Terms & Conditions

These terms & conditions are in place to protect both designer and client along the way and to ensure everything is black and white from the outset. By agreeing to place any work with Laura Hodgkinson Creative, you are agreeing to the following terms & conditions.

1. Invoicing and payment – A deposit may be required to reserve your slot in my schedule before design work can begin. The remaining balance will be invoiced once the project is complete and/or signed off by the client. Once the remaining balance has cleared, I’ll supply the final designs or final products and send artwork to the printers (if applicable). The stage at which the invoice(s) is raised is dependant on the nature and timescale of the project – this will be discussed and/or made clear before work commences. Invoices must be paid within 7 days of the invoice date unless stated otherwise.

2. Late payment – Luckily I can rely on my clients and I have never had to request late payment fees. However, in exceptional cases, I have the right to charge a monthly late payment fee of 5% of the original invoice total plus an appropriate admin recovery fee against any outstanding invoice that takes significant billable time to recover. Late payment fees can be avoided if the client has genuine reason for the late payment and are able to agree to a new invoice due date. If the new due date is still not met, then the late payment fees apply and may be back-dated to the original invoice date.

3. Rates and quoting – If charging hourly for work, this will be agreed in advance in writing for a pre-agreed set hourly fee. Alternatively, for set-fee projects a deposit may be required upfront before any billable work may commence. The final work will be supplied following payment of the final billable amount. If a project is on pause or becomes stagnant due to delays out of the designers control, the designer reserves the right to invoice for part-payment (normally 50%) or a relevant proportion the work completed thus far, or payment of the billable hours spent on the project thus far, up to the point of delay. The remainder of the project, once it is re-started, will be invoiced separately upon completion. A project is considered delayed when it has been stagnant or on pause for 2 weeks or more. The total bill for the project, when all invoices are added up, will be the same as if it were billed in one invoice. Quotes and invoices based on a pre-agreed day rate will be rounded to the nearest half or full day as appropriate.

4. Work agreement – If the client wishes to cancel a project that has already begun then the client will be invoiced for any billable work completed up to the time of cancellation. Projects that the designer deems complete, or very near complete, cannot be terminated and the full remaining balance will still be owed and completed artwork supplied to the client as agreed. The designer cannot cancel a project that has already begun, unless under exceptional circumstances, in which case the termination and it’s terms will be agreed with the client. Any deposits paid are non-refundable once design work has begun.

5. Billable work – The designer reserves the right, within reason, to bill for any significant extra time spent on a project outside of the pre-agreed arrangements set out before work commenced. This will be communicated to the client before going ahead and may be charged at a £33 per hour flat rate. Billable extra work also includes any significant time spent dealing with suppliers on the clients behalf (a reasonable amount of time is usually allowed for this in the original quote, if applicable) and any extra fees that were not included or foreseen at the quoting stage including but not limited to image purchases, font purchases, print purchases or other elements necessary to provide the service agreed. This will all be communicated with the client before going ahead.

6. Website & social media – The designer may promote the design process and finished project online at http://www.laurahodgkinson.com, on any online portfolios, and through their own social media channels including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Contact the designer in writing if you do not wish any stage of your project to be promoted online or on social media. Any associated social media posts may be shared by the client on their own social media profiles without asking the designers permission, though a mention of the designer would be appreciated.

7. Contact hours – The beauty of freelancing is the flexibility it brings to both designer and client. Due to this, I may not always be available during standard office hours or on standard working days. Where possible, emails, messages and phone calls will be responded to between 9am – 5pm during week days within 2 working days, except for Bank Holidays, my personal holiday time and when I am working away from areas with phone signal or internet access. If I choose to work during weekends, evenings or during personal time off this is an occasional event based around my schedule at my discretion.

8. Copyright & manipulation rights – The designer owns the design copyright until all elements of the project have been paid for and cleared in full. Once all remaining balance(s) are settled, you/your business will own the design copyright. The rights to manipulate the design remain that of the designer, even after payment in full, unless supply of the original files and their manipulation rights was agreed at the time of project confirmation. If a client wishes to have the rights to manipulate the design after it’s completion, then the original source files can be supplied at an extra cost – normally an additional 30% of the original project fee. The manipulation rights fee does not apply to the following types of project where manipulation rights are included as standard: Canva templates, social media templates, graphics supplied as part of a Brand Identity package, Wix website designs, and logo and brand files supplied as vectors (EPS or AI file types).

I reserve the right to change these Terms & Conditions when required. The terms outlined here at the time of placing work and/or the time of agreeing to these terms are the terms that will apply to that associated project. Please check back here in case of any updates for future projects.