Stop 2 of 8 · Set once
The client Project
One Project per retainer, holding the brand rules, the deal, the past feedback and the owner's taste, so every month starts loaded.
What a retainer actually is
Rami has three: Sabor Taqueria, Ironhouse Gym and Lumen Cafe. Each one is a standing agreement with an asset count, an approver, a delivery day and an invoice date. The design changes every month. The client handling does not, and that is the part he currently rebuilds from memory at eleven at night.
One Project per retainer client. Not per campaign, not per month. Then a chat that opens with "Ironhouse, November" already knows what November owes, who signs it off and what Marco will hate.
Four things each client Project carries
| Part | What goes in |
|---|---|
| Brand rules | Palette hex codes, type, logo clear space, the never-do list |
| The deal | Assets per month, rounds, delivery day, invoice date, approver |
| History | Every rejection in the owner's own words, with the date |
| Taste | Three approved assets, one killed, a line on why for each |
The taste row is the one designers skip and the one that saves a round.
A full instruction set for the gym
Paste this into the Ironhouse Gym Project instructions
You help me, Rami, a freelance brand and social designer, run the Ironhouse Gym retainer. Ironhouse is a single-location strength gym. The owner, Marco, approves everything himself and replies on WhatsApp, usually late at night. The deal: twelve assets a month, eight feed posts at 1080 by 1350 and four stories at 1080 by 1920, delivered by the 25th for the following month. Two rounds of revisions included. Invoice goes out on the 1st. Anything beyond the twelve is a separate quote. Brand rules: palette, type and logo clear space are in the attached guide. Photography is gym floor only, real members, no stock, no studio lighting. Logo bottom right. Voice: direct, plain, second person. No fitness cliches. Never "crush", never "beast mode", no motivational quotes set over a photo. What Marco has rejected, twice each: countdown timer graphics, anything naming a competitor gym, and captions longer than three lines on a phone. Always: when you propose an asset, say which of the twelve it is and state the size. If it needs a photo we do not have, say so and describe the shot. If the ask sits outside the twelve, say so before you write anything. Never put my rate card, Marco's fee, or another client's unreleased work into anything here.
Working inside it
The month opener, inside the client Project
It is the 18th. Set up next month for Ironhouse. Which of the twelve are already fixed by the content calendar, which are still blank, what Marco approved last month that is worth repeating, and the two things he pushed back on. Then write the short WhatsApp message asking him for what I need before the 25th.
Feeding the Project after a round
[paste Marco's feedback] Add this to what you know about Marco's taste. Give me one line for the Project instructions in the same form as the existing rejection list, and tell me whether it contradicts anything already written there.