FAQ

DesignWarrior is a graphic and web design studio on the Kāpiti Coast, run by designer Gary Crilley. We specialise in start-up branding, brand refreshes for established businesses, and print and packaging design. Gary has been designing for New Zealand businesses since 1990 and building websites since 2004.

We are based in Kapiti and work with businesses across the greater Wellington region, from Levin to Wellington city. That includes Paraparaumu, Waikanae, Ōtaki, Porirua, the Hutt Valley, and the Wellington CBD. We also work remotely with clients in Australia, the UK, and the USA.

Yes. We can meet at your premises anywhere between Levin and Wellington, or by video call if that suits you better.

Recent clients include ican Garden Products, Wedgelock Equipment, Coast Security, Kindred @ Co Accounting, Redican Allwood Construction, and Mills Albert Ltd. Redican Allwood worked with us for more than 20 years. Past clients include Mobil Oil, Cat Equipment, Cadbury NZ and numerous bars and restaurants.

Yes, start-up branding is one of our specialties. We design a unique, hand-illustrated logo along with your colours and fonts, so your business looks established from day one. Start-up logo design starts at $400.

You get your logo in every file format you need for print, web, signage, and social media. You also get your brand colours and fonts, and guidance on how to use them consistently. We can then apply the brand to business cards, signage, packaging, and your website. Please note that branding is more than a logo and colours: a full branding package can include elements such as employee clothing, POS signage, your company vehicle make and colour, and even where you market yourself.

Templates and AI tools are quick, but other businesses can end up with a logo much like yours. Every DesignWarrior logo is drawn from scratch, with no AI and no templates. You get an original mark, supplied in professional formats that work on packaging, signage, and print as well as on screen. DesignWarrior also specialises in updating existing AI-designed logos and materials that have proven insufficient for a growing business.

Yes. Once you pay the final invoice, you own your logo and receive all final files. We will retain copies for future development or to supply third parties.

A logo typically takes 1–2 weeks from the first conversation to final files, depending on how quickly feedback comes back.

Yes. A brand refresh keeps the elements of your identity that customers already know and updates the rest, so you look modern without starting again. Recent refreshes include Wedgelock, where we created an entirely new brand that existing customers instantly recognise. See some theroretical examples here

A refresh updates what you already have: a cleaner logo, new colours or fonts (close to the old), and tidier marketing material. A full rebrand starts again with a new identity, and suits a business that has changed its name, direction, or audience. We will tell you honestly which one you need.

Common signs include a logo that looks dated next to your competitors, a brand that looks different on every item, or a business that has outgrown its original look. If your logo doesn't work well on a phone screen or packaging, that is another sign.

Definitely. We roll a new brand out across packaging, signage, brochures, and your website, so everything changes together. If the budget is tight, we can stage the rollout over several months.

Yes. Packaging is one of our strongest areas, with our most recent work being for ican Garden Products. We design labels, boxes, pouches, and retail packaging that stand out on the shelf and carry the information your product needs.

Yes. Every print job comes as print-ready artwork set up to your printer's specifications, including bleed, dielines, barcodes, and correct colour settings. This avoids the delays and extra costs that come from files a printer has to fix.

Yes to both. We liaise directly with your printer or packaging supplier, and we can recommend specialist printers if you don't have one.

We design brochures, business cards, signage, instruction books and manuals, company profiles, and product packaging. We also create instructional illustrations for manuals and assembly guides.

Yes. We design and build websites in Webflow, which gives you a fast, secure site with no plugins to maintain. A typical small-business website starts at $ 1,500 – $3,000. We have also built larger sites in the $30,000 – $50,000 range.

Yes, and it usually delivers better results. When one designer handles your logo, print, packaging, and website, everything matches from the outset.

We also produce web animations, marketing videos made from your own phone footage, instructional illustrations and animations, and copywriting.

Yes. A very effective marketing tool is a free giveaway, especially an informative eBook. We can write it for you, design it, and lay it out, including an eye-catching cover. For more information, see here.