HOW WE WORK
Four steps. Always the same. Never the same twice.
The structure doesn't change. What happens inside it always does. Here's what to expect.
Listening before making.
Step 01:
Understand
Week 1–2
The first two weeks of every Fern project are not design weeks. They're understanding weeks. We review everything that exists: what you've built, what your competitors have built, what your audience is actually responding to. We talk to your team — not just the person who hired us, but the people closest to the work. We're looking for the gap between how you see yourselves and how the outside world sees you. That gap is almost always where the real brief is hiding.
Deliverable: Diagnostic report. Problem definition. Recommended scope and approach.
Real work. Real feedback.
Step 03:
Build
Weeks 4–10 (varies by scope)
We work in two-week sprints. At the end of each sprint you see real, finished work — not concepts, not directions, not explorations. We present one recommendation. Not three options. One. We’ve found that presenting options shifts the creative responsibility back to the client. That’s not why you hired us. We make the call, we defend it clearly, and we listen carefully to your response. That’s a more honest conversation than asking you to pick your favourite.
Deliverables: Sprint reviews every two weeks. Working files shared throughout. Progressive refinement to final.
We stay through the scary part.
Step 04:
Grow
Final weeks + 30 days post-launch
Delivery is not the end. It’s when the work meets the world. We support every launch — whether that’s a website going live, a brand rolling out internally, or a campaign hitting media. We stay available for 30 days after launch for adjustments, questions, and anything unexpected that comes up. After 30 days, we formally close the project. But most of our clients don’t really go away after that. Neither do we.
Deliverables: Launch support. Final asset handover. 30-day aftercare period. Offboarding documentation.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The honest version of working with us.
We will push back on your brief.
If we think the brief is solving the wrong problem, we'll say so before we start. Not after three weeks of work.
We present one direction.
Not three. Not five. We make a recommendation and stand behind it. You hired us for a point of view — that's what you'll get.
You'll hear from us regularly.
Sprint reviews every two weeks. No long silences. No surprises at the final presentation.
We're selective about fit.
We turn down projects when the fit isn't right. Not because we're precious — because the work is better when both sides are genuinely aligned on what they're trying to achieve.
