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Some Update Requests reach beyond what the brand owner is best placed to handle alone. A proposal to redraw the wordmark. A typeface that needs replacing. A new market that requires a redirected photography practice. For requests that touch identity rather than record, Brand Atlas supports escalation to MadeBy_.
Escalating to MadeBy_ is available on every tier. It is not a billable action by itself; an escalated request becomes a conversation, and any work that follows is scoped and quoted before it starts.

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When to escalate

Three signals that a request belongs with MadeBy_ rather than the brand owner alone:
  1. The request touches identity, not record. A new colour for the palette is a record question; a new wordmark is an identity question. The first is maintenance; the second is evolution.
  2. The brand owner does not have a confident answer. A request the brand owner cannot resolve without input from a designer, strategist, or copywriter is a candidate for studio review.
  3. The request would set a precedent the brand owner is not ready to set. A first-of-kind request (the first sub-brand, the first international adaptation, the first partnership lock-up) often benefits from studio judgment before the precedent calcifies.
A useful test: if applying the request without consultation would make you uneasy a month later, escalate.

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What happens on escalation

1

Choose Escalate to MadeBy_

From the open request, click Escalate. Choose MadeBy_ from the destination list.
2

Add context

A short text field appears. Write what you want MadeBy_ to weigh in on. The request itself is visible to MadeBy_; the context is your framing of the question.
3

The request enters MadeBy_'s queue

MadeBy_ receives the escalation in our system. The team member who raised the request and the brand owner are both notified. The request remains visible in the atlas with an Escalated status.
4

MadeBy_ responds

Within two working days for brand owners on an active maintenance retainer; within five working days otherwise. The response comes back as a comment on the request, with one of three outcomes:
  • A recommended action. MadeBy_ proposes what should happen, with reasoning. The brand owner applies or modifies.
  • A request for a conversation. The matter is bigger than a comment; we propose a short call.
  • A project scope. The matter is a genuine evolution. We propose a project, scope, and quote.
5

The brand owner decides

MadeBy_’s response is an input, not a decision. The brand owner approves, modifies, rejects, or commissions a project. Authorship stays with the brand owner throughout.

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Escalation on an active retainer

For brand owners on an active brand maintenance retainer, escalations are part of the retainer scope. Routine escalations are answered without separate quoting. Evolution-scale escalations become project conversations as normal. The retainer also enables a smoother routing path: requests on configured sections can route to MadeBy_ as first reviewer, with the brand owner approving the final apply. This is set up in Settings → MadeBy_ Services.

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Escalation without a retainer

For brand owners without a retainer, escalation is a single-question consultation. We answer the question; we do not begin a retainer relationship. If the escalation reveals a pattern (you escalate three substantive requests in a month), we may suggest a retainer. The suggestion is a suggestion; you decide whether to take it.

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What to include in the escalation context

A useful context note covers three things:
  1. What you have already considered. “I am torn between widening the palette and adding the colour as a campaign-only value in a Horizon.” Helps us address the actual question rather than the surface one.
  2. What you are worried about. “I do not want this to set a precedent for every regional team asking for their own colour.” Helps us weight the considerations.
  3. The deadline, if any. “We want to apply this before the launch on the 12th.” Helps us prioritise.
You do not need to write a brief. Three or four sentences is enough.

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When MadeBy_ declines to take an escalation

Rarely, MadeBy_ may decline to take an escalation:
  • The matter is operational, not creative or strategic. (“Why does my Inbox not load?” is a support question, not an escalation.)
  • The matter is internal to the brand owner’s organisation and we are not the right outside party. (HR adjacent, legal adjacent.)
  • The matter requires more context than the request and a short conversation can provide; we will propose a paid scoping conversation rather than answering through the request.
Declined escalations come back to the brand owner with a note explaining why.

Working with MadeBy_ ongoing

Retainers and evolution work.

What Update Requests are

The concept.

Brand evolution and maintenance

The conceptual line.