FAQ
Hiring a designer comes with a pile of questions, and most of them are about money, timelines, and whether you'll end up with something you actually own. Here are the ones I answer most often, with real numbers instead of "it depends."
Working With Gray Matters
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Branding and logo design, website design, print and marketing materials, social media graphics, and marketing consulting. Most clients are small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and community organizations, usually without a marketing department or a designer on staff.
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If you run a small business, nonprofit, or community organization and you need branding, a website, or marketing materials that you can maintain yourself, yes. I build practical, affordable systems rather than complicated ones you'll need help to update.
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Yes. Gray Matters is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and most projects run remotely. I work with clients across Virginia and well beyond it.
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Yes. Consultations are free before a project starts. It's a 30 minute, low-pressure call about your goals and next steps, and no prep is required. If it turns out I'm not the right fit, I'll connect you with someone in my network who is.
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No. "I'll know it when I see it" is a completely valid starting point. Knowing your goals and your audience is more useful than knowing your hex codes, and we'll sort out the rest together.
Pricing
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Logo and brand projects run $375 for a starter logo up to $1,575 for a full visionary brand with custom illustration and typography. Most small businesses land in the $900 to $1,275 range. Editing or vectorizing an existing logo is $150 for basic work and $300 for complex work.
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A one-page site starts at $225, a 2 to 3 page signature site is $450, and a 4 to 6 page site is $825. Larger builds run $1,200 to $4,500. Most small business sites land between $450 and $1,200. Website design requires an established logo and brand first.
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$75 an hour for graphic design, website support, and photo retouching. $45 an hour for non-creative business support, including marketing strategy, coaching, copy editing, Canva polish, and social media management.
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Yes. Hourly retainers slide from $75 an hour down to $55 an hour at 30 hours a month. Social media support starts at $500 or $600 a month depending on scope, or $200 a week for full management.
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Yes. Projects over $100 are 50% upfront to hold your spot on the calendar, with the remaining balance due at launch. Projects under $100 are paid in full upfront.
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Yes, through Afterpay. You split the cost into four payments while I'm paid in full upfront, so the project starts right away and your budget gets to breathe a little.
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Existing clients can submit a work request for smaller items like logo edits, social graphics, print pieces, or website updates. Standard turnaround is 5 to 7 business days depending on complexity, and rush requests are accommodated when I can.
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Consultations before a project starts are free. Progress meetings are included for active projects and retainer clients, so there's no surprise line item for talking through your project. Hourly work is billed hourly, obviously.
Process and timelines
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Two to three weeks for most logo projects, and three to four for a full brand package with collateral. The timeline depends mostly on how quickly feedback comes back, not on the design work itself.
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Four to six weeks for most small business sites, assuming content and photos are ready. The single biggest delay on any website project is waiting on copy and images, so gathering those early is the best thing you can do.
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A free consultation, then a pre-project checklist so I know what you have and what's missing. From there: contract and deposit, research and mood boards, initial concepts, revisions, then final files and a walkthrough. You'll always know what stage we're in and what's next.
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It depends on the project and the tier you choose, and each one is listed on my rates page so there are no surprises. Additional rounds beyond what's included are billed at my hourly rate.
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Your goals for the project, who you're trying to reach, and any visuals that feel right, even if you can't explain why. For websites, you'll also need your copy, photos, and any logins. The pre-project checklist covers all of it so nothing gets missed.
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Be specific about what isn't working and why. "The blue feels too cold, can we try warmer" gets you much further than "I don't like it," and referencing examples from other brands helps a lot. I wrote a whole guide on giving feedback that gets results.
Files, ownership, and brand assets
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Vector files for print and signage, PNG and JPG for everyday use, and web-optimized versions for your site and social profiles. You'll get an organized folder, not a pile of mystery files, and I'll tell you which one to use where.
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Here's the honest version, because this one comes up a lot. I own the copyright, and my contract gives you a perpetual license to use the finished assets, forever, for anything your business needs. So you can print it, post it, put it on a sign, and use it in any marketing you want. The part that stays with me is the right to show the work in my portfolio.
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Yes. Every brand project includes guidance on logo usage, typography, colors, and spacing so your materials stay consistent as you or your team create new things. It's the difference between a logo and a brand that holds together.
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Yes, with the right software and a little care. Vector files are editable, but a logo is easy to break with an accidental stretch, so I'm happy to walk you through what's safe to change and what isn't.
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Yes. Social media kits run $150 for a starter set up to $900 for a full kit with post and story templates, and I include a Canva tutorial so you can actually use them.
Websites
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Squarespace, almost always. It gives you a site you can update yourself without calling me every time you need to change a photo, and it handles hosting, security, and updates so neither of us has to think about them.
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Because WordPress sites need ongoing maintenance, plugin updates, and security patching, and most small business owners don't have time for that. I wrote a longer explanation of why I usually recommend against WordPress if you want the details.
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I do, and you get full admin access. In practice that means you can change anything you want, anytime, and I stay on as an owner so I can keep an eye on how the site is performing and flag anything that looks off. It's a light layer of maintenance built into the handoff instead of a monthly bill.
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Either way works. I usually buy and hold the domain for you, and you get full access and control so you can take it anywhere you want later. If you'd rather own it yourself, buy it and I'll get access to manage the DNS. I genuinely don't mind which.
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Usually, yes, as long as it's on Squarespace or a platform I can access. Small updates go through the work request form at my hourly rate. If the site needs a rebuild, we'll talk about that instead of patching something that isn't working.
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Yes, and I'd rather teach you than have you pay me to swap out a photo. One-on-one Squarespace tutorials are available at my hourly rate, and I'll leave you with a simple process for the edits you'll make most often.
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Yes. I build on client Canva files all the time, whether that's a template you bought, something you threw together yourself, or a half-finished brand you want me to fix up. Send it over and I'll tell you what's salvageable.
Photography
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Headshots, social media content, and product photography. Most of it is for established clients who are already working with me on branding, a website, or ongoing marketing, because the photos work harder when they're planned around where they'll actually appear.
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Less often, but ask. If I'm not the right fit or I'm already booked, I'll point you to one of the photographers I trust:
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Think about the mood you want and gather a few reference images. For business sessions, I'll ask about what you need the photos for so we shoot for the places they'll actually appear. There's a full walkthrough of the photo shoot process here.
DIY, Canva, and AI
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Sometimes, and I'll tell you when. Canva and Squarespace can get a small business a long way. The places DIY usually costs more in the end are logos that need to work at every size and websites that need to convert, not just exist. Here's my honest breakdown of DIY vs professional design.
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Selectively, for things like accessibility checks, never as a replacement for the thinking or the craft. I wrote about the ways I actually use it if you're curious.
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Send it over. If you're wondering it, someone else is too, and I'd rather answer it than have you guess.