Design Engine · Monthly Design Retainer
Predictable design.
Predictable cost. No surprises.
Senior design capacity, delivered every month.
AI speeds up the early work, a senior designer finishes every request, so quality never slips for speed.
Not sure which fits? Answer one quick question below.
- 18Years in
design & CX leadership - 2 - 5Business days,
standard turnaround - 1Dedicated
point of contact - 5Maximum retainer
clients at any time
The problem with project based design
Every quote starts the relationship from zero, again.
For a CEO or CPO, the real cost is not the hourly rate. It is the launches that slip, and the hours your own team spends managing freelancers instead of shipping.
One month it is a rushed landing page. The next it is a full product redesign. Every project starts with a fresh quote, a fresh negotiation, and a fresh ramp up period while whoever you hired learns your brand from scratch. Companies that need ongoing design either overpay for ad hoc work, or go under resourced in between projects, and the roadmap pays for it either way.
Ad hoc design
- New quote and negotiation every project
- Ramp up time before any real work starts
- Capacity that appears and disappears
- Quality depends on who you happened to hire
A monthly design retainer
- Fixed monthly cost, agreed once
- A team that already knows your brand by month two
- Guaranteed capacity, planned before the month starts
- Senior review on every request before delivery
What kind of work do we do?
-
UX Audit & Research
-
User Flow
-
Wireframes
-
User
Interface
How AI actually shows up here
Faster where it helps, reviewed where it matters.
This studio is led by the founder of an AI experiences practice. AI is built into how requests move, not bolted on as a feature. It removes the slow, repetitive parts of the process. It never replaces the senior judgment that decides if a request is actually right for your product.
Faster drafts
First drafts, same day
AI tools speed up research, moodboards and first pass layouts, so a request moves from brief to a reviewable draft faster than a traditional studio.
Consistent quality
Every request, same senior review
A senior designer checks every AI assisted draft against your brand and product logic before it reaches you. Speed never replaces judgment.
Built in, not bolted on
The process is designed around it
From scoping to QA, each step of the retainer is set up to use AI where it genuinely saves time, so your monthly capacity goes further.
Figure out your fit, no call required yet
Which tier fits your team?
One question, no math. Pick the option that matches how often your team asks for design work, and we will point you to the right starting tier.
Everything is confirmed exactly on a short scoping call.
Select how often your team needs design work
The retainer
Two tiers, one overage rate for anything extra.
Shown in USD for a mixed international audience. Billed in your local currency, AED, USD, EUR or AUD, at the rate agreed on your scoping call.
-
Starter
Guaranteed monthly capacity
- Up to 40 hours of guaranteed capacity a month
- Two rounds of revision per request
- Standard turnaround, 3 to 5 business days
- One dedicated point of contact
$2,900 / month
Book Starter -
Pro
Larger guaranteed capacity
- Up to 90 hours of guaranteed capacity a month
- Suited to teams running multiple projects at once
- Faster turnaround, 2 to 3 business days
- Priority scheduling ahead of Starter requests
$5,400 / month
Book Pro -
Overage
Extra work, as needed
- For anything beyond your monthly allotment
- Same senior review, same quality bar
- Billed only for what you use
$95 / hour
What this does not include:
Strategic leadership, roadmap decisions or stakeholder facing presentations, that is the Fractional Design & CX engagement, and we can discuss adding that if needed. It also does not include development, custom illustration or photography beyond what is scoped up front, or ongoing design system governance.
Why there is a cap:
A maximum of five retainer clients at a time, so every request still gets a senior review, not a rotating team learning your brand on the job.
A smaller first step
Not ready for a full retainer? Start with the Diagnostic Sprint.
The Diagnostic Sprint
A two week audit of your current design output and process, ending with a written, prioritized roadmap and a walkthrough call. If you move into a retainer within 30 days, the full fee is credited toward your first month.
$1,200
one time, credited toward month one
How it works
A predictable rhythm, every month.
Scope your capacity together
A short call to agree the monthly capacity level that fits your real request volume.
Requests submitted, scoped within a day
Work is confirmed and planned into the month before it starts. AI speeds up the first draft, a senior designer reviews and finishes it before it reaches you.
Delivered on a predictable rhythm
Figma files with organized layers, exported assets in whatever format your team needs, reviewed on a short recurring call.
Capacity resets each month
Extra work beyond the allotment is billed at the overage rate, nothing is a surprise.
Delivered by the same studio behind
18 years of design leadership,
now available as ongoing capacity.
UAE / GCC
Carrefour (Majid Al Futtaim), noon, Prypco
Retail & ecommerce · Proptech & Fintech
United States
ETS EMEA, AirHelp (New York)
Edtech & assessment · Travel & legal tech
Europe / UK
Ocado, Mintel, English Study Online
Online grocery · Market research · Edtech
Australia
Woolworths, The Iconic & Zanui
Retail · Ecommerce & fashion
Questions before you start
Before you book
- What happens after the Sprint?
- We present a roadmap and move into a retainer if it is a fit, with the Sprint fee credited toward month one. No obligation either way.
- Who actually does the work?
- One or two designers assigned to your account, with a senior designer reviewing everything before delivery, so quality never depends on which individual happened to pick up a request.
- What counts as one request?
- We define this together during scoping, based on complexity, not just time. A landing page, a set of social assets for one campaign, or a redesigned screen flow all count as a single, clearly scoped request.
- Can we change scope month to month?
- Yes, with notice. Capacity is adjusted at each monthly renewal as your needs change.
- How is this different from the Fractional Design and CX engagement?
- This is execution capacity, production design delivered on a schedule. The fractional engagement is senior strategic leadership and oversight. Many clients use both together.
- Where does AI actually fit into this?
- AI speeds up research, first drafts and quality checks throughout the process. It does not replace the senior review. Every request is checked and finished by a person before it reaches you, so speed never comes at the cost of judgment.
- Why is there a cap on clients?
- Senior review only works if there is enough time to actually do it. Five is the number of accounts that can get real attention at once, not a marketing figure.
Next step
Ready for design that shows up every month, on schedule?
Retainer slots are capped at five clients at a time, so senior review never turns into a rotating queue. Book a short call to scope your capacity, or start with the two week Diagnostic Sprint if you want to see how we work first.