Our Services

Do you feel like you've lost your way?

Clients can DIY more than ever, and some parts of the industry are disappearing.
If you're not sure where you fit anymore, COMPASS gives you clarity on positioning and direction.

Over three months, we work one-on-one with you each month to identify opportunities, build practical actions, and keep you accountable. Between sessions, you've got access to us and our tools for ongoing support.

Three months, one-on-one. $2,200 inc GST monthly x 3 = $6,600 total commitment.

Every design agency says it's strategic.
That's a problem — when everyone talks strategy, clients end up comparing price and portfolios instead.
IMPACT changes the conversation.

Working with one of your clients over six weeks, you'll apply a documented methodology to measure the social, environmental and economic impact of your design work — not just claim it.

You'll walk away with a completed Design Impact Strategy and a repeatable process for every future client. Supported through 3×1hour zoom sessions and consistent email conversations.

Six weeks, one project, measurable outcome. $5,500 inc GST.

Working hard but not making profit?
It's not a client problem.
It's a pricing-by-guesswork problem.

This toolkit gives you the real numbers: what it actually costs to run your business, what to charge, and what to say when clients push back.

A calculator to find your true rate, a budget template, and scripts for the money conversations you've been avoiding. It's the exact toolkit we use in mentoring — packaged so you can run it yourself.

Instant download. $100 + GST.

Need a sounding board before a tough decision?

Single-issue mentoring works for solo operators worried about what they can't see, small teams needing a devil's advocate or a business owner wanting to talk over a momentus decision.

It’s not a full program, just a focused discussion with someone who's been there.

We've made payroll, had our own home on the line running a studio, and mentored hundreds of creative businesses since. We know what works — and what doesn't.

One 60 minutes session: $500 + GST.

The reference we wish we'd had when we started. Written from our 30 years running a studio, The Business of Design covers what you actually need to start, manage and grow a creative business — pricing, positioning, team, and the decisions design school never taught you.
Immediate download.

Bookkeeping probably isn't why you got into design, but ignoring it is expensive. This is a practical, illustrated introduction to bookkeeping for design studios, written for designers by design practitioners. It's about sharing knowledge, not accountancy advice — think of it as the numbers explained in a language you actually speak.

Finance in a studio de-mystified

Design studios don't go bust because they can't deliver good design. They go bust because they don't manage their finances well enough to stay viable. Clients are more financially savvy than ever — designers need to be too.

This isn't about becoming an accountant. It's about understanding your numbers well enough to make good decisions, and to brief your accountant properly instead of just handing over a shoebox of receipts.

The creative industry has never been unionised or covered by a relevant State award, so pay rates have always been arbitrary — set by hearsay and market demand rather than anything solid. That's a problem whether you're a studio owner setting salaries, an employee wondering if you're being paid fairly, or a freelancer trying to work out what to charge.

This guide gives you real benchmark data, so you're working from actual numbers instead of guesswork — whoever's side of the pay conversation you're on.

New business is hard. Most designers dread cold calling — and most clients don't want that call either. LinkedIn is the alternative: a way to be visible and build trust before anyone needs to pick up the phone.

This 52-page ebook shows you how to use LinkedIn to attract new business without the awkward pitch — from what to post, to how to show up consistently, to turning visibility into real conversations.

Every week we hear about talented designers whose businesses collapsed — a key employee left with the clients, a project went wrong and ended in legal action, rapid growth broke the cash flow. These aren't dramatic failures. They're slow-motion, preventable disasters.

This ebook covers six areas of risk — reputation, unplanned growth, health, financial insolvency, intellectual property and failure to innovate — and how to spot the warning signs early, before they become business-ending.

Written from 30 years running a studio, not theory.