In this episode, Granger Forson talks with Stuart Lee about the evolution of his branding and graphic design business. Stuart shares his journey from freelancing in London to building a local agency in Gloucestershire. They dive deep into the importance of "information design" over mere aesthetics, the challenges of scaling through delegation, and a fascinating "hurdle" session on using AI for complex project pricing.

• Information vs. Decoration: Stuart emphasises that good design isn't just about "pretty" pictures; it’s about typography and hierarchy that ensure the content is actually legible and engaging.
• The Transition to Value-Based Pricing: Stuart discusses the difficult but necessary process of raising prices to reflect professional value, even if it means moving away from long-term clients who no longer fit the business model.
• Delegation is Freedom: By utilising a Virtual Assistant (VA) and a network of specialist designers, Stuart has shifted from "cramming it all in" to focusing on high-level strategy and client relationships.
• AI as a "Junior Employee": A key insight from the coaching segment is that AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT should be treated like new hires, they need to be trained on your specific historical data (past quotes/styles) to provide accurate results.

Stuart shares a recent challenge where he used AI to quote a 52-page brochure. The result felt generic and was ultimately too high, leading to a lost bid.

The Solution: Instead of asking AI general questions, Stuart plans to:

1. Build a Data Set: Feed previous successful quotes into a secure environment (like Microsoft Copilot).
2. Contextual Training: Teach the AI the specific variables of his business (e.g., charity discounts, file types provided by clients).
3. Iterative Feedback: Treat the AI's output as a draft that requires "senior management" sign-off and refinement.

00:00 Introduction

00:29 Intro: Stuart Lee Design

01:52 Act 1: What is Stuart Lee Design

08:20 Act 2: Stuarts' business journey

14:35 Improving Communication and Delegation

18:04 Act 3: The Hurdle - Exploring AI in Pricing

19:52 Current state - Pricing system today

22:44 How we tried to use AI in pricing

24:16 Getting to root cause of AI pricing issues

26:09 Leveraging Data for Better AI Pricing

29:10 Future Experiments with AI in Pricing

32:17 Wrap up and reflections

35:20 Stuart's bonus tip

"Use space. It makes everything look better. Never cramp lines together. Don't fill a page with text just because you can, white space allows your message to breathe."

• Website: StuartLeeDesign.co.uk
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 01453 70 20 60
• Guest Bio: Stuart Lee is a graphic designer with a background in corporate information design, now specialising in branding for charities and B Corp-aligned organisations.