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General
What exactly is Pretend?
Pretend is a creative platform that routes your briefs to the right resource — AI for quick stuff, human artists for craft work. You submit briefs in plain English, we triage them automatically, and deliver design, video, motion, and social content back to your dashboard. No meetings, no email threads, no creative director tax.
How is this different from Superside, Design Pickle, or a freelancer?
Credit system: You pay for output, not request slots. AI + human triage: Simple work (resizes, basic social) routes to AI and comes back in minutes; complex work goes to vetted human artists. One subscription covers everything: graphic, resize, social, video edit, cutdown, motion — no separate add-on plans for each service type.
Can I try Pretend without subscribing?
Yes. Buy 2 à la carte credits ($20) and ship one real request, or start a free 14-day trial of Builder with 10 credits to spend. Cancel within 14 days and we refund anything you didn't use.
Who's actually doing the work?
A mix. AI handles resizes, simple social posts, and brand-kit-driven layouts in minutes. Our roster of vetted human artists — every one passed a portfolio review and a paid trial — handles motion, video, and anything with a real creative call. You can see who picked up your brief in the dashboard.
Pricing & Credits
What exactly is a credit?
A credit is our unit of creative work. 1 credit ≈ $10 of output. Every service has a fixed cost: a social resize is 1 credit, a graphic is 2, a video edit is 4, a motion piece is 6. You always know the cost before we start, so nothing surprises you on the invoice.
Do credits expire?
Subscription credits roll over for 30 days on Starter and Builder, 60 days on Plus and Pro, and 90 days on Max. À la carte credits are valid for one full year. We never burn unused credits the moment a month closes — that's a Pretend rule.
Can I switch plans anytime?
Yes — upgrades take effect immediately and we prorate the difference. Downgrades take effect the next billing cycle so you keep what you already paid for. Most teams move up from Builder to Plus around month four.
What if I need more credits mid-month?
Top up any time at your plan's discounted rate — Pro tops up at $8/credit, Max at $7.50. No upgrade required, no minimum, no urgency-tax. We'd rather you top up than overspend on a tier you don't need yet.
Are revisions counted as new credits?
No. Revisions on the original brief are unlimited and free across every plan. We only re-charge if the brief fundamentally changes — a new headline isn't a new credit, but a different format or layout direction is.
Refunds and cancellation?
Cancel any time, no hoops. We refund unused credits within 30 days of purchase, no questions. After 30 days, unused credits stay valid for the rollover window of your plan — you can still spend them, you just can't get cash back.
Features & Delivery
What services are covered?
All six are included in every subscription tier: Graphic Design (static social, web, email, deck slides), Design Resize (reformat any design to any platform), Social Posts (carousels, reels, single posts), Video Edit (short-form edits, highlight reels, product demos), Video Cutdown (long-form to bite-sized clips), and Motion Design (animated graphics, logo animations, kinetic type).
How fast is turnaround?
AI work (most resizes, simple social) ships in minutes. Human work (motion, video edits, complex graphic) ships in 24 hours first-pass on plans Builder and above. Pro & Max include rush queues for launch weeks.
Can I see working files (Figma, AE, etc.)?
Yes. Working files (Figma, After Effects, Premiere) are included with every brief. You can download, edit, and iterate yourself — or hand them over to your team if they want to tweak things after delivery.
How does the AI triage actually work?
When a client submits, AI reads the request, asks clarifying questions, attaches assets, and classifies the brief by service + complexity. Simple stuff (most resizes, some social) can be served by AI directly. Anything that needs human craft — graphic, motion, video, cutdown — gets queued for the network. You see only the human-needed briefs.
For Agencies
Will Pretend ever talk to my client directly?
No. You're our client. The Queue is for your team to submit briefs and receive deliverables. Your end client never sees our brand, our team, or our platform. You ship the work to them under your name, on your timeline.
Can we run multiple boards for different clients or projects?
Yes. The Queue platform supports multiple taskboards in one workspace, so you can structure however you like — one per client, one per team, one per campaign. Brand kits live on each board, so a designer briefing the Nike board doesn't see the KFC kit. Credits pool across boards, billing rolls up to your agency.
Credits vs retainer — which makes more sense?
Most agencies prefer credits because volume is uneven — Q4 is heavy, January is dead. Credit packs let you scale up and down month to month, and credits never expire. Retainers make sense if your volume is consistent and you want predictable invoicing or a named producer. We're happy either way — and you can switch.
Who owns the IP on the work?
You do. Work is delivered work-for-hire on acceptance, fully assignable to your end client. Working files included — Figma, AE, Premiere — so when you white-label and ship to your client, you can also hand over editable sources if they're paying for them.
Can we onboard a few designers as briefers?
Yes. Unlimited briefers on every plan. Designers, ADs, accounts, producers — whoever owns the brief can submit and approve. Admin controls let you set who can spend credits and who can only request.
What's the start-up commitment?
Send us a sample brief — first one's free, no card, no commitment. If it works, pick a credit pack and we'll migrate your brand kits in the next business day. Cancel any month. No SOWs, no 12-month minimums, no minimum-commitment retainer unless you ask for one.
How you bill your clients is your business.
What we charge stays between us. You can pass-through, mark up, bundle into retainers, or eat the cost on a relationship you're trying to grow. We just ship the work. Most agencies bill at their existing studio rate or a 2–3× pass-through. Either works for us.
For Enterprise
How is Enterprise different from your subscription tiers?
Subscription tiers are credit-metered: you buy a bucket of credits and spend them per brief. Enterprise is flat-rate and capacity-based: you commit to a monthly partnership, we reserve a dedicated team and capacity, and you stop counting credits. Better fit when you're running 50+ briefs/month and don't want every brief to feel like a budget conversation.
Do you sign our MSA, or do we sign yours?
Either. We have a standard MSA + DPA that covers most cases, and we redline customer paper. Average legal turn is 14 days for enterprise; we've done it in 7 when launch dates demand it.
What about IP ownership and confidentiality?
All deliverables transfer to you on acceptance. Work-for-hire by default; full assignment language in the MSA. Working files (Figma, AE, Premiere) are included. NDA executed on first conversation. Embedded tier supports custom IP terms — including pre-existing IP carve-outs and joint-developed-IP clauses.
Where does our data live, and who can see it?
Data is stored in AWS US-East-1 by default, with EU residency available (Embedded tier). Access is least-privilege: your dedicated team only. Brand kits and assets are workspace-scoped — never co-mingled. Audit logs cover every access event and are exportable. SOC 2 Type II report available under NDA.
How do you handle AI use on our work?
AI is used for triage, intake clarification, and lightweight production (e.g. resizing, simple social posts). All AI output is human-reviewed before delivery. Your assets are never used to train external models. You can opt out of AI production entirely at the Embedded tier — that engagement is human-only.
What's billing and payment look like?
Quarterly or annual invoicing, NET-60 default. We accept PO references, multi-entity bill-to, and split billing across cost centers. ACH and wire supported globally. Procurement portals welcome — we're already set up in Coupa, Ariba, Workday, and most ERPs.
How fast can we go live?
Pilot brief: same week. Full onboarding: 5 business days for Studio, 10 for Partner, 14 for Embedded. That includes brand kit migration, integrations, SSO setup, team kickoff, and your first scheduled QBR.
What if we need to ramp down or pause?
Annual partnerships include two pause windows per year (up to 30 days each, no charge). Ramping down a tier is possible at renewal. Exit clauses are standard — 90-day notice, knowledge transfer included.
For Artists
Can I do this on the side while I have a job?
Yes — most of our network does. You only see briefs you opted in for, and you only claim what you want. Pause the queue any time. If you have a full-time gig, just make sure you're not violating any non-competes on your end.
How is pay calculated?
Rates are set per artist after a short conversation. Where you live, what services you take on, and your level of experience all matter — so we don't post a flat number publicly. Everyone in the network knows what they earn before they ship a brief.
What if a brief doesn't fit my style?
Don't claim it. The queue is opt-in by service — and inside each service, you only claim the specific briefs that look right. Briefs you skip just go to the next artist. No penalty.
Do I keep portfolio rights to what I make?
Yes, for most work. You can show shipped pieces in your own portfolio after they've gone live publicly. Some clients have NDA windows — when that's the case, the brief tells you up front before you claim.
Is there an exclusivity clause?
No. Bring your own clients. Keep them. Pretend is a supplement, not a takeover.
What if a client requests revisions?
Every brief includes 2 rounds of revisions in its credit cost. Beyond that, scope changes are issued as separate briefs and credited to you separately. You're never asked to do unscoped work for free.
What countries do you accept artists from?
Pretty much anywhere we can legally pay you. We currently work with artists across North America, the EU, the UK, India, the Philippines, Brazil, and parts of Africa. If your country isn't on that list, apply anyway — we add new payout corridors as we grow.
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