Frequently asked questions

The things people usually want to know before working with us.

Branding, websites, marketing, costs, timelines and what working with an agency is like. Here are the straight answers.

  • GEORGE DESIGN is a strategic branding, web design and marketing agency based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

    We work with businesses across New Zealand on brand strategy, brand identity, website design and development, campaigns, content and ongoing marketing.

    Our work sits at the intersection of strategy and creative. We help businesses work out what they need to say, how they need to show up, and how that translates across their brand, website and marketing.

  • No, and we think that’s a good thing.

    GEORGE DESIGN is built for businesses that value strategy and creative thinking, not simply creative output. Our best work happens when we’re brought in to solve a problem, spot opportunities and contribute ideas rather than simply execute a predetermined list of tasks.

    If price is the main factor in choosing an agency, there will almost certainly be cheaper options.

    If you’re looking for a team that will get to know your business, ask good questions, challenge you when necessary and care about the commercial outcome of the work, we could be a very good fit.

  • We work best with businesses that want a creative partner, not simply a pair of hands.

    Our best clients come to us with a business problem, goal or opportunity and give us room to help determine the best creative response. They value good thinking, trust expertise, make decisions and understand that strong brand, web and marketing work is an investment in the business.

    They also tend to want a relationship with their agency. We get to know the business, understand where it’s going and care about what happens after the thing we’ve made goes live.

    If you’re primarily looking for the cheapest quote, someone to execute a predetermined list of tasks, or a designer you can brief one small job at a time, we’re probably not the right fit.

    There are plenty of great designers who work that way. We’re deliberately built differently.

  • Usually, pretty quickly.

    We can generally book a Power Session within 10 days of you getting in touch, giving us a chance to get into the business, clarify what you need and work out the best way forward.

    For larger brand, website or marketing projects, we can typically kick things off within 4–6 weeks, depending on the brief and our studio schedule.

    Got something more urgent? Talk to us. Tight deadlines are something we’re very good at, and for a great client with great communication, we can make (nearly anything) happen.

    We do love an organised client though. Give us a deadline, a decisive team and a bit of warning, and we’ll be very happy gals.

Branding FAQs

  • A branding agency helps a business define how it should be positioned, understood and recognised.

    That can include brand strategy, positioning, messaging, naming, visual identity, logos, typography, colour palettes, brand guidelines and the rollout of the brand across websites, packaging, signage, social media and marketing.

    At GEORGE DESIGN, branding starts with strategy. The goal isn't simply to make a business look better. It's to create a clear, distinctive brand that supports where the business is heading.

  • A logo is one part of a brand identity.

    A brand identity is the wider visual system that determines how your business shows up. It can include your logo suite, colours, typography, graphic elements, photography direction, layouts, imagery and guidelines for how everything works together.

    A strong identity means your business can be recognised even when your logo isn't front and centre.

  • A rebrand can make sense when the business you've built has outgrown the brand you started with.

    Common signs include your branding no longer reflecting the quality of your business, attracting the wrong customers, struggling to explain what makes you different, entering a new market, changing your offer, or feeling inconsistent across your website and marketing.

    Sometimes the answer is a complete rebrand. Sometimes the existing brand simply needs refining. We help determine that before deciding how much needs to change.

  • Branding projects with GEORGE DESIGN start from $8,000 + GST.

    The final investment depends on the depth of strategy, identity development and rollout required. A focused brand identity project is very different from a full strategic rebrand involving research, positioning, messaging, visual identity and rollout across multiple touchpoints.

    We scope each project around your business, what you need now and where you're heading, rather than fitting everyone into the same package.

    Once we understand what you're trying to achieve, we'll recommend the right scope and investment.

Website FAQs

  • For a professionally designed service-business website with GEORGE DESIGN, we recommend budgeting from approximately $6,000 + GST.

    The final investment depends on the size and complexity of the website.

    A focused Squarespace website with a handful of key pages is different from an ecommerce website or a larger site requiring extensive copywriting, SEO content, memberships, email integrations, booking functionality, blogs, custom forms or third-party systems.

    Other factors include photography, ecommerce setup, product migration, domain and DNS management, analytics, email functionality and how much of the technical setup you'd like us to manage.

    We scope each website around what the business needs.

  • We primarily design and build websites using Squarespace and Shopify. We also partner with developers on Wordpress and Webflow website.

    The right platform depends on what your business needs the website to do.

    Squarespace can be an excellent option for service businesses and content-led websites. Shopify is our preferred platform for many ecommerce businesses.

    We'll recommend the platform based on your requirements rather than forcing every project onto the same system.

  • Yes. We design and build Shopify websites for ecommerce businesses.

    That can include Shopify strategy, UX, website design, development, product and collection structure, email integrations, SEO foundations, conversion considerations and launch support.

    We can also work with existing Shopify stores that need redesigning or improving rather than rebuilding from scratch.

  • Yes. Squarespace is one of the platforms we regularly work with.

    It's particularly useful for service businesses that want a strong, easy-to-manage website without unnecessary technical complexity.

    We can handle strategy, sitemap planning, copywriting, custom design, build, mobile optimisation, SEO foundations, integrations and launch.

  • Yes.

    We can redesign an existing website, improve its structure and messaging, or recommend moving it to another platform if the current setup is limiting the business.

    Before recommending a rebuild, we'll look at what you already have and determine what is worth keeping.

  • Yes. Website copywriting can be included as part of a GEORGE DESIGN website project.

    We combine brand positioning, messaging, SEO considerations and user experience so the copy helps people understand what you do, why they should care and what they should do next.

    It also means the words and design are developed together rather than trying to squeeze finished copy into a design afterwards.

  • Our website projects include SEO foundations, with more comprehensive SEO available depending on the project.

    This can include keyword research, page structure, headings, metadata, internal linking, content recommendations, redirects and on-page optimisation.

    For businesses wanting to grow organic search traffic more aggressively, we can scope additional SEO strategy and content.

Marketing FAQs

  • Yes. Our ongoing marketing service is called a Creative Subscription, starting from $3,500 + GST per month.

    A Creative Subscription gives you ongoing access to the GEORGE DESIGN team across strategy, creative and marketing. Depending on your subscription, this can include content creation, campaign concepts, social media planning and scheduling, EDMs, website updates, graphic design and Meta advertising.

    But the important bit is how we work.

    We're not here to wait for a list of jobs each month and tick them off. We become an active creative partner in your business, helping shape the marketing plan, deciding where to focus, reviewing performance and working towards agreed KPIs.

    Each month includes a strategy meeting where we look at what's working, what isn't and what we should do next.

  • Our Creative Subscriptions start from $3,500 + GST per month, with the level of investment based on the amount and type of support your business needs.

    We work on a minimum six-month commitment, and often recommend 12 months. Good marketing needs enough time to plan, test, learn and improve rather than starting from scratch every few weeks.

    We'll recommend a subscription based on your goals, internal resources and the areas where our team can have the greatest impact.

  • Every Creative Subscription is shaped around the business, but support can include marketing strategy, campaign planning, content creation, social media ideation and scheduling, email marketing, graphic design, website updates and Meta advertising.

    For social content, we use Rella to plan, review, approve and schedule content, giving our team and yours one clear view of what's going out and when.

    Your subscription also includes a regular monthly strategy meeting to review performance, discuss upcoming opportunities and decide where we should focus next.

    The aim isn't to produce a predetermined number of things every month. It's to use the time and expertise available where it will be most useful.

  • Yes, but Meta advertising management is only available as part of a GEORGE DESIGN Creative Subscription.

    We don't manage Meta accounts as a standalone service because advertising works best when we can influence the wider picture — the campaign idea, creative, offer, content, website, landing pages and email marketing.

    Being involved across those touchpoints means we can respond to what the data is telling us rather than simply adjusting an ad account in isolation.

  • Yes. Social media strategy, content ideation, creation, planning and scheduling can all be included within a Creative Subscription.

    We use Rella as our content planning and scheduling platform, so upcoming content can be reviewed and approved before it goes live.

    Rather than filling a calendar for the sake of posting, we look at what role social should play within the wider marketing plan and create content around the business's priorities, campaigns and KPIs.

  • A Creative Subscription isn't a design-on-demand service.

    You're getting a creative partner who is actively involved in your marketing — looking at performance, contributing ideas, planning campaigns, challenging what isn't working and helping decide what happens next.

    That means our relationship isn't simply brief → design → deliver → repeat.

    We get to know the business, understand the commercial goals and use strategy, creative, content, digital and design together to help move towards them.

    For businesses that already have an internal marketing person, we can also work alongside them as an extension of their team.