In writing. Send a note through the form or by email — what you're building, where it stands, and what feels unresolved. I respond within 48 hours with either a proposed scope, follow-up questions, or an honest decline if the fit isn't right. No discovery calls. No proposal decks. The shape of the work emerges through written exchange — usually three or four notes — until we both know what we're committing to.

Two reasons. Written exchange forces precision. When you write down what you're trying to do, the shape of the work comes into focus — for both of us. Second — async work respects time across timezones. Studio of one means I work with clients in London, New York, Tokyo, and Milan in the same week. Synchronous scheduling would compromise depth. The practice runs in writing — that's the fit, or it isn't.

Through the written exchange. Once I understand what you're building and which surfaces matter, I write back with a proposed scope — what's included, what's explicitly out, timeline, deliverables, and a fixed price. No packages, no menu. Each engagement is shaped around the brief, not fitted to a pre-built tier. If the proposed scope doesn't fit, we iterate in writing until it does. Or, if it can't, we part ways clearly.

Most engagements run between four and twelve weeks of focused work. Smaller surfaces — a single landing page, a logo system, a focused brand audit — can be shorter. Full brand systems with identity, web product, and editorial direction take longer. The studio takes a small number of projects per year. Scope, timeline, and price are all decided per engagement, in writing, before any work begins.

For ongoing partnerships — yes. Brands building over months, extending into new product lines, opening new markets, or scaling identity into multiple touchpoints sometimes need continuity rather than discrete projects. In those cases I work on a monthly retainer with priority response and a defined scope per quarter. Not for first identities. Retainer makes sense once the core is proven and there's a system to steward.

Yes — standard mutual NDAs before substantive work begins. The brief itself often contains commercial information that shouldn't be discussed publicly. NDAs protect both parties. For some engagements I work under quiet attribution — the project may not be publishable in the studio's case studies. This is fine. The work is the work, whether it sits in a portfolio or a private archive.

For fixed-scope projects — typically 50% on contract signature, 50% on delivery of final files. Smaller engagements may be 100% upfront. Larger, longer engagements are split into milestone payments agreed in the contract. For retainers — monthly, invoiced on the first of the month, payable within 14 days. Invoicing through a Portuguese sole-proprietorship. Bank transfer (SEPA, IBAN), Wise, or USD/GBP wire. Crypto on request.