Phase 1: Assessment of Your Needs/and or Wishes Before an Estimate becomes reflective of your needs, 999 Art Direction asks that you contact us describing the nature and scope of your project. If we feel we are the right people for the project, we will ask to meet with you for a 60-90 minute 'Discovery Meeting' to assess your needs. At this meeting you will be able to see our portfolio and ask any questions you may have. If we agree to proceed, we will then forward you via email our 'BRIEFING DOCUMENT' that we can either work on together, or you can first discuss with your team. Although a bit daunting at first, due to it's thorough nature, this document is a very helpful tool to keep everyone involved on the project stay on focus during the project and avoid becoming sidetracked. _____Once completed, simply forward the document and we'll be in touch. Please include a return phone number where you may be contacted during regular business hours so we may arrange a time to meet to proceed to Phase 2. _____Please -- don't ask us to QUOTE on the phone or by email.

Phase 2: Resource Gathering and Understanding What Ingredients Will Be Required At this second meeting, we will provide you with our findings presented in a Creative Briefing Document, a written final Estimate, and the Letter of Agreement (Contract). If your project is valued $1,000 CDN, or more, we will require a non-refundable deposit. For more details see "How We Work" > Terms and Conditions: Method of Payment. ____This stage is also a meeting to gather detailed information in order to compile an accurate estimate of time and cost. Will copy be supplied or written, and if so, by who? Will there need to be new photography? If so, by who? Approvals of these materials take place at this stage. ____We look at where the site will be hosted from. What are the specs? Do we need to find a hosting service? Does a Domain Name exist or will one have to be obtained? ____How will the user navigate the site? Are there going to be PDF downloads which could be dealt with as HTML pages instead? ____How will you plan to promote your site? Traditional media or online media. We can help you with that at any level you wish. All these kind of items should be discussed and finalized at this stage.

Phase 3: Design Creation and the Prototype Using the initial requirements and estimate as a guide, 999 Art Direction will explore design strategies while considering appropriate metaphors, themes, illustrations, typographical treatments, and related elements -- whether brand new or co-ordinated with your existing marketing materials. We arrive at a final specification for the site, complete with site map, detailed requirements for various key pages, navigational elements, and delivery dates. After an initial design is presented and approved by you, you may be required to make another payment, as outlined in your Letter of Agreement.

Phase 4: Production and Testing 999 Art Direction will go into production, and when there is enough to see, the work will go on a "Staging Server" where the new site design can be reviewed and tested before placed on the Internet at your domain. The staging server allows 999 Art Direction to test the site and allows you to review the design and approve the final content as additional content is added before going live. This interactive process of design has been fundamental to the success of 999 Art Direction's ability to meet client goals and expectations.

Phase 5: Final Delivery Once both parties are comfortable with the finished product, 999 Art Direction will then 'debug' the site. Depending on the scope of your project, this process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. ____Once Quality Control has been completed, 999 Art Direction will upload your project from the staging server to your domain or an other pre-designated location. 999 Art Direction can help with publicizing your website, through the use of search engine submissions, creation of banners ads or any print communications that may be relevant to your web project. Contact us for more information. At this point we issue our Final Invoice as a PDF for the final payment, which is due at this point.

Phase 6: Maintenance (optional, yet recommended) Clients who wish to keep their websites current and relevant, should expect to pay up to approximately 50% of the initial cost for website maintenance per year. 999 Art Direction recommends that you review your website for potential update content on your website a MINIMUM once every two months (preferably weekly for time-sensitive materials), and a usability review of your website (based on your client feedback) at least once a year. ____Website maintenance is currently billed hourly. A monthly or an annual flat fee can be negotiated with 999 Art Direction based on the nature and extent of your maintenance requirements (such as adding new areas, site features, or content). ____Contrary to some popular opinion, we at 999 Art Direction believe, it is wisest that the firm that designed and built your site also do the maintenance. The sole reason for this is to preserve the original integrity while keeping your costs down. All fees are subject to 13% HST.

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