How We Work
We have a tried and tested approach to delivering great quality work at speed
“The reliability & passion of full time employees, with the flexibility and scalability of an agency”
Anthony Beilin
|
CEO & Co-founder at Collective
About us
We’ve helped hundreds of clients reach their millions of customers more effectively through design
Our skill set
Our design team have a varied background and a collective 100+ years of experience in design. Meaning a greater breadth in skill and experience set than you could hire in house or with freelancers.
Shoreditch Design Studio
A mid-weight design hire
Our methods
01 We work collaboratively
We embed directly with your team and bring them along every step of the journey, even if that means sharing messy scribbles or brainstormed ideas.
02 We adjust to the client
Our schedule and team are at our partners service, we re-calibrate depending on your preferred way of working.
03 Plug and play
We work as an extension to your team and can communicate and project manage in your preferred software.
04 No egos
We listen and learn and don’t believe we know it all. We work with you to realise your ambitions and care as much as you do about your business.
Our approaches
Option 1
Day Rate
Hire us on our standard day rates.You pay just for the time you use with no commitments.
Best for
Emergency cover
Short sprints of work
Open ended but small projects
MOST POPULAR
Option 2
Retainer
Our preferred method for longer term collaboration and larger projects. You pay for a fixed monthly allowance of design resource. In small, medium or large packages.
Best for
Product design
Projects longer than 6 weeks
Embedded design support
Option 3
Fixed
Fixed cost and length projects for tight briefs. We provide a fixed price estimate that you know is safe.
Best for
Small projects with concise briefs
Small websites
Known deadlines
How the retainer works...
Flexible, on-demand and embedded design support. Get in touch for pricing.
Size
Only pay for the design time you need. Our retainers have 3 options for the design teams.
- Small - Part time
- Medium - Full time
- Large - Extra time
System
We have a tried and tested approach to delivering good quality work when you need.
- Prioritised backlog in Trello
- Daily comms in Slack
- Weekly reviews
Scope
We can work on any creative need you might have. UI, UX, Illustration, Marketing, Product, Video, Pitchdecks, Social Media, Advertising, Animation, Branding, Iconography and much much more
Scale
We grow with you. Your retainer size can scale as your company requires, we can even support you in your journey to move all design in house.
How we work in practice: No middlemen
Talk directly to us, the designers. We join your team as expert
collaborators and work together to your goals.
collaborators and work together to your goals.
One project lead designer as a prime point of contact
Supported by your own mixed skill set team
Guided by experienced Creative Directors
And assisted by a company of specialists for bespoke needs
Our client types
Who we work with
We help companies of all shapes and sizes and adapt our work approach accordingly
Founders
Got a great new idea, but need help to realise it? Our team acts as a muse to your vision, creating MVP products and fresh brands. We can then work alongside you as you grow and build out your team.
Startups
Need to rocket fuel your startup to the next stage? We help growing companies and SMEs create new products, rebrand or assist their attempts at scaling with design help.
Corporates
We have been lucky enough to work with some of the largest companies in the UK and the world. No matter your size though we attack your problems with a startup mentality, speed, ideation and creative flair.
In-house teams
Need extra resource for your existing design team. Can’t quite scale fast enough? We can help. Plugging in and out of your workload with ease.
Why us?
Why us vs a:
Freelancer
- Dependable: Unlike flighty freelancers, we aren’t going anywhere, some of our clients have been with us for 3+ years
- Constant: Support 51 weeks of the year, we are only closed at Christmas, continue even when sick or on vacation
- One stop shop: Mixed skill set allows us to deliver for every industry and need
- Teamwork: The simultaneous work of multiple designers for tight deadlines
- Experience: We have 100s of combined years of experience to draw from
Why us vs a:
Full time employee
- Flexible: Pause or cancel with ease, perfect for uncertain times
- Constant cover: No holiday or sick pay costs
- No overhead costs: No laptop, software, equipment, office, pension, national insurance
- No perk costs: No bonuses, healthcare, socials, conferences, travel
- No management overheads: No hassle of promotions, OKRs and reviews
- Safe: Remove the gamble of an unknown hire, we have dozens of 5 star reviews & testimonials
Why us vs a:
Another agency
- Digital design specialists: We are a UX/UI and branding design agency only. We aren’t a marketing, or engineering agency with design wing
- Collaborative: We have proven processes but can adapt to what works best for you. We share designs daily
- We embed designers: Most of our team works by plugging in existing product teams
- Humble yet confident: We push ideas but know when to stick to best practise
- Enthusiastic: We’re young and hungry and eager to impress
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ's
Why us instead of individual hire?
You get a whole team from the get-go. Plug in to the decades of experience and breadth of skills at Shoreditch that you wouldn’t be able to with an individual. Minimal onboarding is required as we have more than likely worked in your industry previously. Plus, of course, the flexibility of a stop-start relationship and flexible working hours. Lastly, save yourself the admin and overheads of an internal hire or freelancer. There are no pensions, PAYE, equipment costs, software costs, bonuses, sick days, holiday pay, or training costs with us. Just a reliable design in unreliable times. Still not sure of the benefits? Let us explain more on a call here.
Retainer or fixed term?
If you are building a product, a complex website, or you need ongoing design support, we recommend the retainer model. Allows you to utilise design time whenever and for whatever you want, without being bogged down in creating new briefs and re-estimations. Fixed-term pricing and projects are best only for super-tight briefs and small projects if we know how each other works. Still not sure? Let us decide over a call.
What are your rates?
If you are building a product, a complex website, or you need ongoing design support, we recommend the retainer model. Allows you to utilise design time whenever and for whatever you want, without being bogged down in creating new briefs and re-estimations. Fixed-term pricing and projects are best only for super-tight briefs and small projects if we know how each other works. Still not sure? Let us decide over a call.
What constitutes a day of work?
We price based on day rates equivalent to 7.5 hours of design time from one designer. In practice, you might actually have two designers working half a day each to make up the one day of work, but whatever the arrangement, we prioritise quick results and quality work. Chat with us to learn more.
What are your working hours?
We work 9am-5:30pm local time in both our UK and Australia offices but can move times forward and back to cater to international clients. Book an intro call to learn more.
Will I get a dedicated designer?
Working with Shoreditch means you are allocated a dedicated team rather than an individual. That said, we try to keep the team members the same throughout your engagement, with one lead designer as your prime point of contact. Book an intro call to learn more.
Will Shoreditch work from my office?
We love to visit your offices for meetings occasionally to embed with the team and understand the product, but we don’t do this full-time. Keeping our design studio separate allows our designers to bounce ideas off each other, give critical feedback and access the wealth of in-house experience much easier, resulting in happier designers and better designs. Book an intro call to learn more.
What weekly meetings will there be?
We try to keep things lightweight with one or two weekly catchup reviews and planning sessions a week as standard, instead relying on ad-hoc meetings to discuss particular problems or analyse design ideas and prototypes. That being said, many of our clients have quick daily stand-ups, so we always know the latest. Book an intro call to learn more.
Can you embed with my existing design team?
We often embed with our client's existing teams. This can either work directly beneath, alongside or take the reins - it’s up to you. Many of our partners have used us in the past to give extra design power to their existing team whilst they recruit and hire more help. Book an intro call to learn more.
Do you cover maternity leave or hiring gaps?
We do, our flexible retainer options allow us to give coverage for your design needs for 2+ months whilst you hire more designers or reconfigure your teams. Book an intro call to learn more.
What do I need in my brief to get a quote for fixed prices?
As much detail as possible! Chat with us, and we can send you our detailed brief template. Book an intro call here.
Do you have special rates for early stage startups?
We work with many founders and early-stage startups and know how they work and the struggle. We have tried and tested approaches to keep the budget down for startups. Get in touch to learn more.
Say hello!
Book an intro meeting with us
We can discuss, your project, our services, relevant past work, our rates, and how we can work together
or
Email us at hello@shoreditchdesignstudio.com