Contents

Design Service Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance

All clients are required to agree to our Terms & Conditions before any work is undertaken by CRJ Design.

2. Commencement of Projects

CRJ Design will not begin any work on your project until the below conditions have been fulfilled:

  1. The agreed upfront payment has been received.
  2. If applicable, we are in receipt of your completed design questionnaire.
  3. Our checklist of items needed in order to commence design projects is complete – this includes things like supplying us with all written and photographical content in advance, supplying all necessary information in advance (eg. dimensions for printed material, information to set up booking system etc.).

3. Quotations

All quotations are based on information provided by the client and remain valid for 30 days from date of issue. Subsequent additions/alterations, requested prior to work commencing, will result in a revised quotation being issued, which supersedes the original. The revised quotation will again be valid for 30 days from date of issue. Any additions/alterations requested after work has commenced, which are not detailed on your quotation, will be itemised on the final invoice and billed accordingly.

Quotations for Original Design Work are subject to the below conditions:

  1. Original Logo Design: The quotation includes 3 initial designs(1) & 3 revisions(2) only.
  2. Original Website Design: The quotation includes 1 initial design & 3 revisions only.
  3. Original Digital Design & Print: The quotation includes 1 initial design & 3 revisions only.
  4. Original Book Cover Design: The quotation includes 3 initial designs & 3 revisions only.

(1) Initial design is defined as a unique first draft, based on your specified requirements during our initial consultation process and your subsequent questionnaire answers.

(2) Revision is defined as minor alterations (including, but not limited to, layout, style, colour scheme, fonts) to the Initial Design, based on your feedback during our ‘Revision Rounds’ process (see Service/Project-Specific Terms, Original Design Work Projects, A or B as applicable).  It is at CRJ Design’s discretion whether a requested alteration is considered a Revision, or whether the requested changes will result in a new Initial Design being created.

3. Payment Terms

  1. Our payment terms are strictly fourteen (14) days from the date of invoice, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
  2. All design projects are subject to a 50% non-refundable deposit, payable in advance.
  3. All services rendered in-house by CRJ Design, including but not limited to social media, blog and website management, CRJ Design Memberships, collating reports, SEO, and email marketing, are subject to full payment in advance.
  4. Any services provided by CRJ Design which require out-sourcing to a third-party, including but not limited to printing services and product manufacturing, are subject to full payment in advance.

4. Late Payments

Any invoices which remain unpaid after fourteen (14) days from the date of issue will incur a 10% Late Payment Fee. We reserve the right to seek legal action if an invoice remains unpaid after 30 days from the date of issue.

5. Service/Project-Specific Terms

Original Design Work Projects (Logo, Digital Design and Print, Website Design)

Subject to section(s) 1 and 2 of our above Payment Terms.

Following acceptance of our quotation, an invoice will be issued stating the deposit amount and both the Estimated Project Start Date (*1) and Estimated Project Completion Date (*2). Work will only commence once all items in the “Commencement of Projects” section have been received.

The final invoice for the remaining balance, including any additions/alterations made by the client after the work has commenced, will be issued upon completion of the work. The completed project will only be delivered/uploaded, with login access granted (for websites), once the final invoice has been paid in full.

Original Design Work – Our Design Process

Our design process incorporates an in-depth consultation, a comprehensive questionnaire, and a three-tier revision rounds system.  This process is fundamental to us understanding your vision and being able to furnish you with your imagined product.  Our Initial Design is based on information provided by you. The first revision round is your opportunity to tell us if we have misinterpreted your ideas, and for you to make dramatic changes if necessary.  The second revision window is for more subtle changes, and the third window is solely intended for proof-checking.

Should it prove impossible for us to realise your vision, you must inform us of your concerns during the first revision round at the absolute latest, whereby we will cease work on your project and return all provided material to you. No further charges will be levied on you and no further action will be taken by us. This is the only instance whereby CRJ Design waive the right to seek full compensation for incomplete projects. The incomplete work/design/project, and your initial deposit, will remain with CRJ Design. CRJ Design will retain all rights to any unfinished projects/designs, including the right to re-sell unused or unwanted designs (with the business name changed).

A. Logo, Digital Design & Print – Revision Rounds Procedure

Upon completion of the first draft/s (Initial Design/s), you will be sent a proof copy and given the opportunity to provide your feedback and/or request alterations. Once we have actioned your requests, you will be sent a second proof copy and given another opportunity to request a further revision to the design. Your design will then be finalised and you will have a third and final opportunity to review the finished article and request minor alterations before the project is completed (*3).

B. Website Design – Revision Rounds Procedure

Upon completion of the first draft (Initial Design), you will be emailed a link to view the Home Page of your website and given the opportunity to provide your feedback/request alterations to the layout and styling. Once we have re-designed the Home Page based on your feedback, we will build the rest of your website, following the same theme, and give you a second opportunity to provide further feedback. Your website will then be finalised and you will have a third and final opportunity to proof-read and/or request minor alterations before the project is completed (*3). 

(*1) Estimated Project Start Date is based on our current schedule, and is the date by which we must receive all content and information required to commence your design work project.  CRJ Design accepts no responsibility for failing to adhere to the Estimated Project Start Date whereby the delay is solely due to the client not providing all requested content/information prior to this date.

 (*2) Estimated Project Completion Date is based on the assumption that the client will respond in a timely manner to requests from CRJ Design for the required content/information/feedback/approval to complete the project.  CRJ Design accepts no responsibility for incomplete projects under the below circumstances and full charges will apply:

Should the client not respond to requests from CRJ Design to supply final content/information/approval for the project/website, CRJ Design will be unable to complete the project.  CRJ Design will endeavour to acquire the outstanding content/information/approval from the client for a period of 28 days after the Estimated Project Completion Date.  If the project remains incomplete after this time, solely due to the client not supplying the required content/information/approval to enable CRJ Design to finalise the project, CRJ Design reserves the right to issue the final invoice for full settlement.  Once full and final payment has been received, CRJ Design will deliver/upload the incomplete project/website.

(*3) CRJ Design considers a project as complete when final revisions have been made following the third and final round of revisions.

Website Design: Completed Website Upload and Handover

Our Website Design Service includes a complimentary ‘One Month Bronze Membership’ pass (see separate Membership T’s & C’s), which is activated upon upload of your completed website. All clients are supplied with log-in details and full instructions on how to manage/edit your new website, but CRJ Design is aware that this can be a daunting task. The complimentary ‘One Month Bronze Membership’ pass is granted to assist you with minor alterations/content updates whilst you are learning how to use the website software. After this period it is expected that all clients can manage the website themselves and any further requests for changes/content updates will be billed accordingly. 

Website Design: Web Hosting (In-House)

Subject to section(s) 1 and 3 of our above Payment Terms, billed monthly or annually as requested by the client. Please refer to seperate Terms & Conditions for our Hosting & Domain Service.

Website Design: Web Hosting (Out-sourced)

It is the client’s responsibility to pay the fees involved in hosting the website, including domain name registration and a web hosting package. The client must provide us with accurate log-in details to the web hosting account or cPanel so that we can upload the site.

It is the client’s responsibility to choose a web hosting provider which meets our standards. Our standards include valid SSL certificate, unlimited/unmetered bandwidth, high resources (1GB RAM, 1 CPU, 25 EntryProcesses, 8 mb/s I/O), adequate storage. Large, powerful, resource-heavy websites may require higher standards and resources. CRJ Design accepts no responsibility for the speed or reliability of our websites when the web hosting is provided by a third party.

Website Design: Backups

Weekly website backups are automatically taken and stored off-site, with two previous backups always available. It is the client’s responsibility to request a backup restore (if they are unable to access the website dashboard to restore a backup themselves) within a timely manner. We accept no responsibility for website loss, or corruption, or any subsequent issues arising from such events (such as loss of income) and recommend that all clients make their own backups via their web hosting provider.

Website Design: Software Licenses

Your website may be built using software licensed to CRJ Design (eg. page building software, booking system software). You may not allow others, including third parties, to use the software under this license. The license remains with CRJ Design at all times. You are authorised to use the license only under your CRJ Design website design package and only for the entirety of the website’s lifespan. You may not continue to use the software license if your website is re-designed by a third party. The license is not transferrable to another business/domain/website.

Website Design: Legal Requirements And Standards

We make every attempt possible to abide by all laws regarding websites and will always endeavour to include appropriate legal information, and abide by W3C standards. We do everything in our power to adhere to web standards and make websites accessible to everyone. It is, however, the client’s responsibility to provide us with accurate legal information (eg. a privacy statement) where it is required and to ensure that all legal information is included. Where no Privacy Policy has been supplied by the customer, a GDPR-compliant one will be provided for you. It is the client’s responsibility to carefully read through this policy and check it for accuracy, and to make any necessary amendments. CRJ Design cannot be held liable for any legal claims or data protection issues arising from an improper or inaccurate privacy policy. We reserve the right to refuse delivery of work where the client has not provided information that is required to make the site legal.

Social Media/Blog/Website Management & Ongoing Marketing Services

Subject to section(s) 1 and 3 of our above Payment Terms, billed monthly, quarterly or annually as requested by the client.

Paid Advertising Management

Subject to section(s) 1 and 3 of our above Payment Terms, billed monthly, quarterly or annually as requested by the client and excludes the actual Advertising Fees, which are payable by the client direct to the advertiser. 

Reports

Subject to section(s) 1 and 3 of our above Payment Terms.

Email Marketing

Subject to section(s) 1 and 3 of our above Payment Terms, billed monthly, quarterly or annually as requested by the client.

The client accepts full responsibility for ensuring all mailing lists are GDPR compliant and agrees to notify CRJ Design immediately if any non-compliance issues arise. CRJ Design will not send marketing emails to recipients who have not opted in and may request evidence from the client prior to rendering this service.

SEO

Subject to section(s) 1 and 3 of our above Payment Terms. The client accepts that improved SEO performance does not guarantee a high search result ranking.  CRJ Design will use all available measures to increase your SEO ranking but, ultimately, your rating is somewhat dependent on a number of factors and variables outside of CRJ Design’s control.

6. Printing

We do not print in-house, but we can out-source your printed projects to our trusted printing partners. Alternatively, we can direct the client to appropriate third party printing companies. Once the finalised project is approved by the client, this is confirmation that all appropriate spelling, grammar and accuracy checks have been carried out. We recommend that, where possible, the client requests printed proofs from the printing company to check for accuracy and print quality. Should it be required at this point we can attempt to make alterations to the design to make the printed output more accurate. We do not accept responsibility for any problems with the final printed piece(s) as this is between the client and the printing company. If the client requests that we arrange the printing on their behalf, the client must pay CRJ Design the cost of the printing in advance. We will not arrange to print items for the client until payment has been received in full.

7. Design Credit

We may leave a small design credit for CRJ Design on any finished work, unless otherwise specified by the client.

8. Copyright

The client retains the Copyright to any content that they provide us with, but grant us permission to use and publish it as part of the project. It is the client’s responsibility to obtain appropriate Copyright permissions and usage rights to any third party content including images and fonts. By accepting these Terms and Conditions, the client has guaranteed that they have obtained proper permissions for the content (which we may request evidence for), and also agree to hold CRJ Design harmless in any claims resulting from the client’s negligence or inability to obtain proper permissions. The Copyright for any original design work remains with CRJ Design until payment has been received in full, whereby the rights to the design are then transferred to the client. Any screenshots or images sent to the client showing the project’s progress may be watermarked.

9. Stock Images, Fonts & Additional Software

If the client requests that we source additional content such as stock images, fonts, or software, this should be stated at the beginning of the project. It is the client’s responsibility to fund this content, either by purchasing the item(s) themselves and sending them to us to use in the project, or by paying CRJ Design in advance to purchase the item(s) on their behalf. We will not purchase stock images, fonts, or other content or software before we have received full costs in advance. We will always notify you of the cost of any additional content before committing you to purchase them. We can attempt to source free or open source images, fonts or software at the client’s request.

10. Portfolio

We reserve the right to use the client in our portfolio for a minimum of three (3) years. Links to the client’s website/social media page will be included in the portfolio.  Should the client wish to remove themselves fully, or in part, from our portfolio after this time, please contact us.

11. Termination of Services

Should the client wish to terminate any services carried out by CRJ Design, the client must notify CRJ Design in writing or via email. Verbal requests to terminate services will not be honoured until written notice is received and confirmed by CRJ Design. 

All services provided by CRJ Design can be terminated within fourteen (14) days of CRJ Design receiving payment of your first invoice.  The service will instantly cease and payment will be returned to you, minus the proportionate cost of anything you have used.

Termination of Services requests received after the first fourteen (14) days are subject to the below Terms:

  1. Original Design Work Projects may be terminated at any time prior to the First Revision Round without further charge (see the ‘Original Design Work Projects’ section for details). The deposit is non-refundable.  The client cannot terminate any design projects after the First Revision Round without incurring full charges.
  2. Monthly Management Plans, including but not limited to Blog/Website/Social Media Management, Paid Advertising and Ongoing Marketing, require seven (7) days’ Notice to Terminate Services. Where advance payment is made quarterly or annually, refunds will only be issued for any full months remaining on the Contract.  No refund will be issued for Monthly advance payments. For this reason, we suggest terminating any Monthly Plans with CRJ Design within seven (7) days of the next invoice date.
  3. Web Hosting Services may be terminated at any time. No refund will be issued for any advance payments already made, whether monthly or annually.
  4. CRJ Design reserves the right to terminate any services to the client without explanation at any time. Termination of Services will be accompanied by written (e-mail) notice and, in some instances, delivery of any work already completed or near-completion. This is the only instance in which the deposit may be refunded.

12. Disclaimer

CRJ Design accepts no liability for any issues, however caused, arising from the use of our services.

CRJ Design is not liable for any issues, including but not limited to financial losses, law suits, etc, arising from the client’s use of the completed, uploaded website.

13. Agreement

These terms and conditions were updated on 21/09/2023.