Client Welcome Packet Template

Northfield Studio Brand & Web Design · Portland, Maine

Client Welcome PacketAutumn 2026

A guide to working together

Welcome to

Northfield
Studio.

Everything you need to know for the twelve weeks ahead, from first conversation to launch day.

Prepared for

Juniper Bakehouse
Rosa & Theo Alvarez

Project

Brand identity &
website

Kickoff

Monday,
2 November 2026

A note from the studio

We are so glad

you are here.

Hello.

Client

Juniper Bakehouse

Your lead

Clara Whitcombe

Engagement

12 weeks + 30 days of care

Launch target

Friday, 5 February 2027

Reference

NFS-2611-JB

“A good brand does not shout. It makes the right people feel, instantly, that this place was made for them.”

Dear Rosa and Theo,

Thank you for trusting us with Juniper Bakehouse. From the first morning we spent at your counter — the smell of cardamom buns, the regulars who greeted you by name, the hand-lettered chalkboard by the door — we knew this was a business with a real story. Our job over the next twelve weeks is to make sure everyone who meets Juniper online feels what we felt that morning.

A new brand and website is a big step, and it is normal to feel a little unsure about how it all works. This packet is here to answer those questions before you have to ask them. It explains how we work, what each week looks like, what we will need from you, and how to reach us when something comes up.

You will find our process is calm and structured. We set clear dates, we share work early, and we never disappear for weeks at a time. You will always know what we are working on and what comes next. When we ask for your feedback, we will tell you exactly what kind of feedback helps most.

Please read this through before our kickoff on 2 November, and bring any questions with you. Nothing is too small to ask. We would much rather talk it through now than have you wonder later.

We cannot wait to get started.

With warmth,

Clara Whitcombe

Founder & Creative Director, Northfield Studio

About us

A small studio that

works closely.

Northfield is a five-person brand and web design studio in Portland, Maine. We work with independent food, hospitality and retail businesses — the kind of places people tell their friends about.

We started in 2015 above a coffee roaster on Fore Street, and we have kept the studio deliberately small. We take on no more than four main projects at a time. That means the people you meet at kickoff are the people who design your logo, write your homepage and press the launch button.

Our work covers brand strategy, visual identity, packaging, signage and websites built on Squarespace and Shopify. Everything we design is made to be used by you after we hand it over, without needing us to change a menu or post a seasonal special.

11 yrs

Designing for independent businesses

140+

Brands and websites launched

4

Main projects at a time, never more

93%

Projects launched on the date we agreed at kickoff

1

Lead designer who stays with you start to finish

38

Bakeries, cafés and restaurants in our portfolio

What we believe

i.

Strategy before style

We do not open a design tool until we agree on who Juniper is for and what makes it different. Pretty is easy. Right takes a little more thought.

ii.

You know your business best

We bring the design expertise. You bring fifteen years of knowing your customers. The best work comes from both, in the same room.

iii.

Clear beats clever

A visitor should find your hours, your menu and your address in under ten seconds. Charm is welcome, but never at the cost of clarity.

iv.

Built to be yours

You will leave with every file, every login and a short training session, so you can run your brand with confidence long after launch.

How we work

Five phases,

twelve weeks.

Every project follows the same shape. Each phase ends with a clear decision, so we never build on top of something you have not approved.

Discover

Identity

Web design

Build

Go

Wk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

01

Discovery

A half-day workshop at the bakery, a short questionnaire, and a look at your competitors and customers. We finish with a one-page brand brief that you approve before any design begins.

Weeks 1–2Kickoff workshop
Brand brief

02

Brand identity

Two distinct creative directions, then one refined route: logo suite, colour palette, typography, illustration style and a pastry-box mock-up so you can see it in real life.

Weeks 3–52 directions, 2 rounds
Brand guidelines

03

Website design

A sitemap and wireframes first, then full designs for the homepage, menu, ordering, story, wholesale and contact pages, on desktop and mobile.

Weeks 6–86 page designs
Copy draft

04

Build & content

We build the site on Shopify, connect pre-orders and pickup slots, load your menu and photos, and test on every common phone and browser.

Weeks 9–11Staging site
Testing checklist

05

Launch & handover

We go live together, train your team in a 90-minute session, and hand over every file. Then 30 days of care: small fixes and questions at no extra cost.

Week 12 + 30 daysLaunch day
Handover kit

In every
phase

A named leadClara stays with you from kickoff to handover.

A written recapEvery decision is confirmed by email the same day.

A clear sign-offWe move on only when you say yes.

What to expect

Week by week.

Here is what happens in each week, and the small part we ask you to play. Dates assume a 2 November kickoff and a break from 21 December to 1 January.

	What we do	What we ask of you
Week 12 Nov	Kickoff workshop at the bakery. Review your questionnaire, photos and sales notes.Meeting	Join the 3-hour workshop. Return the questionnaire by Wednesday.
Week 29 Nov	Competitor and customer research. Draft the one-page brand brief.	Read the brief and approve it, or tell us what feels off.
Week 316 Nov	Explore and refine two creative directions.	Nothing this week. Enjoy the quiet.
Week 423 Nov	Present both directions in person.Meeting	Choose one direction. Feedback round 1 within 3 working days.
Week 530 Nov	Refine the chosen identity. Build brand guidelines.	Feedback round 2, then sign off the identity.
Week 67 Dec	Sitemap and wireframes. Start the copy draft.	Approve the sitemap. Send final menu and prices.
Week 714 Dec	Homepage and menu designs.Meeting	Review on our call. Feedback round 1.
Week 84 Jan	Remaining page designs, all on mobile.	Feedback round 2, then sign off the designs.
Week 911 Jan	Shopify build begins. Product and pickup set-up.	Share Shopify and domain access. Book the photo day.
Week 1018 Jan	Content loading. Photography edited and placed.	Proofread every page on the staging site.
Week 1125 Jan	Testing across devices. Fix list closed out.	Place two test orders. Approve the launch.
Week 121 Feb	Launch, training and handover.Meeting	Join the training. Celebrate with us.

What we need from you

Your part, in

one list.

Most project delays come from waiting on content. If we have these items on time, your launch date stays where we set it.

Before kickoff by 30 Oct

• Signed agreement and first payment
• Completed brand questionnaire (about 45 minutes)
• Your current logo files, in any format you have
• Three brands you admire, and one you do not
• A named decision-maker for sign-offs

During identity weeks 2–5

• Brand brief approval within 3 working days
• Consolidated feedback from both owners
• Packaging sizes from your box supplier
• Signage dimensions for the shopfront

For the website weeks 6–9

• Final menu with prices and allergen notes
• Opening hours, including holiday hours
• Wholesale terms and the order form you use today
• Your story in your own words — rough notes are fine
• Shopify, domain and Google Business logins

Before launch weeks 10–11

• A morning at the bakery for the photo day
• A full proofread of the staging site
• Two test orders, one pickup and one wholesale
• Written launch approval by email

3working days

Our one firm request. Please reply to each feedback request within three working days. If you need longer — a busy holiday week, a sick child, a broken oven — just tell us. We can almost always adjust the plan when we know early.

Communication

How we stay in touch.

Email

For decisions, approvals and anything you want on record. Write to your project inbox and the whole team sees it.

Reply within 1 working day

Shared Slack channel

For quick questions, photos from the bakery and small updates. Great for “does this look right?” moments.

Reply within 4 office hours

Project board

A simple online board with every task, date and file. Check it any time to see where things stand.

Updated every Friday

Office hours

Day	Hours (Eastern)
Monday – Thursday	9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Friday	9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday	Studio closed
21 Dec – 1 Jan	Winter break

We know bakers keep early hours. If a 7:30 am call suits you better, ask us — we are happy to start early once a week. Messages sent after hours are answered the next working morning.

Meetings

• Kickoff workshop 3 hrs · in person
  At the bakery, before opening. We bring coffee.
• Presentations 60 min · 3 times
  Identity, website design and launch. We walk you through the thinking.
• Monday check-in 20 min · video
  What we did, what is next, what we need.
• Friday update Written
  A short email summary you can read with your coffee.

Feedback rounds

Each design stage includes two rounds of feedback. Here is how a round works.

1

We present

We share the work live and explain every choice, so you see the reasoning, not just the result.

2

You reflect

Take up to three working days. Talk it over together, then send one combined set of notes.

3

We refine

We make the changes within five working days and show you what moved, and why.

Policies

The practical details.

These terms are also in your signed agreement. Here they are in plain language, so there are no surprises.

Payment schedule

Share	Milestone	Due	Amount
40%	Deposit to reserve your place in the studio calendar	On signing	$7,360
30%	Brand identity approved (end of week 5)	4 December 2026	$5,520
30%	Website launched (week 12)	5 February 2027	$5,520
	Total project fee	Brand identity & website	$18,400

Invoices are sent by email and are due within 14 days. We accept bank transfer or card (a 2.9% card fee applies). Third-party costs, such as your Shopify plan, fonts and stock photography, are billed to you directly at cost.

a.Revisions

Your fee includes two feedback rounds at each design stage. Small changes after sign-off — a phone number, a price — are always free. Bigger changes to approved work, or a third round, are billed at $135 per hour. We always quote before we start.

b.Rescheduling

Please give us 24 hours’ notice to move a meeting. If feedback runs more than five working days late, your later dates move by the same amount, and we will send a new timeline the same day.

c.Cancellation

Either of us can end the project with 14 days’ written notice. The deposit is non-refundable. You pay for work completed up to that date, and you receive all approved files for the work you have paid for.

d.Confidentiality

Your recipes, sales figures and plans stay private. We do not share work in progress publicly. After launch, we may show the finished project in our portfolio, but only with your written approval.

e.Ownership

When the final payment clears, you own the final logo, brand assets and website design outright. Fonts and stock images stay under their own licences, which we set up in your name.

f.After launch

The 30 days of care cover fixes and questions. After that, our optional Care Plan is $240 per month for up to three hours of updates, or you can book time as needed.

Who to call

Your team at Northfield.

CW

Clara Whitcombe

Creative Director · your lead

Big decisions, presentations, anything that worries you.

clara@northfield.example.com
207-555-0142

DO

Dev Okafor

Designer & developer

Website questions, Shopify, logins and technical set-up.

dev@northfield.example.com
207-555-0168

HP

Hanna Price

Studio manager

Scheduling, invoices, contracts and the photo day.

hello@northfield.example.com
207-555-0110

Questions we hear often

Can we see work before the presentation?

We prefer to present in person first. Design needs context, and a logo seen alone in an email often lands differently than it does with the story behind it.

What if we do not like either direction?

It is rare, because the brief guides both. If it happens, we talk through what missed and create one new direction at no extra cost.

Will you write the website copy?

Yes. We write a first draft from the workshop and your notes, in your voice. You edit for facts and tone; we polish the final version.

Can our staff give feedback too?

Of course — but please gather it first and send one combined set of notes, with Rosa or Theo making the final call.

Do we need new photos?

Your project includes a half-day shoot with our partner photographer. We plan the shot list together, so every image has a place on the site.

Can we update the site ourselves?

Yes. Menus, prices, hours and specials are all easy to edit. The training session covers each one, and you get a short video guide to keep.

What if we need to pause the project?

Tell us as early as you can. We can pause once for up to four weeks; after that, we rebook your remaining work into the next open slot in our calendar.

Who owns the domain and accounts?

You do. Every account is opened in your name, with us added as a collaborator. At handover, we remove our access unless you ask us to stay on.

Next steps

Before we begin.

Four small things between now and kickoff. Tick them off, and we will see you at the bakery at 6:30 am on Monday, 2 November.

1. 01

Sign the agreement

It arrives by email from Hanna. It takes about five minutes to sign online.
By 23 October 2. 02

Pay the deposit

The deposit of $7,360 reserves your twelve weeks in our studio calendar.
By 26 October 3. 03

Complete the questionnaire

Answer together if you can. Honest, rough answers are more useful than polished ones.
By 30 October 4. 04

Gather your files

Old logos, photos you love, your menu and your supplier box sizes. Share them in the project folder.
By 30 October

Here is to the next chapter
of Juniper Bakehouse.

Questions before then? Reply to any email from us, or call the studio. We are always glad to hear from you.

Northfield Studio 44 Wharf Lane, Portland, ME 04101 hello@northfield.example.com 207-555-0110