For the artists you champion. The audiences they move. And the people who make it all possible.
The Design Factory is an independent creative agency bringing strategy, design, and development together. We propose a complete website and guided publishing system for Masterwork, fixed at $5,000.
Download the proposal PDF · Final terms are confirmed in the agreement.
01 / See it working
Explore the homepage direction: an editorial opening, clearer paths to the awards, and a prominent home for A Life in the Arts. Production integrations and staff editing follow approval.
Strategy, art direction, interactions, responsive layouts, and the public-facing content model.
Configured after approvalAplos, Mailchimp, Google Drive access, hosting, analytics, final forms, administrative accounts, and production credentials.
Senior-ledStrategy through launch
30 yearsIndependent and principal-led
PRWeek 2023Best in Public Sector
45 projectsExplore selected work
The DesignIndependent creative agency
Dallas, Texas · Working nationally
Your creative partner
We are The Design Factory, an independent, family-led creative agency. For 30 years, our work has connected brand strategy, visual communication, and digital experiences for businesses, civic institutions, and mission-led organizations. Masterwork works directly with the senior team responsible for the outcome.
Recognition for the broader WeConsiderWA campaign, with TDF leading the subcontracted creative and digital work.
Microsoft · City of Dallas · Unilever · General Motors · MADD · Main Event · Nissan · Matthews Southwest · Sally Beauty · T.D. Jakes · 7-Eleven · Quest for Success
Senior people on the work
Executive alignment, creative oversight, and final quality accountability.
Principal contact for strategy, audience journeys, content direction, design, and approvals.
Architecture, integrations, accessibility, performance, security, and launch.
A mission made clear for families, educators, and supporters.
Human stories at the center of a public-health campaign.
Mission-led storytelling and clear journeys for families, educators, supporters, and community partners.
View project Public information systemCity of DallasComplex civic information translated into a clear public promise across channels.
View project Public-health platformWeConsiderWACulturally grounded creative and digital execution for a high-trust public audience.
View project
02 / What Masterwork receives
One fixed scope connects the public experience to the practical systems required to keep it current after launch.
Sitemap, audience journeys, content model, migration priorities, and publishing rules.
Responsive art direction and reusable page patterns across up to 10 core pages or templates.
Guided fields for awards, interviews, stories, announcements, and calls to action.
One Aplos giving connection, one Mailchimp form, YouTube, social, and board-resource handoffs.
Up to 15 priority Blogger posts, source attribution, clean URLs, and a redirect ledger.
Accessibility and device QA, training, documentation, launch support, and 30-day defect coverage.
ArtistsFind the right opportunity and understand what comes next.
SupportersSee the people and programs their generosity sustains.
Staff and boardPublish confidently and protect institutional continuity.
03 / Audience and publishing system
The experience begins with what people need, then guides them into a shared editorial and operational system.
Awards, eligibility, disciplines, and deadlines can be difficult to compare when they are distributed across unrelated posts.
The publishing studio
Staff works with clear content types instead of rebuilding layouts.
Awards, eligibility, dates, disciplines, and application actions
Artists, interviews, video, transcripts, and related content
Giving, newsletter, social channels, and timely announcements
Board access, ownership, review dates, and publishing roles
Built for a two-person staff
Masterwork’s team works through clear editorial decisions, not layout controls. The visual system stays protected while routine publishing stays in staff hands.
Select a program, story, interview, announcement, or call to action.
Add the required title, date, discipline, media, and next action.
Confirm the public presentation without rebuilding the page.
Release now or schedule time-sensitive content with clear ownership.
04 / RFP response
Reviewers can see what works now, what belongs to production, and what depends on Masterwork-owned access.
12material RFP requirements mapped
3transparent delivery states
1complete fixed scope
Public experience
Mobile-first page patterns with fluid type, art-directed media, and touch-safe controls.
Working homepage and proposal at phone, tablet, and desktop widths. Final content volume and approved imagery.
One lead feature, supporting initiatives, and a separate announcement layer that staff can rotate independently.
Working homepage hero and feature sequence. Approved publishing rules and image standards.
A dedicated editorial collection for interviews, video, transcripts, disciplines, and related artists.
Working homepage feature and proposed content model. Final video inventory, captions, and source files.
Accessible, dismissible announcements with keyboard support, focus management, and expiration controls.
Working announcement pattern on the homepage. Publishing and expiration policy.
Embed approved YouTube content and connect Facebook and Instagram without making feeds essential to navigation.
A Life in the Arts media treatment and footer pathways. Approved account URLs, embed permissions, and media rights.
Retain Masterwork’s identity while introducing durable typography, spacing, photography, and component rules.
Working visual system across editorial, program, giving, and governance moments. Final logo files and brand approvals.
Use music, dance, theatre, and visual-art colors as wayfinding signals, not competing page themes.
Discipline rail, program labels, and related-content logic. Final color approval and contrast testing.
Operations and integrations
A guided content editor for programs, stories, interviews, announcements, and calls to action.
Structured publishing model, reusable page patterns, documentation, and staff training. Final administrator list, hosting direction, and approved publishing roles.
A password-protected board landing page with a controlled handoff to the existing Google Drive repository.
Technical scope and handoff plan. Approved access model and Google Drive permissions.
Configure the approved Aplos donation destination or embed and preserve the payment methods supported by Masterwork’s account.
Purpose-built giving journey in the working concept. Masterwork-owned Aplos access and approved configuration.
Migrate up to 15 priority posts, preserve source attribution, and document the path for remaining archives.
Migration scope, URL ledger, and editorial model. Export access, priority list, and staff-assisted migration.
Connect one approved Mailchimp audience and form with accessible success, error, and consent language.
The Stay Connected section reserves the editorial context and conversion point for the approved form. Masterwork-owned account access and final consent copy.
Semantic structure, keyboard operation, visible focus, reduced motion, captions, contrast, zoom, and reflow checks.
Responsive media, stable dimensions, lean scripts, lazy loading, and launch performance review.
Metadata, clean URLs, redirects, source attribution, analytics, and post-launch error monitoring.
05 / From approval to launch
The recommended schedule leaves room for content, integrations, stakeholder decisions, testing, and training without losing momentum.
Kickoff, content inventory, audience priorities, hosting review, measurement baseline, and decision ownership.
Goals, sitemap, content owners, technology direction, and migration priorities.
Information architecture, page briefs, content types, award logic, giving journey, and board-access flow.
Navigation, page responsibilities, content model, and functional requirements.
Responsive visual system, representative pages, editorial patterns, motion rules, and accessibility review.
Visual direction, key templates, components, and content presentation.
Custom page patterns, guided content tools, approved integrations, priority migration, metadata, and redirects.
Workflows, populated content, integrations, and administrative behavior.
Device QA, accessibility, performance, link testing, privacy review, training, documentation, and launch.
Production readiness, account ownership, and final handoff.
This accelerated path is available within the fixed scope when Masterwork supplies approved content, account access, one decision lead, and daily consolidated feedback before Day 1. Final sprint dates are confirmed at kickoff. The sprint accelerates approved production work. It does not skip decisions, testing, access, or quality assurance.
How the work stays realistic
06 / Investment and ownership
The fee sits within Masterwork’s published range and includes both the public redesign and the practical systems required to keep it useful.
Third-party platform, hosting, licensing, and transaction fees are excluded.
Strategy and information architecture$600
Responsive visual system and key-page design$1,150
Custom build and guided content tools$1,550
Approved integrations and priority migration$950
QA, training, launch, and 30-day defect support$750
Kickoff and production scheduling40% · $2,000
Design-system approval40% · $2,000
Launch approval and handoff20% · $1,000
Domain, hosting, content, media, Aplos, Mailchimp, Google Drive, analytics, accounts, and inquiry data.
Approved custom deliverables, reusable patterns, documentation, training, QA records, redirects, and 30-day defect support.
Up to 10 core pages or templates, 15 priority posts, two consolidated visual revision rounds, and written change control.
08 / Questions answered
Commercial terms remain governed by the final agreement.
We recommend a modern custom website paired with guided content editing for awards, interviews, stories, announcements, and calls to action. Masterwork’s staff can update routine content through structured fields while The Design Factory protects the page system, performance, and visual consistency.
The homepage is a live, responsive concept that demonstrates the visual direction, flexible feature area, four-discipline system, awards presentation, A Life in the Arts treatment, announcement behavior, and giving story. It proves the direction without claiming that payments, private access, or account-based services are already connected.
The $5,000 fee includes the five-phase scope shown here, up to 10 core pages or templates, up to 15 priority Blogger posts, one Aplos giving connection, one Mailchimp form, YouTube and approved social connections, one protected board landing page, two consolidated visual revision rounds, training, launch, and 30 days of defect support.
Hosting, domain, premium platform subscriptions, payment-processing fees, extensive copywriting, new photography or video production, migration above the stated volume, custom application development, travel, and material scope changes are excluded unless approved in writing.
Staff will edit guided content types instead of rebuilding layouts. Reusable patterns, required fields, image guidance, scheduling and expiration rules, and a practical administrator session reduce the decisions required for routine updates.
Yes, through the optional ASAP Launch Sprint. It requires approved content, all account access, one empowered decision lead, daily consolidated feedback, and no scope expansion before Day 1. If those prerequisites are not ready, the six-week collaborative plan remains the safer schedule.
The production target is WCAG 2.2 AA. We will use semantic structure, keyboard-operable controls, visible focus, reduced-motion support, contrast testing, captions or transcripts for meaningful video, responsive images, stable media dimensions, and launch checks across modern desktop and mobile browsers.
Masterwork should own or control its domain, hosting, content administration, Aplos, Mailchimp, Google Drive, analytics, content, and media. After final payment, Masterwork receives the approved custom deliverables and documentation. Third-party software remains subject to its own license.
Both schedule paths depend on timely access, approved content, one designated decision lead, consolidated feedback at each gate, and staff assistance with migration as stated in the RFP. Delays in access, content, or approvals move dependent dates.
We confirm requests against the written scope before work begins. If a request changes content volume, integrations, templates, or functionality, we document the effect on fee and schedule and proceed only after written approval.
The next chapter
Talk with Ari about the direction, the scope, and bringing Masterwork’s next website to life.