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Steal our homework

The checklists, audits and playbooks we use internally, published because good process should be free. Take them, adapt them, credit optional.

The latest playbook

Status updates clients actually read

The one-screen weekly note format that kills the 40-slide deck: shipped, next, blocked, decisions needed — with working demos instead of jargon and metrics in context.

Playbooks · 9 July 2026 · 9 min read · Ruby Castellanos
A small brass desk bell beside a stack of index cards tied with twine, a pencil and a fern sprig on cream paper.
The playbooks

37 ways to run a better project

02The first two weeks with an agency: a client's field guide18 June 2026 · 10 min03Scope change without drama16 June 2026 · 9 min04Weekly demos: the habit that runs our projects11 June 2026 · 9 min05Reading agency contracts: IP, liability and the licence traps9 June 2026 · 9 min06Aligning stakeholders without design by committee28 May 2026 · 10 min07Writing an analytics implementation plan before you tag anything19 May 2026 · 10 min08Design system buy-in: the internal sales playbook19 May 2026 · 9 min09Skip the RFP: a better way to buy creative work12 May 2026 · 9 min10How to give design feedback that speeds the work up23 Apr 2026 · 10 min11Buying accessible software: a procurement playbook22 Apr 2026 · 10 min12Handover without the hangover: documentation your team will read16 Apr 2026 · 10 min13Running a content model workshop before the design starts14 Apr 2026 · 9 min14Write the measurement plan before you build14 Apr 2026 · 9 min15Estimating software honestly: ranges, risks and why we cap scope26 Mar 2026 · 10 min16The budget conversation: why hiding the number costs you more12 Mar 2026 · 10 min17Switching agencies mid-flight: a transition playbook5 Mar 2026 · 10 min18Setting goals for a redesign that aren't vibes3 Mar 2026 · 9 min19How to read an agency SOW before you sign it3 Mar 2026 · 9 min20Retainer or project? An honest decision guide19 Feb 2026 · 9 min21The one-day performance audit (a playbook)22 Jan 2026 · 11 min22The launch-day QA checklist we run on every site20 Jan 2026 · 11 min23Plan your exit before you sign: vendor lock-in for agencies and clients11 Nov 2025 · 10 min24The first 30 days: onboarding a client engagement9 Oct 2025 · 10 min25After launch: the first 90 days done properly30 Sept 2025 · 11 min26Reference calls: what to ask an agency's past clients11 Sept 2025 · 10 min27Running a design critique people actually want to attend26 Aug 2025 · 10 min28The kickoff workshop agenda we run before every build26 June 2025 · 9 min29Content handover: getting real words before design ends16 June 2025 · 9 min30How to write a project brief that gets better proposals15 May 2025 · 10 min31Pilot projects: proving fit before the retainer10 Apr 2025 · 9 min32Choosing an agency: signals over showreels20 Mar 2025 · 11 min33Handovers that don't decay: the living handover playbook10 Mar 2025 · 9 min34Estimating: how studios price and how to read a quote13 Feb 2025 · 11 min35Getting the most from a remote studio22 Jan 2025 · 9 min36Discovery sprints: two weeks that de-risk six months28 Nov 2024 · 10 min37Launch week: the checklist we run for every site2 Sept 2024 · 10 min

From the journal

Checklists, audits & templates

Playbooks in the journal