Why we vote with dots, and why everyone gets the same number
The loudest person in the room should not choose the idea. Dot voting is how we stop that (sample).
We find the idea on a wall. Then we make it.
Hatchworks (sample) is a creative design agency in Springfield. Campaigns, brand identity, posters, films and packaging for theatres, food halls, colleges and charities. Every project starts with one day of sticky notes and your team.
Kick-off wall, Oakmere Playhouse
Tuesday 14 October, 12 people, one dot each (sample)
What we heard
People think we only do the panto.
Box office
Most tickets sell in the last five days.
Sales report
Under-30s say they have never been inside.
Street survey
Ideas
Open rehearsals: come in before it is finished
7 dots
Posters written by the cast
3 dots
A season pass priced like a gym
2 dots
Rename the studio theatre
no dots
We're making
Open rehearsal nights for every show, free
Posters from rehearsal photos, in the cast’s handwriting
Six 30-second films for social
Pay what you can on each first night
What we heard An idea What we are making One vote The idea that won
Yellow notes come from you and your customers, pink notes are ideas, and everyone votes with red dots. The idea with the most dots is ringed and moves to the last lane, where it becomes the list of things we make.
What we make
Six kinds of work, all started from the same wall. Times run from the workshop to the files at the printer.
Service
What you get
Typical time
Example price
The idea workshop, three routes, then the chosen campaign made for print, outdoor and social.
6 to 10 weeks
from $12,000
Name check, logo, colours, type, a short brand book and files for every use.
8 to 12 weeks
from $9,500
Posters, banners, hoardings and bus sides, with the printer booked and the files checked.
3 to 5 weeks
from $2,400
Six to twelve short films and stills, cut for each channel, with captions.
4 to 6 weeks
from $4,800
Structure, artwork and printer-ready files for one product or a whole range.
6 to 10 weeks
from $6,000
Campaign pages, booking screens and design for the site you already have.
4 to 8 weeks
from $5,500
Example prices, before tax. Every price includes the idea workshop.
Recent work, and the idea that won
Each project below started on a wall. The pink note is the idea the client’s team voted for, with its dots.
Autumn season campaign (sample)
Open rehearsals: come in before it is finished
7 of 12 dots
Picked from 31 ideas on the wall.
Free open rehearsal nights for every show, posters made from rehearsal photos and six short films for social.
First-time bookers went from 18% to 31% of the autumn audience (sample).
Kiln Street Food Hall
Opening campaign and wayfinding (sample)
A menu board as big as the building
5 of 9 dots
Picked from 24 ideas on the wall.
Hoardings that listed every stall and its best dish, street posters, signs inside the hall and an opening-week map.
2,400 people came through the doors on the opening weekend (sample).
Fernway Cycling Trust
Volunteer drive and identity refresh (sample)
Every route signed by the volunteer who rides it
6 of 10 dots
Picked from 19 ideas on the wall.
A refreshed logo and colours, route posters with each volunteer’s name and a short film shot on the towpath.
Volunteer sign-ups doubled over the spring (sample).
The idea workshop, hour by hour
Up to 12 people from your side, three from ours, one long wall. At our studio in Tanner’s Yard or in your building.
On its own
$1,800
In any package
Included
Example prices.
09:30
Coffee and the brief
You tell us what is going on, who you need to reach and by when. We listen and ask questions.
10:00
What we heard
Everyone writes yellow notes: what customers say, what is not working, what has to happen.
11:15
Ideas
Pink notes, as many as the room can manage. Small ideas count; nobody judges yet.
13:00
Lunch
We bring it. The wall stays up and people keep adding notes.
13:45
Grouping and the dot vote
We cluster the ideas, then everyone gets one red dot per round and votes. We talk about the top three.
15:00
The making list
Blue notes for the winning idea: what we will make, for whom and by when.
16:00
Done
Photos of the wall in your inbox the same evening, a written plan with costs within five working days.
Three ways to work with us
The small pink notes are the idea routes you see and choose from before we make anything.
Idea sprint
The workshop and one idea, worked up far enough to brief your own team or printer.
1 idea route
Typical time
2 weeks
From
$3,800
- The idea workshop, up to 12 people
- One route: key visual, line and examples
- A written plan with costs
Campaign
The workshop, three routes to choose from, then the campaign made and delivered.
3 idea routes to choose from
Typical time
6 to 10 weeks
From
$12,000
- The idea workshop and three routes
- Print, outdoor and social made from the chosen route
- Two rounds of changes, printer handled
Brand and campaign
A new identity and the campaign that launches it, planned from the same wall.
5 idea routes to choose from
Typical time
12 to 16 weeks
From
$24,000
- Two identity routes and three campaign routes
- Brand book and files for every use
- Launch campaign across print, outdoor and social
Example prices, before tax.
Nine people in an old tannery yard
Designers, copywriters, a film maker and two producers who keep the dates (sample). We take on about twelve projects a year, so the people at your workshop are the people who make the work.
- Studio at 9 Tanner's Yard, Springfield (sample)
- Workshops Tuesday to Thursday
- We say no to tobacco, betting and weapons work
Questions we hear first
What happens at the idea workshop?
One day (or half a day for small projects) with up to 12 people from your side and three from ours. We fill a wall with what we heard and with ideas, everyone votes with dots, and we leave with the idea we are making and a list of what it becomes.
Can we skip the workshop?
Yes, if you already know the idea and need it made. Most clients keep it: it is where your team agrees, and it saves rounds of changes later.
Do you work with small budgets?
Yes. The idea sprint is the smallest job we take (example prices). Charities and arts organisations get 15% off every package (sample).
How many rounds of changes are included?
Two rounds on everything we make. A round is one list of changes from your side, sent together.
Who owns the work?
You do, once the final invoice is paid. Typefaces and stock photos come with their own licences, which we buy in your name.
From the notebook
Sketching on paper before anyone opens a laptop
Our first round of every route is drawn by hand, big and quick (sample).
What to bring to an idea workshop
Old leaflets, a customer complaint and the people who answer the phone (sample).
Bring the problem. We bring the notes.
Tell us what is going on and when it has to be out. We reply within two working days with a date for a first call (sample).