A chess bishop piece, symbolic of The Contrast's strategy-led approach
Services 1. e4 · the opening move

We don’t sell deliverables. We sell the decision that makes them worth building.

The Contrast is a strategy-first consultancy. Every engagement starts in the same place — a clear position on who your company is for and what it stands against. What gets built after that depends on how far you need us to carry it.

Where we start 01

Nothing here starts with a logo.

Every tier below opens with positioning work. Not as a warm-up, and not as a deck you file away — as the decision that dictates every design, message, and media choice that follows. If we can’t reach that decision with you, the rest is decoration.

The tiers differ in one respect only: how much of the build we own after the decision is made.

Three ways in 02

One starting point.
Three depths of commitment.

Open
The decision, made.

For companies that already have execution capacity — an in-house team, a design partner, a developer — but no agreed answer on who they’re for. We do the thinking. Your team builds against it.

Includes
  • Research & perception audit
  • Positioning strategy
  • Messaging framework
  • Naming & brand architecture
  • Strategy presentation to leadership
Timeline — 4 weeks
9,500AED*
Middle
The decision, built.

For companies taking a position to market for the first time, or correcting one that’s stopped working. Strategy, then the full identity system that expresses it — designed, documented, and handed over ready to deploy.

Everything in Open, plus
  • Identity system & logo
  • Typography & colour system
  • Brand guidelines
  • Core applications & templates
  • Motion & art direction
  • Web design direction (UI / UX)
Timeline — 8 weeks
18,000AED*
End
The decision, shipped and defended.

For companies where the brand has to hold up under pressure — funding, expansion, a market that’s already formed an opinion. We stay in the room through build, rollout, and the first months of it being live.

Everything in Middle, plus
  • Website development
  • Internal rollout & leadership alignment
  • Post-launch advisory
Timeline — 6 months
36,000AED*
At a glance 03

Everything starts with strategy. The difference is how far we carry it.

Open Middle End
Investment 9,500* 18,000* 36,000*
Timeline 4 wks 8 wks 6 mths
Strategy
Research & perception audit
Positioning strategy
Messaging framework
Naming & brand architecture
Leadership presentation
Identity
Identity system & logo
Typography & colour system
Brand guidelines
Core applications & templates
Motion & art direction
Web design direction (UI / UX)
Build & rollout
Website development
Internal rollout & leadership alignment
Post-launch advisory
Add-ons
Launch campaignScoped separatelyScoped separatelyScoped separately
Media & GTM planningScoped separatelyScoped separatelyScoped separately

Swipe to compare →

* Scope assessment and pricing

Figures shown are entry points in AED, not fixed fees. Final scope and investment are set after a scope assessment in the opening conversation, and vary with market, category complexity, number of business units or sub-brands, and the depth of research required. We quote once we understand the problem — not before.

How we’re different 04

Every agency will show you options.
We’ll tell you which one is correct.

Not a workshop

Consultancies fly in, run a session, fly out, and leave a document nobody can execute. We’re in the room when it ships.

Not an order-taker

Studios build precisely what you asked for — including the wrong thing. If the brief is solving the wrong problem, we say so before we take the money.

Not a handoff

Strategy, creative, and execution under one roof. The team that thinks it through is the team that sees it through.

Add-ons 05

Available alongside any tier.

Launch
The Gambit

Campaign concept and creative for the moment the position goes public. Built on the strategy already agreed — never invented in isolation.

Media & GTM
The Bishop’s Angle

Channel planning, budget allocation, and oversight on a flat fee. Buying is executed by partners at cost — we never take a percentage of your spend.

The first move 06

Every engagement opens the same way.

01
Conversation

45 minutes. No cost. We establish whether there’s a real problem and whether we’re the right ones to solve it.

02
Recommendation

We tell you which tier fits, or that none of them do, and scope the work properly against your actual position.

03
Begin

Work starts within two weeks of commissioning.

Ready to play?

Open the
board.

Forty-five minutes. We’ll tell you which tier fits — or that none of them do.

Make your move

Pawn to E4. Your move.