Working with MadeBy_ ongoing

MadeBy_ offers two ongoing engagement shapes on top of Brand Atlas: brand maintenance and brand evolution. Both are optional. The product works without them, and many brand owners run their atlas alone or with internal teams. The engagements exist for brand owners who prefer to outsource the work or who want a studio in the room for larger moves.

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Brand maintenance

Brand maintenance is the regular work of keeping the brand record current. The retainer covers:

• Atlas review and refresh. Monthly (or agreed cadence) review of the atlas against how the team is using the brand. We identify gaps, propose updates, and (with your approval) make them.
• Update Request triage and drafting. We work alongside you on the queue. We can draft responses to Update Requests for your approval, or in some scopes, approve and apply with you reviewing summaries.
• Horizons drafting and editing. When a new sub-brand, campaign, or regional adaptation needs a Horizon, we author it.
• Voice and copy review. A monthly read of the brand’s recent outputs against the Voice section, with notes and recommendations.
• Asset refresh. Quarterly review of the photography, illustration, and template libraries.

The retainer shape varies. A common starting point is two days of studio time per month, scaled up or down depending on volume.

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Who maintenance is for

Maintenance is the right engagement when:

• The brand is in active use and the atlas needs continuous attention you do not have time for.
• You want a studio perspective on stewardship without committing to a redesign.
• The team is large enough that Update Requests require more triage than you can do alone.
• You are on Guardian and want help getting more value from Oswald.

Maintenance is not the right engagement when the brand needs a fundamental change. That is brand evolution.

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Brand evolution

Brand evolution is the larger work of changing what the brand is. It is a project, not a retainer; it has a defined scope, deliverables, and a moment of handover at the end. Evolution engagements vary widely in scale. A representative range:

• A typographic refresh. Replacing one typeface in the system. Tight scope, runs about six weeks.
• A wordmark redraw. Refreshing the primary mark while keeping the rest of the system. Runs about ten weeks.
• A colour system widening. Adding a layer of palette for a market expansion. Runs about eight weeks.
• A full rebrand. Every standard section reauthored, photography redirected, voice rewritten. Runs four to six months.

Every evolution ends the way every original engagement ends: with the atlas updated, the team trained, and a milestone version published in the brand record. The brand owner remains the author throughout.

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Who evolution is for

Evolution is the right engagement when:

• The brand has reached an inflection (a strategic shift, an audience expansion, a market move) that maintenance cannot answer.
• The current identity has aged enough that surface refinement is no longer enough.
• The brand is being repositioned, merged, or acquired in a way that requires identity change.

Evolution is not the right engagement when what you need is more discipline around the existing brand. That is maintenance.

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How the engagement attaches to Brand Atlas

Both engagement types attach to the atlas natively. From Settings → MadeBy_ Services, the brand owner can:

• Invite MadeBy_ to the atlas as an Editor or Brand Maintenance role.
• Set the scope of access (which sections, which Horizons, whether Update Request approval is delegated).
• See the studio’s activity in the brand record’s history alongside their own.
• Pause the engagement at any time without losing the atlas state.

The brand owner remains the author. MadeBy_ is a collaborator. The atlas is the working surface for both sides.

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Pricing shape

As described on Engaging MadeBy_, we do not publish standard rates because the engagements are too variable. Directional ranges:

• Brand maintenance retainer. Mid-four to low-five figures monthly. Scope determines the exact number.
• Brand evolution project. Mid-five to low-six figures for a focused project. Larger rebuilds price higher.

The Brand Atlas subscription is separate. A maintenance retainer or evolution project does not include the subscription, and the subscription does not include studio time.

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Ending the engagement

Either side can end either engagement. Maintenance retainers end at the end of the current month with 30 days’ notice. Evolution projects end at the agreed milestone; early termination is handled in the engagement contract. In both cases, MadeBy_’s access to the atlas is removed at the agreed date and the brand owner continues as sole author.

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