For Sterling Brand Refresh · Engagement ENG-2031 (Sterling Brand Refresh)
Week of May 14, 2026 · Author Aisha Patel · Published
Identity system on track for end-of-week handoff; pending color v2 decision.
Delivered logo concepts v3 (D-1042) for client review. Typography system v1 accepted Monday. Color system v2 delivered Thursday awaiting client decision. Brand voice draft in flight — first review with Tom Tuesday. Started microsite homepage exploration with Elena. Daniel kicked off internal launch deck outline. Team velocity strong — burn-down on plan.
| Code | Deliverable | Owner | Status | Last activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-1001 | Stakeholder interview synthesis Synthesis deck of 14 stakeholder interviews. Recurring themes, surprising finds. | Elena Vasquez | Accepted | accepted Apr 14, 2026 |
| D-1010 | Competitive brand audit Audit of 8 direct + 4 adjacent brands. Strengths, gaps, white space. | Elena Vasquez | Accepted | accepted Apr 18, 2026 |
| D-1020 | Logo direction options (3) Three logo directions with rationale, applications, do/don't guidance. | Elena Vasquez | Accepted | accepted May 2, 2026 |
| D-1030 | Typography system v1 Primary + secondary type pairings with hierarchy specimens. | Elena Vasquez | Accepted | accepted May 7, 2026 |
| D-1050 | Color system v2 Primary, secondary, tertiary palettes with WCAG-AA contrast pairs. | Elena Vasquez | Awaiting client | submitted May 12, 2026 |
| D-1090 | Internal launch deck Internal launch deck for the Sterling team rollout meeting. | Elena Vasquez | Awaiting client | submitted May 11, 2026 |
| D-1055 | Brand voice + tone guidelines Voice attributes, do/say table, sample copy across 4 channels. | Elena Vasquez | In progress | — |
| D-1070 | Microsite homepage design Homepage v1 — desktop, tablet, mobile. Includes responsive grid spec. | Elena Vasquez | In progress | — |
Sterling team to pick a primary direction from D-1042 (logo concepts v3). Sign-off on D-1050 (color system v2) by Friday so we can lock typography pairings against final palette. Approve CO-2031 (4th logo direction, $2,400 + 1 week) so Elena can start that work-stream.
| Item | Type | Decision needed by |
|---|---|---|
D-1050 — Color system v2 Palette with hex, RGB, CMYK, Pantone; 12 WCAG-AA paired examples; accessibility test report. | Deliverable acceptance | May 15, 2026 |
D-1090 — Internal launch deck 20 slides min, includes brand pillars, talking points, FAQ. | Deliverable acceptance | May 14, 2026 |
D-1042 — Logo concepts v3 Three refined concepts in mono + color, including alternates for square + horizontal lockups. | Deliverable acceptance | May 18, 2026 |
CO-2031 — 4th logo concept direction Client requested a 4th distinct logo direction after reviewing the initial 3. The added direction extends the engagement by 1 week. | Change order ($2,400 · +7d) | ASAP — blocks downstream work |
Color decision blocks downstream work-streams if it slips beyond Friday — would push M3 (microsite) start by 4-5 working days. Brand voice draft (D-1055) still missing acceptance criteria — Elena flagged; PM to add criteria before next submit. Internal launch deck (M4) depends on final identity system locking by week 7; current trajectory holds if Friday decision lands.
Engagement budget consumed 82% ($68,900 of $84,000). Within plan; M2 milestone fee transitions to M3 next week. Time-bank for revision rounds running 65% utilized — healthy. CO-2031 adds $2,400 to total once accepted; remains within original retainer envelope.
| Item | This week | Engagement-to-date |
|---|---|---|
| Budget allocated | — | $84,000 |
| Budget consumed | — | $68,900 (82%) |
| Total hours logged | — | 54.5h |
| Elena Vasquez | — | 41.0h |
| Aisha Patel | — | 10.0h |
| Daniel Chen | — | 3.5h |
Engagement-level milestones with target dates and current status. Each milestone has a fee event when complete.
Client confirms receipt of this weekly status. Decisions-needed items above will be replied to within the noted windows. Status reports are filed with the engagement record for the duration of the relationship.