Trust
How we work
Every engagement here runs the same five steps: enquiry, one scoping call, a written fixed-scope proposal, staged work with reasoning shown, and delivery with full IP transfer. This page documents the whole process, including the things we refuse to do.
KM Studio is a small remote branding and marketing studio that sells fixed-scope, fixed-price engagements: you get a written proposal listing deliverables, review rounds, timeline, and total cost before any work starts, and full intellectual property transfer on final payment. No hourly billing, no open-ended retainers, no outsourced hand-offs.
Agency process pages are usually a mood board of verbs: discover, ideate, elevate. This one is a contract preview instead. It walks through the five steps every project follows, names the practices we have ruled out, and shows the research standards behind both our paid work and the free guides, so you can judge us on process before you ever pay for output.
The engagement
Five steps, from enquiry to handoff
- 1
Enquiry: you tell us what is wrong
You send a short message through the contact form: what you sell, where the brand or marketing feels broken, and roughly when you want it fixed. No discovery-call gauntlet before anyone answers a question.
- 2
Scoping call: a fit check, not a pitch
One video call, usually 30 to 45 minutes. We ask about your business, you ask about us, and we say plainly whether the work fits our packages. If a free guide would serve you better than an invoice, we point you to the guide.
- 3
Fixed-scope proposal: deliverables and price in writing
You receive a short written proposal: the exact deliverables, the number of calls and review rounds, the timeline, and the total price. Nothing starts until you have accepted it, and nothing gets billed that is not in it.
- 4
The work: drafts with reasoning shown
We work in stages and share drafts as they exist, with the reasoning written down next to each choice. Feedback happens in scheduled review rounds, so you always know where the project stands and what is due from whom.
- 5
Delivery: final files and full IP transfer
You receive every final file in the formats you need, plus working files where the package includes them. Intellectual property in the delivered work transfers to you on final payment; we keep no hostage files and charge no release fees.
Timelines vary by package; most small-business engagements run weeks, not months, and the dates are set in the proposal. What never varies is the order: scope is agreed in writing before work, and IP transfers at the end.
Pricing philosophy
Why everything is productized and fixed-scope
Scope creep is a pricing model, not an accident
Hourly billing quietly rewards slowness, and open-ended retainers reward keeping problems alive. We removed both incentives by selling productized packages: a defined deliverables list, a defined number of calls and review rounds, and one price stated before you commit.
The trade-off is honest too: a fixed scope means extras are quoted separately rather than absorbed silently and billed later. You can compare every package on our pricing page, and see how each maps to a service on the services hub.
Weighing us against a solo hire? Our agency vs freelancer comparison lays out that decision without pretending studios always win it.
What fixed-scope means
Fixed deliverables: listed in the proposal, line by line.
Fixed price: stated before you commit, never revised mid-project.
Fixed review rounds: built in, with dates agreed at kickoff.
Extras: quoted separately; you can always say no.
Drawn lines
What we don't do
No fiction
Fabricated proof
No invented testimonials, client logos, review counts, case studies, or team headshots. If you cannot verify a claim on this site, we do not make it. The same rule governs our published guides via our editorial standards.
No lock-in
Open-ended retainers
We sell defined projects with defined ends. Where ongoing work makes sense, such as SEO or content, it renews in explicit fixed-scope blocks you can stop at any boundary without a penalty clause.
No bait-and-switch
Outsourced juniors
The people you speak to on the scoping call are the people who do the work. We do not sell you a senior conversation and hand the project to an anonymous outsourced bench.
No theatre
Fake urgency and funnels
No countdown timers, no "two slots left this month" unless it is literally true, no pressure sequences after the call. The proposal states its own validity window and we leave you alone to decide.
These are the same rules that govern our published content. The full version, including how we handle corrections, lives on our editorial standards page.
Research
How we research, for clients and for readers
The studio and the publication run on one research method. A recommendation is only as good as the evidence under it, whether it ships in a client proposal or a public guide.
- 1
Live research before opinions
Guides start with live keyword and SERP research plus primary sources, so each page adds something beyond the existing consensus. Recommendations in paid work are grounded the same way: evidence first, taste second.
- 2
Sources recorded, claims traceable
Facts, prices, and specifications are recorded with where they came from and when. An unverifiable number gets cut or flagged before publication, never smoothed over.
- 3
Dated and maintained
Tools and prices change, so volatile facts are dated and comparison pages get revisited. A recommendation from last year is rechecked before we repeat it to a client this year.
Reviews
How tool reviews and affiliate picks are made
Merit ranks the list; commissions never do
Our review pages, like the best logo makers roundup, rank tools on tested merit: what each tool actually produces, what it costs, and where it falls down. Every pick carries stated cons, because a review with no downsides is an advertisement.
Some tool links earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. That relationship is disclosed near the top of any page that uses it, and it buys no placement: tools we earn nothing from outrank paying ones wherever the evidence says they should.
The disclosure rules
Disclosed: affiliate use is stated on the page itself.
Merit-ranked: commissions never reorder a list.
Cons included: every recommended tool gets its flaws named.
Logistics
Communication, time zones, and the paper trail
| Aspect | How it works | Why it is set up this way |
|---|---|---|
| Where we work | Fully remote, serving English-speaking small businesses worldwide. | No fake local offices; you are never paying for our rent. |
| Calls | Scheduled video calls, booked across time zones at hours that work for you. | Kickoff, reviews, and handoff are calls; everything else is async. |
| Async by default | Email and shared documents you can comment on in your own time. | Decisions get written down, so nothing lives only in someone’s memory. |
| Response time | Within one business day on active projects. | Stated in the proposal, so the standard is a commitment, not a vibe. |
| Project record | One running document per project: decisions, dates, and open items. | You can audit the whole engagement after the fact. |
Remote is not a compromise here; it is the design. Async documents mean decisions are written where both sides can see them, and the small handful of calls are the ones that genuinely need faces. Who is behind the studio is on the about page.
Frequently asked questions
How does an engagement with KM Studio start?
What does fixed-scope pricing mean in practice?
Do I own the work when the project ends?
Do you require a retainer or minimum contract length?
Who actually does the work on my project?
How do you handle time zones as a remote studio?
Why should I trust a studio with no client logos on its site?
How are your tool reviews and affiliate picks decided?
See if the fit is right
The scoping call is a fit check, not a funnel. Tell us what feels broken, and we will tell you honestly whether it needs a package, a smaller job, or just our free guides.