If you have worked with us before, you may notice that our process has changed.
That is true.
But the most important parts of working with us have stayed the same.
You still have the same team. You still get the same kind of design support. You still come to us for brochures, updates, reprints, business cards, flyers, and other marketing materials.
What has changed is how projects are started, managed, reviewed, and tracked.
We made those changes for one reason: to make the whole experience easier for our clients.
For years, most projects started through email. A client would send a request, we would review it, send a quote, wait for approval, send an invoice or deposit request, then get the project scheduled and active. Proofing happened in a separate app. Files were often shared by email link. Status updates usually required checking in manually.
It worked, but it was not always the cleanest or easiest way to manage ongoing design work.
Our new system fixes that.
What Has Stayed the Same
Let’s start with what long-time clients usually want to know first.
The design work is still the same
We are still doing the same type of work for our clients, including:
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- brochure design
- brochure revisions
- brochure reprints
- flyer design
- business cards
- sales sheets
- print coordination
- updates to existing materials
The team is still the same
You are still working with the same company and the same core team. We still know your files, your brand, and the kind of support you expect from us.
The quality is still the same
Our goal is still to create polished, professional materials that help your business look organized, credible, and easy to trust.
Reviewing proofs is still familiar
This part should feel comfortable.
You can still review a proof and pin comments exactly where you want changes. That part is very similar to the way many clients have worked with us in the past.
What Has Changed
The biggest change is that we now manage everything through a Client Portal and a simpler project workflow.
Everything now lives in one place
Instead of spreading a project across email threads, file links, proofing tools, and status check-ins, everything now lives inside your portal.
That means you can:
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- submit new requests
- request revisions to older designs
- order reprints
- upload files and notes
- review proofs
- provide instant feedback
- message our team in the same project thread
- download current and past files
- see exactly where your project stands
- book a one-on-one Zoom call when needed
This gives you one place for everything related to the project.
It also means your team can collaborate more easily. You can add multiple team members to your portal account, and we have multiple members on our design team as well. Everyone can stay on the same page without the usual confusion of long email chains, separate file links, or trying to remember who needs to be copied on a reply-all.
One Place Holds Everything “The portal has made project management much easier for our team. Everyone can see the same files, comments, and updates in one place, and we no longer have to sort through email chains to figure out what is going on.”
Starting a new request now takes about a minute
This is one of the biggest improvements.
In the past, starting a project often looked like this:
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- email the request
- wait for a reply
- wait for a quote
- review the quote
- approve the quote
- pay a deposit or invoice
- wait for the project to be scheduled and made active
Now it is much simpler.
You log into the portal, create the request, add your details, and it goes live in our work queue right away.
That means no waiting for the project to become active. No unnecessary back-and-forth. No extra bottlenecks before the work even begins.
Whether the request is big or small, you have much more control. If you are ready to get a project moving, you can do that immediately.
This is especially useful for the kinds of requests many clients have all year long, such as:
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- brochure reprints
- flyer updates
- business card changes
- revised PDFs
- content updates
- new print runs
- quick design refreshes
Why the New Process Is Better
1. You can see exactly where your project stands
In the past, if you wanted a status update, you usually had to email us and ask.
Now you can log in and see where the project stands for yourself.
That added transparency is a big improvement. It gives you more visibility, reduces uncertainty, and cuts down on unnecessary check-in emails.
You do not have to wonder if your project is in review, in progress, waiting on feedback, or ready for the next step. The portal shows you.
Image idea: Screenshot of project status labels or job stages inside the portal.
2. Proofing and messaging are no longer split across different systems
This is another major improvement.
Before, design proofs were often reviewed in a separate app that did not connect well with email. If comments came through email while proof comments were living somewhere else, things could get disjointed.
Now the proof review tool and the project message thread live in the same place.
That means:
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- proof comments stay tied to the actual proof
- project messages stay tied to the actual project
- everyone sees the same information
- there are no disconnected systems or side conversations to track down later
This creates a much cleaner review process and makes revisions easier to manage.
3. Your files are always there when you need them
This is a huge improvement for clients.
In the past, clients would often email us asking for a file. Then, when we had time, we would send a download link. Later on, that link might expire, get buried in email, or be hard to find again.
Now your files stay stored in your portal.
That means:
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- your team can access them anytime
- files are easier to find
- downloads do not depend on emailing us first
- multiple people on your team can grab what they need
- you do not have to wait for a new link
Safe Place to Store Our Files “Having our files stored in the portal has saved us a lot of time. We can download what we need without waiting, and our whole team knows exactly where to go.”
4. Feedback is easier and clearer
The new system makes feedback easier without making it unfamiliar.
You can still pin comments directly on the proof where you want changes. That makes review clear and visual, just like before.
The difference is that now those comments live alongside the project messages, files, and updates. That makes it easier for everyone to stay aligned and keeps revisions more organized.
5. Collaboration is easier for everyone
Many projects involve more than one person on the client side.
Maybe marketing needs to review the piece. Maybe sales wants to comment. Maybe an owner or manager needs approval. Maybe someone needs to download the latest file.
The portal makes that easier because multiple team members can be added to your account.
On our side, multiple members of our design team can also work within the same project environment.
That means fewer silos, fewer missed messages, fewer internal forwarding chains, and much less confusion over who has the latest file or latest instructions.
Everything stays in one shared place.
6. Booking a call is easier too
Some projects are easiest to discuss live.
That has not changed.
We still collaborate with clients one-on-one over Zoom when needed. The difference now is that booking that call is easier because the portal includes a direct link to schedule a screen share.
So if you want to talk through a layout, review a revision, or collaborate live on a design, that option is always easy to access.
What About Pricing?
The other big change is that we now use Time Blocks.
Instead of quoting and invoicing each project one at a time, design time is now purchased in advance and used as needed.
That helps remove delays and makes it easier to get work started.
It also works well for the way many clients actually use us, which is not just for one project. It is often a steady mix of reprints, updates, revisions, and new requests over time.
The Time Block model supports that much better than restarting the process from scratch every time.
Old Way vs. New Way
Here is the simplest way to compare it.
The old way
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- new requests started by email
- quotes had to be prepared and approved
- deposits or invoices had to be handled before work could begin
- proofs lived in a separate system
- status updates required checking in
- files were often shared by temporary link
- email chains could get long and messy
- team collaboration often depended on reply-all
The new way
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- requests are submitted through the portal in about a minute
- projects go live in the work queue right away
- proofs, messages, files, and updates live together
- clients can provide instant feedback directly in the project
- project status is visible at all times
- files stay stored in the portal for easy access
- multiple client team members can collaborate in one place
- calls can be booked directly from the portal
The Best Way to Think About It
If you are a past client, here is the simplest way to look at the new system:
What is the same
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- same team
- same quality
- same kind of design support
- same ability to help with both small updates and larger projects
What is different
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- requests are easier to start
- everything is easier to track
- collaboration is easier
- files are easier to access
- feedback is more organized
- project status is visible in real time
Why it is better
Because it removes delays, eliminates confusion, keeps everyone on the same page, and gives you much more control over how quickly a project gets moving.
Final Thoughts
We did not build this new process to make things more complicated.
We built it to solve the problems clients have dealt with for years:
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- too many email threads
- unclear status
- files that are hard to find later
- comments spread across different systems
- delays before projects become active
- unnecessary back-and-forth before work even begins
The new system gives you a cleaner way to request work, review designs, collaborate with your team, access your files, and see exactly where everything stands.
It is the same design support. It is just a much better way to manage it.
Want to Learn More or Take a Look?
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