WHAT TYPES OF CLIENTS DO WE USUALLY WORK WITH?

We aren’t exclusive to any specific niches and work with clients of all sizes. Ideally, we like to partner up with people who are:

• Looking to create or evolve their brand identity

• Design-centric or have an appreciation for a good design process

• Open to content strategy as well as design

• Passionate, inspired, and want to shake things up a bit

• Appreciative of coffee and/or beer and don’t mind having one with us occasionally

DO WE WORK AS DESIGN PARTNERS FOR MARKETING OR CREATIVE AGENCIES?

Absolutely! We love making new friends in the industry and are always looking for good strategic partners. We like to think we are flexible when collaborating, as long as our partners share a similar approach to getting things done.

HOW MUCH DO WE CHARGE FOR OUR DESIGN SERVICES?

Everyone’s favorite question. We approach each project as a unique challenge with it’s own set of problems, so we price each project differently. We want to make good design accessible, so we try to price appropriately for smaller businesses and charge a flat project fee whenever possible. Generally, we like to take on integrated projects that feature multiple phases of brand development. Send us an email with your specific project, we will give you an estimate, but if you’re looking for a $100 logo, we’re not the best fit for you.

HOW FAST CAN WE COMPLETE A PROJECT FROM START TO FINISH?

Again, answering this really depends on project specifics as well as our current workload. We work fast, but we are not wizards.
Only superheroes.

DO WE REVIEW STUDENT PORTFOLIOS?

Yes, we love to support students and the design community in general whenever we can. If you’re interested in submitting your portfolio, get in touch, buy us a beer and leave your ego at the door.

DO WE PROVIDE DESIGN SAMPLES BEFORE CLIENTS DECIDE TO HIRE US?

Sure, if you pay us for our time. Otherwise, we consider this spec work, and will not provide any creative work before a contract is signed and payment terms are in place. We believe our portfolio stands for itself and is a more than an adequate example of our capabilities. Furthermore, we believe spec work creates potential for awkward client relationships, IP theft and spec work generally damages our industry.

DO WE WORK PRO BONO FOR NON PROFITS?

We have and will continue to provide pro bono work to organizations and causes that we feel really need our support. When deciding to provide our services pro bono, we look for smaller, socially and environmentally responsible non-profits who support causes we believe in. If you are interested in pro bono creative work, please reach out to us and let us know what you’re all about.

WHY THE NAME YAN KAMOV?

Basically, our name is derived from a mix of the names of our two heroes. The “first name” comes from Jan (Yan) Palach, a Czech protester. Symbolically it’s the name of a legendary rock club in our hometown of Rijeka. The “surname” comes from the nickname of a local writer/rebel/literal genius Janko Polic-Kamov. The name connects to our creative lifestyle and liberal mindset both professionally and privately. Also, we think Yan Kamov sounds and looks pretty cool.

HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE DURING A PROJECT?

Technology now provides us with all kinds of cool ways to interact, and we have adopted a few methods we really like. We’re quite comfortable with phone calls, email, and Skype. We can also adapt to a project management app if needed (like Asana). Ideally, we like to meet all of our clients in person at least once, when geography allows.

WHAT DOES A ‘CONTENT-FIRST’ APPROACH MEAN?

As we've worked with clients over the years, we've realized that content—or lack of good content—plays a big role in the effectiveness of the visual design. Because of this, we have found ourselves helping our clients more and more with their content to make the overall design more successful. Basically, even a well-executed design doesn't do much when the content is poor.