IDENTITY
Marks, wordmarks and the rules that keep them from drifting. Built to survive being applied by people we will never meet.
BRUTAL
CORE
Vol. 01 / Architecture of the Web
INDEX
042
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VIEW MANIFESTO
grid_4x4
Made with, and made for
042projects in the index
14typefaces drawn in-house
6people, no account managers
2011studio founded
How it works
Three steps, and none of them is a sales call.
- 01
BRIEF
One conversation, ninety minutes, no deck. We write the brief back to you in a page. If it is wrong you have lost ninety minutes.
- 02
SYSTEM
We build the grid, the scale and the type before we build a single screen. The system is the deliverable; the screens are evidence.
- 03
HANDOVER
Tokens, specimens and a written rationale for every decision. Your team can extend it without calling us, which is the point.
What's included
Everything below is in every tier.
GRID
Modular grid with documented breakpoints and the reasoning behind each one.
TYPE_SCALE
A scale derived from the content, not from a ratio someone read about.
SPECIMEN
Printed specimen of every face and weight in the system.
TOKENS
Colour, space and type as a platform-agnostic token set.
RATIONALE
Written argument for every decision, so the next studio inherits reasoning rather than taste.
LICENCE
Perpetual, unlimited-seat licence on anything we draw for you.
Features
STUDIO_GRID, in four parts.
TYPE_DESIGN
Custom and bespoke faces, drawn from scratch or extended from an existing licence, with full hinting and a printed specimen.
DESIGN_SYSTEMS
Tokens, grids and components with written rationale. Handover assumes the next team is not us.
EDITORIAL
Books, catalogues and annual reports. Paper is still the hardest test of a grid.
The work
Recent work, unretouched.
Pricing
Three ways in. No hidden tier.
SPRINT
£12,000two weeks
One question, answered properly.
- Grid and type scale
- Three applied screens
- Written rationale
- Perpetual licence
RETAINER
Most chosen£9,500per month
Continuous work on a system that keeps moving.
- Standing two days a week
- Token and component upkeep
- Quarterly specimen
- Named contact, no account layer
EMBEDDED
POAper quarter
We sit inside your team for a while.
- Two designers in your standups
- Full system ownership
- Type design in scope
- Exit documentation
In their words
Three people who pay for this.
They wrote down why. Two years and one rebrand later, that document is still the reason our system has not fallen apart.
The specimen arrived printed. It is a small thing that told us exactly how seriously they take the work.
Six people and no account managers meant every conversation was with someone who had drawn something.
Questions
The four we are asked most.
HOW_DO_YOU_PRICE
Fixed fee against a written brief. If the brief changes we requote in writing before doing the work. No hourly billing and no change-request theatre.
DO_YOU_DO_WEBSITES
We build the system and enough of the site to prove it. Full build we hand to engineers — yours or ones we can name.
WHO_OWNS_THE_TYPE
You do, perpetually, unlimited seats. We keep the right to show it.
HOW_LONG_IS_THE_QUEUE
Usually six to eight weeks. Sprints sometimes sooner. We will tell you the real date, not the hopeful one.
A design studio working on type, identity and the systems that hold them together.
Start today, or read everything first. Both are fine.