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5 min read
Twelve people, no account managers
Why the people you meet in the first call are the people who make your brand, and how a team of twelve stays that way.
Mei Tanaka
Head of strategy
We are twelve people and none of us is an account manager. That is a choice, not an accident.
No telephone game
Every hand-off loses something. When the designer hears the client directly, the work gets sharper and the meetings get shorter.
Every hand-off loses something. We would rather lose nothing.
Small on purpose
We take on five or six projects at a time. That keeps the founder in every room and the calendar honest.
It also means we say no more often than we would like. We think that is fair to the clients we say yes to.
Notes and proofs from the same job.
What it costs us
We take fewer projects, because every designer also runs their own client calls. We think that is the right trade, and so do the clients who stay for years.
Check | Where we look | When |
|---|---|---|
Proofs | Printed, under shop lights | Every round |
Files | Named so a stranger can find them | At handover |
Rules | Written down, reviewed with the client | Each quarter |
Key takeaway
The person you meet in the first call is the person who makes your brand.
Studio · Team · Clients
Written by
Mei Tanaka
Mei leads the first weeks of every project: interviews, audits and the one-page brand truth that everything else is built on.
