Privacy

Embodyart values and respects the privacy, safety and comfort of clients, past, present and future. No information you may provide to Embodyart, written or transmitted, is listed, given or sold to any other firm or individual without your permission.

Project Scope

Point Person

For all projects, I require one key point person to be my weekly contact. This is typically the business owner or CEO. I’ve learned that this is how things best get done and it avoids having to relay information and time lags. If you’ve got a team you want to confer with, you’re welcome to bring ideas to them and then bring me your ultimate feedback, however, projects go faster and smoother when there’s one ultimate decision-maker. Decisions by committee, in general, get watered down and don’t create unique, brilliant results.

Revisions

For vision work, two optional revisions are permitted after final delivery.

For design and writing drafts, two rounds of revisions are included. Revisions requested after these may be accommodated with additional fees to reflect the revised scope.

Project Timelines

A rough estimate of expected completion date is given at project outsets. See basic time estimates on the Work with Me page.

Keep in mind that creative projects are organic and as such, they move, grow and change as we work, especially longer-term projects. For long-term projects, we stay in communication about shifting timelines when this applies and together decide on shifting priorities.

I sometimes offer laser focus packages where we both block out a week to complete tasks that can take months otherwise. Ask if you’re interested in this approach.

If a true personal emergency necessitates a project pause on either side, one occurrence is permitted for larger projects.

If for any reason, you, the client, delay a project longer than 3 months without clear mutual agreement, your initial deposit and any fees paid remain nonrefundable and the project is considered closed. You will be welcome to start a new project based on mutual agreement, however, the initial project’s fees will not be considered part of any new project, as we need to maintain a steady flow of work to function successfully.

If for any unforeseen reason, there are delays beyond three months of our projected timetable, as with you, we will give you the option to continue or not with a revised timetable; however, initial deposits and any fees paid remain nonrefundable, as this is not a usual event, would only occur in the case of an unavoidable circumstance and we will offer you the option to continue work after any delay.

Completed projects are archived one month after finishing. Archived projects are accessible with fees for un-archiving, for 6 months. After 6 months, files are not officially maintained (because of storage space and software updates). Requests for reprints or access after 6 months can be considered, with fees for accessing, if available. Please see Rights section for re-use permission.

Project Changes and/or Switcheroos

Sometimes with creative work, you’ll start one thing and it becomes evident that there are different things that would help your situation. Should this occur, you, the client, may request a change of direction and a new agreement may be decided upon, based on mutual agreement and availability, noting that different work requires different allocation of resources, payment arrangements and other factors.

Initial deposits and payments remain nonrefundable in all cases so that work can be structured. Deposits or fees remaining unused longer than 3 months without explicit agreement are closed and new work will receive a new arrangement.

Items agreed upon cannot be substituted for different items without mutual agreement, i.e., you initially requested a website and now prefer to launch a membership site or you booked a logo design and now would like to get going with social media. Or we planned and discussed work in detail on one brand / website and you now want to work on a different one.

This type of change also applies if you decide you want to hand off a project we started working on to a team member or bring in additional people to work on the project. Working with multiple people requires coordination and conversations and is a different project than working one-on-one with one client. 

Decisions such as these are welcome as new projects, in which case the initial project is considered closed if you don’t wish to complete it. If work has already been partially done or completed (including planning which takes time and expertise), the balance of that project or an appropriate percentage will be due before new work may be begun.

Project Add-Ons: Big and Small

Sometimes as we work, especially with rich, full projects creating your entire gorgeous business, it becomes evident that there are many more things that would help your situation. These are often relatively small things, such as adding video, incorporating scheduling software, linking parts of what you do within different offerings, writing and designing individual new pages for your website, contacting people on your behalf and promoting your offers different ways. Your business is a living, breathing entity and it will always be growing and changing.

All additional work, small or large, will be estimated and charged for, as it requires expertise, effort and attention and is of value.

Instruction & Methods

I include a complimentary 1-hour optional session upon completion of website design work to show you how to use the backend of your site and make simple text edits if wanted.

In general, it’s not a part of our work agreement to instruct or teach how to use software or hardware that helps create our results. If instruction is requested, it’s possible, depending on schedules and complexity, to undertake this work, with associated time and fees.

If you’re personally interested in how to produce results, you might like to become part of my Mastermind group, EmbodyFocus. I share lots of useful resources in that group, as do others. MORE INFO HERE.

My methods and systems are proprietary and you agree not to attempt to recreate them as your own before, during or after working together.

Software & Hardware

Embodyart uses well-chosen and tested software and hardware to produce our work. For any given client project, the software to be used will be specified at the outset and cannot be changed after agreement. We become expert in the tools we use and as such, it isn’t possible to substitute a different piece of software you may find interesting mid-project, no matter how small, such as plug-ins etc. Our scope of work is for working with the tools agreed to at project outset so that timing can be gauged and results can be projected.

You are welcome to request new tools to be considered, which would necessitate an updating of our work agreement.

Printing & Pre-Press

It’s standard procedure for Embodyart to perform “pre-press” and print management for print pieces we design. Print management fees are charged at 20% of print costs. Note that our printers offer excellent price for quality. We’ve developed excellent, longstanding relationships within the printing industry and have served as a print broker for years.

Pre-press work includes setting up your files for each printer, things such as bleeds, crop marks, specifications, dpi etc.

Outside expenses for printing vary depending on the item you’re printing and details such as paper, coating and inks. Print fees are separate from project fees and are due prior to printing, as printers require payment up front.

Embodyart retains the right to discontinue including print management in the future because of the painstaking work in this process and time involved.

Renewals

Annual or monthly fees for any tools you’re using are the responsibility of each client, as is awareness of renewal dates. This applies to web hosting, domain renewals and any other chosen tools (e.g. course creation software etc.). Embodyart is glad to renew these on your behalf with a minimum charge to do so. This is included in my maintenance packages.

Maintenance

There’s an option after project completion of a monthly maintenance plan for certain projects.  What’s included is tailored to your individual situation to create an advantageous setup specifically for you. Ask if interested. Availability based on current schedule.

Project Property

Original File Transfer

If you wish to receive native application files, separate agreement must be made to do so. Files are specifically created for each project’s purpose unless otherwise specified. Besides the value of creative work being based on usage and not time, this policy ensures that we can maintain the integrity of the way files are used, e.g. for printing purposes and for other, unrelated projects where numerous new, unforeseen elements may arise.

As per industry standards, source file prices begin at 3x the final product price. As a designer, we’re paid to deliver a finished product, not the blueprints that lead to making that product. Note that this includes PDF print files.

Note that with resumes, I give you the native document so you can make future edits on your own if wanted. You can also contact me to make updates. Also see logo rights where you’re given native files.

Intellectual Property

All original concepts presented on this site and in our materials remain our personal property. Permission must be obtained to quote or use any artwork. You agree not to use our language or art to convey your own concepts.