Terms & Conditions

These are the terms and conditions and contract of agreement for any work carried out by Sara De Maio. I recommend that you read and understand these clearly. By purchasing a service from Sara De Maio, you (or “Client”) agree to the following:

Revisions. Client shall be entitled to 2 rounds revisions for each project deliverable. For example, if you request a logo design, I  will provide up to 2 rounds of revisions for the logo. If you have also requested an additional deliverable, such as a business card, I will provide up to 2 rounds of revisions for the business card design.

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

Errors in text or formatting that I have introduced into your content will be fixed for free. You are free to change, modify and adapt the finished logo design as you see fit, but you do so at your own risk.

Payments. I’m sure you understand how important it is as a small business that you pay the invoices that I send you 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. The deposit payment is non-refundable.

50% remainder is payable on completion and not more than 30 days after receipt of final invoice. I reserve the right to withhold delivery of finished product until payment has been received in full.

Trademark and Copyright. Due to the lengthy and often costly procedures required to initiate any form of Trademark, Copyright and legal name search, I am unable to provide any practical help with this.

If you require the logo to be registered as a trademark, then you must seek your own legal advice.

Fonts & Typefaces. Typically, a font used in a logo will not need to be licensed, as the graphics are converted to vector artwork and can no longer be edited. However, should you require a font to use in your own artwork for editing purposes, such as on a website or a brochure, then you will need your own license through a desktop license purchase.

In my initial presentation of concepts, I will provide information of the typefaces used and where they can be acquired. It is the responsibility of the client to acquire any necessary font licenses (paid or unpaid), so please bear this in mind when approving designs.

Brand naming. You take full responsibility for ensuring that your company/product/name is legally free/available before work is started. Should any legal issue arise with the naming after the project has been completed, no refunds are possible, neither am I legally responsible for any problems thus arising. Please ensure the name you are using is free and legally safe to use before committing to a logo project. Project name changes during a project are exceptionally costly, challenging to implement, and cause significant delays. If a change of name is required mid-way during a project, and significant logo exploration work has already been presented, then I will have no choice but to recalculate the total cost of the project, to allow for the reworking involved. Please ensure that the name you are using has been subject to appropriate checks, is not in use by someone else, and/or infringes on any other registered trademark, business name etc.

Text content. If your project requires any written content that I am not providing, I can’t begin to design until it has been delivered to me. For example, product description for packaging, text for a flyer or advertising poster. Please keep that in mind as it can significantly delay project timelines if these items aren’t delivered before the project begins. I do not spell or grammar check work and cannot be held responsible for spelling, grammar or contact information errors on the artwork. 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 I can definitely do it, but I’m going to provide a separate estimate for it.

Print. I will provide you with print-ready files for the designed materials. To ensure the accurate design of a print product, it's essential that I have the correct print specifics. For example, in the case of product packaging, you must provide me with the accurate dieline or share the details of the printing company you intend to use. It's your responsibility to find a print provider, manage all printing and reproduction processes and cover the printing costs. I cannot guarantee the quality of the print, binding, shipping, or any related aspects, as they fall beyond my scope of control and expertise.

​Confidentiality. During the course of this Agreement, it may be necessary for you to share proprietary information, including trade secrets, industry knowledge, and other confidential information, to me in order for me to complete the Design in its final form. I will not share any of this proprietary information at any time, even after the Agreement is fulfilled. I also will not use any of this proprietary information for my personal benefit at any time, even after the Agreement is fulfilled.

Deadlines. If there is a hard deadline for the project, you must communicate it clearly upfront before payment is made. I will carry the services you need in a professional and timely manner. You will review my work and provide feedback and approval in a timely manner. Along the way, I will endeavour to meet all the deadlines set but 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 the work on-time at any stage. 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 not a guarantee.

Ownership Rights. The final artwork/digital files will become your property only upon final payment of the project.

If final payment is NOT received as agreed, all designs and concepts will remain mine until payment is received.

If there are issues with final payment, I reserve the right to reuse or amend any of these ideas for other clients, or to be used freely as concepts in my portfolio.

Final payment ensures that ONLY the agreed designs becomes your property. All preparation materials, visuals and sketches remain property of Sara De Maio, unless any prior agreement has been made.

When the final payment has cleared, copyright will be automatically assigned as follows:

You will own the visual elements that I created for this project.You will be given source files and finished files and should keep them somewhere safe as I am not required to keep a copy. You will own all elements of text, images and data you have provided, unless someone else owns them.

Unless otherwise agreed and arranged, you give me permission to use the work product as part of my portfolios and websites, in galleries, and in other media, so long as it is to showcase the work and not for any other purpose. You do not give me permission to sell or otherwise use the work product to make money or for any other commercial use.

Project Suspension. I reserve the right to suspend any project if there is interference with excessive micromanaging, demonstrating a continued lack of trust and inability to move forward after showing more than a reasonable number of unique logo ideas/concepts, and/or showing a reluctance in paying the final payment. Fair notice will be given with fair chance to remedy the situation without resorting to project suspension or termination. Any suspension, or termination, will not result in any refunds and all designs and work thus developed remain the full ownership of Sara De Maio.

Termination. Either party may terminate the contract at any time through written request. Should something happen for any reason whatsoever that causes you to cancel this project 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 life-altering 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.

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 all relevant advertising standards authorities.

Independent contractor. You’re hiring me as an independent contractor. This agreement does not create a partnership or joint venture between the parties, and neither party has the authority to bind the other party to any agreement or act on behalf of the other party without prior written consent.

Legal stuff

I can’t guarantee that my work will be error-free and so I can’t 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. Please note that all information on the packaging or label of your products must comply with legal regulations and guidelines, which you are responsible for. I am not liable for any legal issues that arise from non-compliance. You will indemnify and hold me harmless from any claims resulting from such non-compliance.

I affirm that all designs presented to you will be original and to the best of my knowledge will not infringe/plagiarise any other work. I will perform limited checks to ensure that my work has not unintentionally infringed on another’s design, including limited checks against the WIPO database and reverse image checks across search engines. However, I assume no legal responsibility for any loss or damage suffered or incurred related to legal issues regarding the originality or authenticity of my work.

Finally, if any provision of this contract shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this contract and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

The small print

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

Although the language is simple, the intentions are serious and this contract is a legal document.

The client agrees to the terms and conditions set out above in the form of purchase and use of service.