Home: Maren Holloway
Maren Holloway

Services and prices.

Identity systems, editorial systems and a monthly advisory retainer. Every project is a fixed fee, quoted after a 30-minute call.

Identity systems

$8,000 to $25,000, 4 to 8 weeks

For studios, shops and small presses replacing a first logo or opening a second location. We start with your written brief and a 60-minute workshop. I show two directions in week three, we choose one, and I refine it over the following weeks. You leave with the mark, the type and color system, a file library and a 20- to 30-page guide your next designer can work from. I take three identity projects a year.

What you get

  • Mark and wordmark
  • Two typefaces, with licensing notes
  • Color system with tested contrast pairings
  • File library: logos, social variants, stationery
  • Guide with usage rules and print specs

Usually for: Studios, shops and small presses with 2 to 20 people

Start an identity project
Kraft paper, card samples and a small box in shades of brown

Editorial systems

From $6,000, 2 to 12 weeks

For magazines, annuals and book series whose files have drifted issue by issue. I audit two back issues, rebuild the grid and the InDesign styles, set sample spreads for each section type and write a 12-page spec with notes for your printer. A masthead redraw is optional. Projects run 2 to 12 weeks depending on page count.

What you get

  • InDesign master pages, paragraph and character styles
  • 12-page typesetting spec
  • Sample spreads for every section type
  • Production notes for the printer
  • Masthead redraw (optional)

Usually for: Independent magazines, literary presses, annual reports set in-house

Start an editorial project
Stacks of paperback books piled against a white wall

Advisory retainer

$1,500 a month, 3-month minimum

For founders and small-studio leads who ship design work every week with no senior designer to check it. We meet for 45 minutes twice a month. Between calls you send me work in progress and I send back written notes the same week. Once a quarter we spend half a day on the biggest open question. I keep three advisory clients at a time.

What you get

  • Two 45-minute calls a month
  • Written notes on work in progress (Slack or email)
  • A half-day working session each quarter

Usually for: Founders and studio leads shipping design work weekly

Ask about advisory
Printed brand board beside a photo card and a blank color card on a grey table

How a project runs

Identity and editorial projects follow this schedule. Advisory starts with a first call in the week you sign.

  1. Day 1

    Your brief

    A few paragraphs on what you're making, who it's for, the deadline and the budget. If it fits my calendar, we book a call.

  2. Week 1

    Scoping call

    Thirty minutes on video. Afterwards I send a one-page scope with dates and a fixed fee.

  3. Weeks 2 to 3

    First directions

    Two identity directions, or sample spreads for editorial work. We choose one and refine it from there.

  4. Final week

    Handoff

    Files, the guide or spec, and a one-hour walkthrough with the people who will use them.

Questions clients ask

A fixed fee, quoted after the scoping call. Half is due at the start and half at handoff. Advisory is billed monthly in advance.

Usually two to four weeks after we agree on scope. If you have a print date, put it in the brief and I will tell you on the call whether it works.

Identity work starts at $8,000, which covers the guide and file library that make a system usable. The smallest engagement overall is three months of advisory at $1,500 a month.

Yes. I sign mutual NDAs before we discuss scope on confidential projects.

About half are in New York. The rest are in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, and we work over video. I travel for a kickoff workshop when the budget allows it.

Start with a short brief.

Tell me which service, roughly when, and what you're working with now. I'll send back dates and a fee after our call.

Start a project