Frequently Asked Questions

  • We provide strategic counsel, brand ideation and development, brand and identity design, digital design including websites, custom software and mobile apps, print design and production, copywriting, and advertising and marketing services.

  • The average American is exposed to as many as 10,000 brand messages every day. Think about that. Differentiation is the process of distinguishing an organization, product or service from others in the market to make it more attractive to a particular target audience. Effective differentiation can help a company stand out from competitors, build customer loyalty, and justify a premium price point.

  • Houston Brand Design is focused on identifying the unique value promises that constitute strong organizational brands and designing identity programs and brand assets that reinforce and express them. Our founder has over thirty years experience as a writer and brand designer, bringing important ideas to life.

  • Houston Brand Design was founded in 2024, but our founder, Tim Johnson, has been a force in the Houston design market for over thirty years.

  • Call us at 713-201-5679 or use the form on our Contact page to request a no-obligation consultation.

  • Absolutely! Logos are at the heart of our business. We design logos as stand-alone projects or as part of a complete brand program.

  • All of our work is quoted on a per-project basis, after an initial consultation to determine the entire scope of the project. The cost of a logo project is affected by a number of factors, including the size and reach of the organization, the range of brand assets to be considered, and other factors.

  • Yes we do! We write, design, develop, deliver and manage critical business websites for all types of enterprises.

  • Timelines for brand programs are affected by such factors as size of the enterprise, the number of people who have input, the range of brand assets to be considered, the amount of research necessary. Brand programs can take a few months, or as long as a year. For large-scale programs, it’s often prudent to consider a Fractional Brand Leadership program.

  • We work with corporations, small to midsize businesses, startups and nonprofits. The only requirement is a sufficient budget to cover the scope of services, which varies according to the client’s needs.

  • Startups are often based on some novel idea that is not well understood by their target audience, so ideation and brand design are crucial to ensuring connection with the market right off the starting block. We work with founders to turn great ideas into recognized brands.

  • We’re strong in the nonprofit sector, especially in the areas of mental health, addiction and recovery, religious institutions, and public health. Our corporate work includes oil and gas, energy, healthcare, real estate, professional services, manufacturing, software and digital services, construction, and education.

  • We love working with nonprofits, especially those that align with our ideals and experience. We’re passionate about addiction and recovery, mental health services, veterans’ affairs, literacy, public health and religious and spiritual causes.

  • Fractional work is a business model that allows businesses to hire executives to work part-time, giving them access to executive-level expertise on a temporary basis. The model helps businesses increase efficiency, profitability and innovation by allowing them to scale their workforce up or down as needed.

    Brands are created and set in motion by the executive team, and then managed by marketing teams going forward. Generally brand creation, brand reenvisioning or updating is a one-off event, so it’s not always prudent to hire a full-time Chief Brand Officer.

    Instead, organizations can embed a fractional CBO at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive, and when the work is done, the CBO moves on, leaving a plan in place to execute the strategies developed during the engagement.

  • Flexibility: Companies can access expertise on a time-specific basis and scale up or down as needed.

    Cost efficiency: Fractional executives cost less than the high salaries of top-tier executives, while still gaining access to executive-level skills.

    Strategic planning: Fractional brand executives have the ability to conduct brand ideation and develop strategies to increase brand value.

    Access to a network: Fractional CBOs can draw on our network of professionals for specific tasks or projects.

    Objectivity: Fractional leaders bring experience and insights from outside the client’s industry that executives raised in the business might not possess.

    Predictability: A fractional engagement is time-limited and based on scheduled development of a defined set of deliverables.

  • A Chief Brand Officer (CBO) is a high-level executive responsible for a company's brand identity, image, and reputation. A CBO is a strategic leader who works across departments to ensure that the brand's core values, messaging, and visual identity are documented, tested and infused throughout the organization. CBOs are also responsible for driving innovation in branding and enhancing the brand's visibility, value and reputation through brand design.

    A CBO typically bridges the gap between the CEO and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), translating the vision for the enterprise so it can be built and executed by the marketing team.

  • Typically, fractional engagements are temporary, limited to establishing brand strategy and setting it up for ongoing success. Fractional CBOs can be retained for long-term assignments to help manage the brand over time.

  • The process starts with an initial consultation that establishes the budget, the goals, potential pitfalls and a preferred timetable for the engagement. Houston Brand Design provides a fractional services contract that stipulates terms and expectations. Once engaged, the fractional CBO begins by conducting a series of workshops to establish ground rules and form the basis of the work going forward. The CBO works either in the client’s office or remotely for a set number of hours per week and reports regularly to the executive team on the progress of the work. There are periodic reviews to determine whether adjustments are needed. The CBO is given some authority within the organization to schedule meetings and to delegate work to client-side employees and contractors. The work product is turned over to the client at the end of the engagement, and an assessment is conducted to measure performance. Fractional engagements can be modified, extended or expanded as needed.

  • There is no “typical” engagement, although it is reasonable to expect a term between six and eighteen months, depending on the extent of the work and the complexity of the organization.

  • Retainers (also known as monthly fee contracts) cover such ongoing work as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), online marketing, website maintenance and management and other regularly recurring services.

  • Yes. A client might engage us on a fractional contract to do the initial ideation, strategy and planning behind a brand refresh, then authorize design projects such as identity design, websites, software design or print projects, then keep us on retainer to manage their website or perform periodic brand reviews to ensure ongoing consistency.

  • Fixed-fee projects are quoted up front. They typically involve a deposit to initiate the work, with the balance due when the project is complete. The price charged is what was quoted, unless there are changes in scope or direction along the way.

    Retainers are monthly fees charged for regularly recurring services such as SEO, online marketing, or website maintenance and management.

    In Fractional Brand Leadership engagements, executive-level brand strategists (sometimes referred to as Fractional Chief Brand Officers) are embedded in the C-suite (or in the upper management structure, depending on the organization) and work a fixed number of hours per week, for a specified period of time. A fractional engagement might be 20 hours per week for six months, and may renew at the client’s discretion if warranted.

  • We are happy to sign NDAs and keep confidential any information the client requires. Our commitment to confidentiality is sacred to us, and underpins the value of the counsel and creative work we provide.

  • Generally, the client receives complete ownership rights to anything we deliver, including software code. We don't build in any "black boxes" or other barriers, and we are happy to help clients engage other providers.