Katie Bott
Creative Lead
We're a studio in Alderley Edge, and between us we've spent years on both sides of the table: briefing agencies from inside a business, and being the agency being briefed. These are the things that actually separate a good fit from an expensive mistake.
Find out who actually does the work
This is the question most people forget to ask. Plenty of agencies win the pitch with their most senior people, then hand the project to someone far more junior once the contract is signed. The work you were sold isn't always the work you get.
Ask directly: who will I speak to week to week, and who will be designing? At Forma, you work with senior creatives from the first call through to launch, with no account managers in between. Whoever you choose, you should know the answer before you sign.
Look for your problem, not just your taste
It's natural to scroll a portfolio looking for work you like the look of. A better test is whether the studio has solved a problem like yours before.
If you run a business with several divisions, look for someone who has built a brand that holds a group together, like our rebrand for JD Civil Group. If you run two related companies, look for experience keeping brands connected but distinct, as we did for SolSup. If trust is everything in your sector, look for work where clarity and credibility were the brief, like our brand and website for Fiserv.
Industry experience helps, but a studio that understands your problem will get further than one that has simply worked in your sector.
Ask to see the process
A good studio can explain how it gets from your brief to a finished brand before you commit. You should come away knowing roughly:
How the project starts, and what they need from you
How many creative routes you'll see, and how many rounds of changes are included
How long each stage takes
What you get at the end: guidelines, logo files, templates, source files
If the answers are vague, the project probably will be too. Clear scope protects both sides.
Check they can carry it past the logo
A logo on its own doesn't do much. Your brand has to work on your website, your signage, your vans, your pitch decks, your social feeds and sometimes a screen the size of a building.
Working with a studio that can take the brand into web, motion and print means one team keeps it consistent, instead of it drifting as it passes between suppliers. Our Black Friday campaign for William Wood started as brand visuals and ended up animated on large-format outdoor screens in Manchester and London. That's the kind of range worth asking about.
Local helps, but it isn't the whole answer
Being close by makes a difference. Workshops are easier in person, photography and filming are simpler to arrange, and a studio that knows the North West market understands who you're up against.
But the right fit matters more than the postcode. We work with businesses across Cheshire and Manchester, and just as often with founders and agencies elsewhere in the UK. Choose the studio that understands your business first, and treat being nearby as a bonus.
Ask what happens after launch
The day a brand launches is the day people start using it, and that's when questions come up. Who makes the next brochure? Who updates the website? Who checks the new sales deck looks right?
Some studios hand over the files and move on. Others stay on as an ongoing partner. Neither is wrong, but you should know which you're getting.
Questions worth asking on the first call
Who will I work with day to day?
Can you show me a project with a problem like mine?
What does your process look like, and how long will it take?
How many creative routes and rounds of changes are included?
What exactly do we receive at the end?
What support is there after launch?
If you're weighing up studios in Cheshire or Manchester, we're happy to answer every one of those on a 30 minute call, even if you end up choosing someone else.
