Terms and Conditions

Summary

The vast majority of design and art projects run smoothly, without any problems. However, from time to time, something does come up, and it’s important that we both have an understanding of how best to deal with it. These terms and conditions are designed to ensure that we’re both protected from any unexpected circumstances. It also lays out the basic groundwork for how projects and commissions will progress, and what’s expected of us both. By accepting a quote, you are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions in full.

What do both parties agree to do?

 

You agree that:

You have the authority to enter into this contract with me on behalf of yourself, your company or your organisation. You agree to provide me with everything that I need to complete the project or commission, including text, images and other information as and when I need it, and in the format that I ask for. You’ll review my work and provide feedback and approval in a timely manner. Deadlines work both ways, so you’ll also be bound by any dates we set together. You also agree to stick to the payment schedule set out at the end of this contract.

I agree that:

I have the experience and ability to perform the services you need from me and I will carry them out in a professional and timely manner. Along the way, I will endeavour to meet all the deadlines set but I can’t be responsible for a missed launch date or a deadline if you have been late in supplying materials or have not approved or signed off my work on-time at any stage. I will maintain the confidentiality of any information that you give me and am happy to sign an NDA if needed.

Project delivery dates

If there is a hard deadline for your project, you must communicate it clearly to me before payment is made. It is always my intention to complete your project on time. Revisions and your response times play a major role in the amount of time it takes to complete your project, therefore, the project completion date I give you is subject to change.

Text content

I am not responsible for writing or editing any text copy unless specified in the original estimate. If you’d like me to write new content or edit text for you, I can provide a separate estimate for that.

Photographs

You should supply graphic files in an editable, vector digital format. You should supply photographs in a high resolution digital format. If you choose to buy stock photographs, I can suggest stock libraries. If you’d like me to search for photographs for you, I can provide a separate estimate for that. If you need any advice on these formats I’m always happy to help.

Changes and revisions

Our contract will allow for a set number of revisions as stated in my quote given to you. If, at any stage, you’re not happy with the direction the work is taking, you’ll pay me in full for everything I’ve produced until that point and cancel this contract.

All changes and revisions will need written approval in some form. If changes are given via a phone call, they will need to be confirmed in writing in an email and given the ok.

Experience shows that fixed-price contracts aren’t always beneficial to you, as they can limit you to your earliest ideas. I don’t want to limit your ability to change your mind. The price at the beginning of this contract is based on the length of time I estimate I’ll need to accomplish everything you’ve told me you want to achieve plus a few revisions. But I’m happy to be flexible. If you want to change your mind or add anything new, that won’t be a problem, as I’ll provide a separate estimate for that.

Making the most of changes and revisions

You must be specific with your feedback. If you are requesting revisions, it is most effective to offer examples of colours, fonts, images and sites you like. Excessive revisions, tweaks and miscellaneous changes are subject to additional charges at my discretion.

Errors in text or formatting that I have introduced into your content will be fixed for free. However, any other edits such as typo/grammatical errors/wording changes carried over from the original copy may be subject to additional charges.

I am not responsible for revisions or updates to a project once the final agreed upon deliverable has been sent. If additional design, coding, or edits associated with this project are needed, a new project agreement will be created.

Final approval

Once you approve a design or artwork, it’s considered final. ‘Final’ means that changes can be made should you request them, however all changes will be quoted for and billed separately. So please be sure to proofread carefully before approving the final design.

Cancellations

Should something happen for any reason whatsoever that causes you to cancel a project or commission once it has begun, you are completely free to do so. You will simply be billed for any work completed up to the point of cancellation, and I will send you any work completed up to that point.

Should some force majeure event happen to cause me to cancel this project, I will hand over any work completed up to the point of cancellation and refund you for any payments made on incomplete work.

Returns

Returns and exchanges must be made within 14 days of delivery. Any items returned must be dispatched back within 30 days of my original delivery. Please do contact me if you have any problems with your order.

The following items cannot be returned or exchanged

Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can’t accept returns for:

• Custom or personalised orders.
• Digital downloads.
• Items on sale.

Conditions of return

Buyers are responsible for return postage costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.

Copyrights

First, you guarantee that all elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork you provide are either owned by your good selves, or that you’ve permission to use them. Then, when your final payment has cleared, copyright for all graphic design work will be automatically assigned as follows:

• You will own the visual elements that I create for this project. I will give you source files and finished files and you should keep them somewhere safe as I’m not required to keep a copy. You own all elements of text, images and data you provided, unless someone else owns them.
• I will own the unique combination of these elements that constitutes a complete design and I’ll license that to you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless we agree otherwise. This means that you can’t take the design I made for you and sell it to another outlet, but otherwise won’t impact you.
• I love to show off my work and share what I’ve learned with other people, so I reserve the right, unless you specifically ask me not to, to display and link to your project as part of my portfolio and to write about it on websites, in magazine articles, books or anywhere I deem appropriate.

In relation to my artwork, copyright will be automatically assigned as follows:

• If I sell artwork to a private client, the final owner of the work does not have the right to reproduce it, e.g. as a greetings card. A painting and the copyright in that painting are two entirely separate commercial entities.
• The copyright of the artwork will remain for Satdeep Grewal’s (the artist) lifetime and for seventy years after her death.
• So long as works are in copyright anyone wishing to reproduce them has to seek the copyright holder’s permission. Any sales of copyright must be put in writing; otherwise sales are invalid and cannot be legally enforced. Please get in touch with me to discuss further at satdeep.grewal@gmail.com.

Reproduction rights

As the owner of my artworks’ copyright, I am open to selling reproduction rights, or a licence to print, for specific projects, while still retaining copyright. Please get in touch with me to discuss further at satdeep.grewal@gmail.com.

Rights of refusal

I will not include in designs, text, images or other data, anything which I deem to be immoral, offensive, obscene or illegal. All advertising material must conform to all standards laid down by relevant advertising standards authorities. I also reserve the right to refuse to include submitted material without giving a reason.

Costs

I will provide you with a fully broken down invoice to include any costs incurred by the work I complete for you, which you will agree to pay in full on completion. This will include my day rate for any design and artwork creation, cost of materials used, as well as insurance, postage and packaging where relevant and reasonable.

Payments

As a small business it is crucial the invoices that I send you are paid promptly. Therefore, you agree to stick to the following payment schedule:

• 50% deposit paid up front. Work will only commence once this is received in full.
• 50% remainder is payable on completion and not more than 30 days after receipt of finished product and invoice.
• If payment is late, statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate will be charged, starting from the 31st day after the invoice date.

Additional legal issues

I cannot guarantee that my work will be completely error-free and so I cannot be liable to you or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if you’ve advised me of them. Finally, if any provision of our contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from our contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

You cannot transfer our contract to anyone else without my permission. The contract stays in place and need not be renewed. If for some reason one part of our contract becomes invalid or unenforceable, the remaining parts of it remain in place.

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