Frontier Security Institute [THE WORK]
Since April 13

What you’ve had so far.

FSI’s support helped Signalform grow into a real studio, with formal services and pricing. Here’s the work so far at that pricing: six areas, April to September, at $300 an hour.

1 of 6 · Strategy and direction

The thinking behind the work.

  • Apr 16Strategic blueprint
  • Apr 21Leadership briefing
  • May 7CAIS Federal to FSI: the rebrand
  • Jun 4Film series proposal
  • Jul 24Defend, Adopt, Advance: the homepage positioning
  • Aug 27Your project hub and work ledger
  • Apr to SepWeekly calls and direction
At my rate
$16,500
About 55 hours
MarketA fractional creative director runs $5,000 to $15,000 a month.
2 of 6 · Identity and templates

The brand, and the tools to use it.

  • May 7Logo system
  • Aug 24Word templates
  • Aug 27Wordmark
  • SepPowerPoint and Word template suites
  • Aug 28Business cards, three rounds
  • Sep 24Letterpress card exploration
At my rate
$12,600
About 42 hours
MarketVisual identity at a boutique to mid-size agency: $10,000 to $25,000.
3 of 6 · Website

The site, repositioned and kept current.

  • May 18Partner page and contact form
  • Jul 9News, fellows and team pages
  • Jul 31The repositioned site goes live
  • Sep 3The Anthem on the homepage
  • Sep 22New hero and Approach options
  • Apr to SepEdits as you asked for them
At my rate
$15,000
About 50 hours
MarketA nonprofit site redesign alone: $10,000 to $12,000.
4 of 6 · Research publishing

Papers, published as their own sites.

  • Aug 18The paper template
  • Aug 28Research section live
  • Sep 23The China paper’s own site
  • Sep 23The full paper read aloud (53 minutes) and a 4-minute brief
  • Sep 24Papers go from Word to web
At my rate
$9,000
About 30 hours
MarketA custom site starts around $10,000.
5 of 6 · The Anthem

A film, from script to homepage.

  • Jul 9Script and treatment
  • Jul 15About 80 archival clips sourced
  • Aug 12Voice casting shortlist
  • Aug 27Voice session with Bill Ratner
  • Aug 31Final cut
  • Sep 3Live on the homepage
At my rate
$12,000
About 40 hours
MarketAbout 90 seconds of finished film at $4,300 to $7,600 a minute: $6,500 to $11,400.
6 of 6 · Banners and print

Event banners, cards and folders.

  • Sep 8Event banners, first designs
  • Sep 9Three directions to review
  • Sep 10Five alternate approaches
  • Sep 18Cards, folder and banners set for print
At my rate
$6,000
About 20 hours
It adds up

$71,100 of work. FSI paid $29,500.

At my rate$71,100
Apr$5,000May$7,500Jul$4,000Aug$6,500Sep$6,500

That’s about $124 an hour. I’m not back-charging any of it.

October and November

Everything you’ve asked for, and what continues.

You’ve asked for

  • The rebrand: brand rollout kit$6,000
  • Brand book, your eight sections$8,400
  • Templates, rebranded$3,600
  • Website: build the rest$9,000
  • Cards, folders and print$3,000
  • Reader license, free through December$3,000 on me
  • Papers two and three$2,700

Continuing

  • Creative direction, through November$4,800
  • Banners, already underway$1,200 on me
  • Ike’s paper, already built$1,350 on me
  • Handoff on November 30$1,800 on me
At my rate$44,850

Under agency prices for the same work: a mid-size agency charges $15,000 to $50,000 for a brand identity with guidelines; a nonprofit site redesign runs $10,000 to $12,000.

The sprint · October 1 to November 30
$44,850
$27,800

Everything on the last page, handed over on November 30. Films separate.

Running total$0