Design Agencies

Turn complex design briefs into quotes your team can review.

Start with a draft work breakdown for strategy, design, production, reviews, and rollout. Adjust the hours, costs, and timing before you send the quote.

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Roles Price strategy, design, PM & production

Costs Include licenses, vendors & overhead

Timeline Plan phases, reviews & rollout

Actuals Track time against the estimate

FROM BRIEF TO QUOTE

Design quotes get blurry when different kinds of work share one line item

A brand refresh might combine research, creative direction, identity design, motion, production artwork, and a long list of rollout assets. Each part uses different people, rates, and review cycles.

Put all of that under one broad promise and it becomes hard to see what the team has allowed for. Feedback expands, new formats appear, and outside costs arrive after the price has already been agreed.

A clearer quote separates the thinking from the production. It shows the roles involved, the planned review rounds, the deliverables in each phase, and the costs that sit outside team hours.

"Strategy, design, and rollout behave differently. Price them as different phases so the client and delivery team can review the same plan."

Roadbase turns a pasted brief or PDF into a draft set of phases, tasks, roles, hours, and timing. Your team reviews the draft, adds the real rates and expenses, then adjusts the plan before exporting the proposal.

Roadbase roles and rates management panel

Set rates for the roles involved in the work.

Roadbase draft project phases and work breakdown

Turn a brief into phases the team can review.

A CLEARER ESTIMATE

Three details that make a design quote easier to review

The exact structure will vary by agency and project. These three details usually deserve their own lines in the plan.

"A useful quote shows where creative exploration ends and repeatable production begins."

Separate concept work from rollout

Brand directions and campaign concepts need exploration and senior review. Resizing, localization, and asset preparation are more repeatable. Separate phases make both kinds of work visible.

Account for review time

Add project management, creative direction, presentation, and feedback time to the roles that will do it. If several stakeholders are involved, reflect that in the hours instead of hiding it inside design production. See our guide to estimating project hours.

Define what a revision round includes

State how many rounds are included, which deliverables they cover, and whether feedback should be consolidated. If the direction changes later, the written breakdown gives you a clear basis for discussing the extra work. Read our guide to preventing scope creep.

STRUCTURED BREAKDOWN

Example work breakdown for a brand refresh

This example shows the information worth making visible before a price is agreed. The roles, hours, rates, expenses, overhead, and contingency should be adjusted for the actual brief.

Project Phase	Deliverables	Roles & Planned Hours	Cost Input
01. Discovery & Creative Strategy	Competitor review, positioning workshop, and three visual territories.	Lead Strategist (20 hrs) Creative Director (8 hrs)	Role rates
02. Core Identity System	Wordmark, color system, secondary graphics, and two review rounds.	Senior Designer (35 hrs) Creative Director (12 hrs)	Role rates
03. Rollout & Hand-off	Vector lockups, localized assets, presentation templates, and file preparation.	Production Artist (15 hrs) Senior Designer (5 hrs)	Role rates
04. Expenses & Contingency	Commercial font licenses, stock assets, print proofs, and an agreed contingency.	Outside costs, listed separately.	Add separately

"The point of the breakdown is simple: show how the work, team, and outside costs combine to produce the quote."

Our guide to moving beyond spreadsheet pricing explains how to keep the plan and quote connected.

ROADBASE FEATURES

Build and review the quote in Roadbase

Roadbase gives your team a structured starting point. Nothing is final until you review and adjust it for the client, the work, and the way your agency delivers.

Draft the work breakdown

Paste a client email or upload a PDF. Roadbase drafts phases, tasks, roles, hours, timing, and assumptions for your team to review.

Price each role and cost

Set rates for strategy, design, project management, production, and specialist roles. Add overhead, outside expenses, and contingency to the same estimate.

Adjust the visual timeline

Move phases and tasks as the plan changes. Planned hours, roles, costs, quote, and margin stay connected in the financial model.

Compare planned and actual time

Move approved work into a Kanban workspace, add task notes and comments, and track time against the original estimate.

PRACTICAL RESOURCES

Practical pricing guides for creative directors

These guides cover the deliverables, roles, expenses, and pricing decisions behind common creative projects.

Guide

Brand Identity Projects

How to price brand strategy, core symbols, revisions, and localized rollout deliverables.

Read guide →

Guide

Packaging Design Projects

Estimating die-lines, press checks, material research, and vector asset preparation.

Read guide →

Guide

Motion Design Projects

Pricing style frames, storyboards, animatics, cuts, audio licensing, and render times.

Read guide →

Guide

Event Design Projects

Handling spatial design models, typography rollouts, and vendor logistics coordination.

Read guide →

Start your next design quote with the work clearly laid out.

Paste the brief, review the draft plan, add your rates and outside costs, then export a proposal when the numbers fit the work.

Try it free Read Brand Pricing Guide