Start with whether the need will continue
Focused design suits work with a clear starting point and deliverable: a pack, a sales document or event materials. A comprehensive brand project brings strategy, visual direction and a sales-content master into a concentrated programme. Start with the current problem rather than placing every immediate task in a long-term arrangement because more work might arise later.
The Annual Brand Department serves businesses with an existing product, service or operating foundation and continuing brand, content, design and sales-material needs. It can begin with an asset review and direction-setting; a prior comprehensive brand purchase is not required. Consider continuity, a stable internal contact and whether outputs will be used and maintained.
Use the next three months as a practical test
List known product launches, sales materials, events, platform content and corrections to existing brand information. Give each a reason, use date and available inputs, then distinguish one-off from recurring tasks. A defined deadline may suit a focused project; several continuing streams may benefit from annual planning.
Consider two hypothetical situations. A business needs an introduction for one customer visit and already has clear direction and material: discuss that specific design task. Another has monthly product and communication work while building its foundations: content and design need a shared plan. These illustrate different patterns of need; the choice depends on actual tasks and internal cooperation.
How annual direction connects to production
Annual cooperation combines ongoing brand support with production. Asset review, direction-setting, planning, task coordination and periodic review are included in the annual fee and do not use execution credits. Platform content, packaging, design, video and sales-material production are scheduled under the selected tier and capacity.
The work begins with the business and annual priorities, followed by first-quarter projects, first-month tasks and representative examples. Production, use and asset organisation continue as needs change, with feedback informing the next period. The comprehensive project and annual service use related strategy, content and visual processes. Each has its own contracted deliverables; annual cooperation does not automatically add the complete project list.
Compare capacity and the way work is organised
Standard is RMB 129,800 per year, with 2,000 annual execution credits and formal quarterly reviews. Flagship is RMB 249,800, with 4,000 credits and formal monthly reviews. Both operate and follow up monthly, with two concurrent production tasks. Standard provides a default eight content groups per month; Flagship may increase to sixteen under the agreed plan. Platforms and tasks are selected together.
Premium is RMB 398,000 per year, with unlimited agreed design services for a single brand, up to twenty-four monthly content groups, three concurrent production tasks, one dedicated full-time social-media operator and formal monthly reviews. Compare tiers against routine content, important design work and coordination needs rather than annual price alone. Work proceeds according to jointly agreed priorities and scheduling.
A content group means one topic developed appropriately for the selected platforms. Website article and case updates use an existing functional administration system and page templates. Website construction, software development and technical configuration are separate arrangements. More platforms require suitable inputs, review capacity and a practical plan for use so each receives content appropriate to its audience.
Check payment and input arrangements
The service runs for twelve months and fees include tax. Annual payment in full receives a ten-percent discount. Staged payment is forty percent at signing and twenty percent before each of the second, third and fourth service quarters. Standard releases five hundred credits per quarter and Flagship one thousand; paying annually does not change quarterly release. Match priority projects to each quarter’s capacity.
Collaboration is online. The client supplies material on schedule, verifies business and product facts, and consolidates feedback. Photography, interviews, print production, on-site execution and advertising placement are arranged separately where needed. Clarify contacts, final approval, platform access and usable material early so the ongoing plan has the conditions it needs.
Define the first useful outcome
For either model, identify the first important output, information owner, decision points and actual use. If product direction keeps changing, settle essential decisions before extensive production. If direction is clear but material and touchpoints are left unmaintained, discuss how ongoing cooperation would support that work.
Finish with three questions: will there be stable needs after this project, can the business keep supplying inputs and decisions, and where will outputs be used? Comparing services with this list is more useful than deciding from price alone. The final plan follows the agreed work, capacity and contract.
