Frequently Asked Questions

Pricing, Process & Timing:

  • What does your design process look like? While each project has certain specific needs, High Mountain Creative’s overarching process has proven to be successful time after time.

    • Onboarding: Signing contracts and taking care of the 50% deposit and paperwork.

    • Discovery Phase: You’ll be asked to complete a project brief questionnaire and together, we’ll do a project discovery call so I know everything I need to know about your brand and project goals before diving into the design phase.

    • Design Phase: Depending on the project, this includes everything from sketches and moodboards to fully developed design concepts.

    • Feedback Phase: This is where we’ll go over feedback and revisions to fine tune the designs.

    • Delivery Phase: Final print or digital files will be packaged up and shared with your team.

  • How do I know how much a project will cost?
    High Mountain Creative (HMC) offers a lot of pre-built packages with standard flat-rate pricing, you can see those on my Design Services page. If you’re inquiring about a custom design project, schedule a call with me and I’ll gather some details from you to prepare a formal estimate for you to review. HMC offers flat rate pricing so you’ll know how much your project costs before committing. On occasion, the scope of work may change during the course of the project (i.e. due to extra revisions or additional document pages) in which case an updated cost estimate will be provided for approval before incurring additional costs.

  • How long does a design project take?
    Each case is different but most design projects typically need 6-10 weeks from kick-off call to file delivery. HMC often books out 4-6 months in advance so get your project scheduled as soon as you can!

  • What do I need to do to book a project with you?
    You’ll be asked to pay a 50% deposit and sign my Creative Services Agreement to secure your booking with HMC.

  • What forms of payment do you accept?
    HMC securely accepts credit/debit card and ACH payments through Stripe and checks by mail. Your invoice will include instructions for paying online and an address for paying by check.

  • We’re a nonprofit and have grant funding for design support but we need to spend it soon!
    Not a problem! Get in touch to work out a payment plan that works with your grant funding.

Sharing Content & Files:

  • How do I deliver files with content for my project?
    A special shared Dropbox folder dedicated to your project will be shared with you via email for uploading files. This process has proven to be the easiest and most streamlined way to share content because everything is in one place and both the client and designer can see all shared files. Content sent as an email attachment will not be accepted.

  • At what point should I make copy edits to my content?
    Content should be design-ready – all copy edits need to be made before it is delivered to HMC. Copy edits made during the design phase will count as one of your rounds of revisions. Excessive copy edits may require additional project fees. HMC is not responsible for spelling or grammatical errors in provided content.

Feedback & Revisions

  • My estimate says it includes two rounds of revisions, what’s considered a round of revisions? A round of revisions includes one set of design-related feedback with changes to each proof (draft). It’s important to compile all of your feedback for each round and send it at once to ensure we stay within the scope of work. Revisions may include: swapping out a photo, changes to a color palette, minor copy edits, changes to layout items, fonts or text styles. Major revisions will be assessed and may require updating the scope of work.

  • What happens if we need more revisions than what’s in the estimate? The scope of work in the estimate will be revised to include any additional costs associated with extra rounds of revisions. HMC will never incur more costs without your permission.

  • What’s the best way to deliver feedback to you?

    When you receive a design proof, it will include instructions for providing feedback using the commenting feature in a web-based version of Adobe Acrobat. You don’t need to own Adobe Acrobat software or have an Adobe account to use this feature.

Files & Licensing

  • Do you provide native working files for projects?
    Standard project fees do not include working or native design files. If native files are required, a 50%-75% fee may be assessed. Please inquire for more details. Logo projects include vector .eps files with outlined fonts.

  • Do you design templates?
    HMC does not design templates for Microsoft applications such as Word or PowerPoint. For smaller projects like business cards or flyers, collaborating with a client on Canva templates may be considered the best application.

  • Who owns the final designs?
    HMC’s Design Services Agreement states that HMC owns the copyright and any files associated with the design and the client is granted usage rights based on the agreed upon scope of work. This means you can use the designs for the intended application and any other applications may require additional fees.

  • Do you do work for hire?
    Only in special cases. Otherwise, HMC owns the copyright and any files associated with the design.