside and out. We know how to turn that raw knowledge into a commanding visual identity. We don’t hide behind a curtain and show up with a final reveal; you and your team are in the loop on structured review days. We value open honesty over playing nice, which means we’ll listen to your vision, tell you straight up what will or won't work in the real market, and we build the system together.
Does your studio work with global partnerships?
TL;DR: We are proudly based in Ottawa, Ontario, but we build strategic design systems for independent brands worldwide.
We love backing the Ottawa underdogs and community landmarks that shape our city. But powerful design isn't locked to a specific area code. Whether your business is set up right on Elgin Street or halfway across the globe, you get the exact same straight shooting experience: clear communication, neighbourly collaboration, and sharp, strategic design that commands respect.
Are you currently hiring for full time roles?
TL;DR: Not right now. We keep this studio intentionally small so we can stay focused on the craft, but I’m always building a trusted circle of independent specialists.
We are committed to staying a solo, agile operation, but we love connecting with independent copywriters, web developers, packaging strategists, and photographers who do killer work. If you thrive in a low ego, high trust environment and want to be on my radar when a major project phase needs your specific superpower, reach out and say hey! 🤙
How do I join your freelance roster?
TL;DR: Send us a casual intro email with a direct link to your active portfolio.
We build our collaborative network through trusted industry referrals and direct submissions from specialized creatives. If your style, technical chops, and work ethics line up with our current project pipeline, we’ll definitely reach out to loop you into upcoming brand or product launches.
Quick note on AI spam: If you randomly reach out with a generic, AI generated intro email asking for work, you’ll probably get filtered straight to the trash. We value real conversation and authentic connections here. If you can't talk to us like a human (or edit it to sound like yourself), we won't be a good fit to build together.
What does the studio look for in a portfolio?
TL;DR: We look for intentional thinkers and strategic problem solvers, not just pixel pushers.
Your portfolio should show that you get business (at least a tiny bit) and can explain the logic behind your creative choices—especially within the CPG, hospitality, or lifestyle sectors. Beyond technical skill, we value laid back, transparent communication, zero ego collaboration, and a client first mindset.
How does your studio collaborate with external partners?
TL;DR: Our framework is built on three things: absolute creative freedom, flexible schedules, and zero micromanagement.
We match incoming projects to your exact strengths, giving you the room to push boundaries. Our briefs are exceptionally detailed so you’ll always know where the guardrails are—but if you can blast past them and take the work a step further, that’s a massive bonus. Communication is relaxed and transparent (mostly via email or quick check ins), and our remote first setup is built to adapt seamlessly around your current freelance client load.
Is your studio remote or in-person?
We’re 100% remote, which lets us work with the best talent no matter where they are.For partners in Ottawa, we’ll sometimes meet up for a coffee or a strategy sesh, but our remote first setup keeps things flexible so you can work wherever you’re most inspired.
What does the actual project workflow look like?
Very low friction and highly documented. We provide clear strategy and detailed briefs upfront so you can focus on your craft. You’ll have solid timelines tailored to your schedule, and you’re always welcome to join client discussions for full clarity.
Bonus: when we bring you into a project, the details have already been worked through before anything is sent to the client. We build the scope around what’s actually possible from the start — so there’s zero surprises or guessing.
What's your studios style of creative direction?
Our creative direction is built on clarity and trust, not micromanagement. Every project starts with a deep dive into research and strategy to lock down the visual and emotional anchor. From there, we step back and give our experts the space to push boundaries and look beyond the brief.
Zero-Guessing Policy: If you’re unsure, you ask. Simple. It keeps communication open and ego free.
Strategy First: We set a rock solid foundation upfront so you can focus entirely on high level craft.
Intentional Outcomes: Even with multiple hands on a project, the final output stays cohesive, polished, and purposeful.
Do you offer internships or mentorship for juniors?
Let’s talk internships. We don’t offer traditional ones right now, purely because we don't believe in doing things half assed. To us, a real internship means 100% hands on attention from a Creative Director on real client projects—not making coffee runs or tweaking our internal social templates or internal docs.
Until we’re at the stage where we can give them that level of focus, we offer dedicated mentorships so emerging designers aren't left figuring it out alone. We look for people who want to learn how to think about design beyond pure aesthetics and into business strategy needs. When we have the capacity to bring a new designer into a live project, they'll be getting: real work, a large juicy project, and real hands-on experience right out of the gate. We will also help them tailor that work to their own portfolios so they have something to show off for work.