Freelance Project Proposal Generator

INTRODUCTION
Hi Rosewood Candle Co. team, I'm Art Szabo, a brand identity designer who works with product companies in their first chapter, when the look and feel still has to be invented from scratch. You're launching an artisan candle line in three months and you need a brand that feels as considered as the product before a single customer lands on the site.
PROJECT UNDERSTANDING
You're building something premium in a category that's crowded with sameness, soft neutrals, the same three fonts, candles that all look like they came from the same shelf. The challenge isn't just to make Rosewood look good. It's to make Rosewood look like itself, warm and earthy without tipping into rustic cliché, premium without feeling cold. You're starting with no existing assets, which is the best position to be in: nothing to unwind, every decision made on purpose. My job is to give you an identity that earns the price point on sight and holds up across everything from a candle label to an Instagram grid.
PROPOSED APPROACH
I've broken this into four phases, each one building on the last so nothing gets designed in a vacuum.
Phase 1 — Discovery and Direction

A short kickoff conversation to pin down your positioning, ideal customer, and the brands you admire (and the ones you don't want to be mistaken for)
A competitive scan of the artisan candle space so we know what to lean into and what to avoid
One written creative direction summarizing the visual territory before any design begins

Phase 2 — Logo Suite

Primary logo concepts rooted in the agreed direction
One concept refined into a full suite: primary mark, secondary/stacked version, and a submark or icon for small spaces (think candle lids, social avatars, wax seals)
Black, white, and full-color variations of each

Phase 3 — Color and Type System

A complete color palette built for warmth and earthiness, with primary, secondary, and accent tones specified for both screen and print
A typographic system: display and body typefaces with usage rules, so your packaging and your website speak the same language

Phase 4 — Brand Style Guide

A single document that holds it all: logo usage and spacing, color codes (HEX, RGB, CMYK), type hierarchy, and do/don't examples
Built so a future printer, web developer, or freelancer can pick it up and stay on-brand without asking you

TIMELINE
Five weeks, structured so you always know what's happening and when.

Week 1 — Discovery and Direction: kickoff, research, written creative direction delivered for your sign-off
Weeks 2–3 — Logo Development: initial concepts, then refinement of the chosen direction into a full suite
Week 4 — Color, Type, and Review: palette and type system built, presented alongside the logo for one consolidated round of feedback
Week 5 — Final Delivery: style guide assembled, all files packaged and handed off

A quick note: the timeline holds as long as feedback comes back within two business days at each review point. If a review takes longer, the end date moves by the same amount, no surprises.
INVESTMENT
$2,800 flat fee for the complete brand identity: logo suite, color palette, type system, and full brand style guide, plus all the source and export files listed below.
Payment is split in two:

$1,400 (50%) to start, which reserves your spot in my schedule and kicks off Phase 1
$1,400 (50%) on final delivery, before files are handed over

What's included is everything in the four phases above. What's not included, so we're clear from the start: packaging design, label dielines, website design or build, social media templates, and ongoing marketing assets. Any of those can be added as a separate scope if you want them, and the brand system I'm building will make them faster to produce later.
TERMS

Two rounds of revisions are included at each review stage. That's plenty for a focused project like this, and it keeps us moving toward a decision rather than circling one.
If the scope grows mid-project (additional logo concepts, extra applications, a second creative direction), I'll quote it separately and in writing before any work begins, so cost is never a surprise.
Final files are delivered in a single organized package: logos in vector (AI, SVG, EPS, PDF) and raster (PNG, JPG), color and type specs inside the style guide (PDF), and any working source files you'll need.
Full ownership and intellectual property rights to the final approved identity transfer to Rosewood Candle Co. upon receipt of final payment.

NEXT STEPS
If this looks right to you, reply to confirm and I'll send the deposit invoice and a short kickoff questionnaire the same day. Once the 50% lands, we start Phase 1 that week.