At Noir & Ink we always do our best to fulfill your needs and meet your goals, but sometimes it is best to have a few simple things written down so that we both know what is what, who should do what and what happens if stuff goes wrong. In this contract you won’t find complicated legal terms or large passages of unreadable text. We have no desire to trick you into signing something that you might later regret.

Please carefully read and review the following terms and conditions.  You, the client, must agree to all of the following terms and conditions set forth before any work can begin.

Office Hours

Noir & Ink hours of business are Monday – Friday, 7:00 am to 4 pm PST, except all holidays and unless otherwise notified.  We respond to inquiries and requests during these times.  If you require emergency service outside of regular business hours, you are billed at time and a half at our hourly rate of $100 per hour.  If you need emergency updating or maintenance simply submit your request via our online form to schedule your service immediately (with the fee included). 

Payments 

We are sure you understand how important it is to a small business that you pay your invoices promptly. So to insure we stay friends, you agree to adhere to the agreed upon payment schedule. 

Refunds and Exchanges

Due to the digital nature of our business Noir & Ink DOES NOT offer refunds or exchanges under any circumstances. No exceptions. Should you, the client, choose to terminate a project for any reason, we apply a design credit in the amount of the invoice paid for one calendar year.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our Refund Policy, please contact us prior to paying for and/or obtaining services.

Cancellations

Projects cancelled for any reason before the start date of your project, may be rescheduled but are consequently placed at the bottom of the design queue. 

Billing

We require a non-refundable 50% retainer deposit to begin your design process.  Projects aren’t scheduled until this deposit is paid in full.  

This does not apply to jobs totaling less than $1000. Jobs totaling $1000 or less must be paid in full before we begin. No exceptions. Noir & Ink won’t release files for print or make your site “live” until all outstanding balances are paid in full. 

Late Fees

All unpaid balances over 5 days are subject to a late fee of 10% of the remaining balance, with a minimum charge of $25.

All grants of any license to use, or transfer ownership of any intellectual property rights under this agreement are conditioned on full payment, including all outstanding additional costs, expenses, fees, or any other charges.

If your project goes beyond schedule and over budget due to added project elements outside of the original project scope an additional payment will be due in order for work to proceed. You will be billed for the new project scope once the new scope of project is accepted.

If your project goes beyond schedule and over budget due to added project elements outside of the original project scope we bill you for the new project scope. Payment must be received in order for work to proceed.

Project Schedule & Waiting List

Once you pay your deposit, Noir & Ink, adds you to the project schedule queue and sets your start date. Noir & Ink reserves the right to extend the project date if needed, depending on the requests of the client or the depth of the project.

Privacy Policy

Noir & Ink agrees to not disclose any confidential communication. We do not sell, trade or distribute any of your information. All correspondence between you, the client, and Noir & Ink is confidential and is not shared or forwarded to others without our expressed written consent.

Quote

All written quotes are guaranteed for no less than 7 days.

Estimates

Prior to beginning any web site project Noir & Ink gives the best estimate on time, and budget. Please remember that this is just an estimate. If the client requests work that has not been detailed in the original estimate, this work is considered a new project scope and is billed separately. If the client is unclear about the needs of the project, estimates are subject to adjustment at the discretion of the designer. Billing always reflects the actual costs incurred.

Commencement of Work

Before Noir & Ink begins work on any graphic request including: print, web, logo design or web assets, we must have all required elements of the project in hand. This includes:

1. Photos – Must be web or print ready as they relate to your project. Web ready 72 dpi. Print ready 300 dpi.

All photos must be in web or print ready format as they relate to your project. Your initial quote does not cover the cost of photo enhancement.  An additional fee is incurred for any and all photo editing required.  Additional fees are charged for any photo editing including; retouching, color correction, cropping, brightening, sharpening and all other forms of image enhancement.  We resize photos as necessary to implement them into the design of the project.  All photo editing is billed at the rate of $30 per image.

Unless otherwise stated, the client agrees to provide all stock images.

2. Logos – Must be in vector or high resolution format.  300 dpi.

3. Copy –Copy for each page or layout must be in final proof format.

Noir & Ink can be hired to provide copy for each web page or ad layout. This is a separate service billed at an additional rate.

If you decline copywriting service, you must provide us with all site text in final proof read form.  We do not edit copy that is not written by our team.  While we may catch random spelling errors, it is your responsibility to write, edit and approve your copy prior to the layout of your site.

4. Color Choices

5. Contact Information

Permissions and Releases

You agree that all images, text and copy provided to Noir & Ink for inclusion into any web site or graphic design are your property or that you have permission from the rightful owner to use each of these elements. You also agree to hold harmless, protect, and defend Noir & Ink from any claim or law suit against Noir & Ink arising from the use of any and all elements that you provide to Noir & Ink. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Noir & Ink against any and all claims, costs, and expenses, including attorney’s fees, due to materials included in your project at your request for which no copyright permission or privacy release was received or uses that exceed those allowed pursuant to a permission or release.

Revisions

If the job changes to the extent that substantially alters the specifications described in the original estimate, both parties must agree upon a revised additional fee before further work proceeds.

1. Logo Design – 3 initial mockups with 3 rounds of revisions. Should you, the client exceed the rounds of revisions, a fee of $100 per hour is included in your final invoice. 
2. Website Design – 2 rounds of revisions. Should you, the client exceed the rounds of revisions, a fee of $100 per hour is ncluded in your final invoice. 
3. Graphic Design – 2 rounds of revisions unless expressed in writing. Should you, the client exceed the rounds of revisions, a fee of $100 per hour is ncluded in your final invoice. 
4. Packaging Design – Up to 2 mockups with 2 rounds of revisions unless expressed in writing. Should you, the client exceed the rounds of revisions, a fee of $100 per hour is included in your final invoice. 

Project Completion / Project Abandonment 

If at any time during a project you become unavailable for a period of 14 calendar days, Noir & Ink will consider the project completed. Please be sure that you are ready to complete your project as Noir & Ink will not issue a refund or credit for abandoned projects.

Completion of Work

Before Noir & Ink begins any web design project we give you our best estimated time of completion. This estimate depends on many key factors including but not limited to: content, functionality, and size. If client does not provide content by the due date established in the original contract payment in full is still due. Should client be unable to provide all content in a timely manner Noir & Ink reserves the right to reschedule completion of the specific project to a later date.

Technical Support

After completion of web design related service you are given up to 7 days of technical support. We send a link to our resource page that includes text and video tutorials to help you navigate through WordPress. Please take the time after your website is installed to learn about the functionality of your website. 

Noir & Ink does not offer support for WordPress plugin related issues nor does Noir & Ink guarantee plugin functionality. Most Plugins are created by 3rd party developers. If you have installed a plugin and it is not compatible with a newer version of WordPress after you have updated, please contact the author of the plugin. Technical support exceeding the allotted 7 days, may result in an additional hourly fee of $100 per hour. Clients altering the website coding, causing errors in the site design, are charged an hourly rate of $100 an hour. Do not alter the CSS coding or Website Files for any reason.

Site Security

You, the client are responsible for backing up all the files and databases on your WordPress website. Noir & Ink is not responsible for websites that are hacked and/or files lost due to hacking or files being uploaded resulting in damage to your website. Please take the time to back up all of your files once the site is installed.

Communication

Communication is essential to the completion of your project. Noir & Ink agrees to respond to all communications within 1 – 2 business days of contact.  We ask that you make yourself available to respond via email to our communications within 1 – 2 business days of contact. This insures that your project remains on schedule and within budget. Your availability is essential.

While we know that some clients may feel more comfortable conveying their ideas and designs over the phone, we ask that all requests for design changes be made in writing via your Basecamp account.  This allows for the Noir & Ink team to refer back to accurate correspondence during your project and protects you and us from costly design errors.

Portfolio

You, the client agree that your completed print work, web site or custom work may be included in the Noir & Ink portfolio for the purpose of advertisement of Noir & Ink.

Design Credit

You, the client agree to keep a small text link back to Noir & Ink on your web site. You agree to not to remove this link unless text, images, design elements, content, and code created by us is removed. If you prefer, the cost to remove this link is $400.

Delays

Noir & Ink is not liable for a breach of this agreement when the breach is due to illness, injury, relocation, death in family, software, hardware or electrical failure, natural disasters or other events beyond the control of Noir & Ink.

Ownership

As we work through the building phase of your web site, logo, print project or custom design you receive draft versions and concepts. These preliminary drafts are NOT your property. They are the property of Noir & Ink. They may not be used by you. Upon completion and receipt of final payment you have full ownership of all images and elements used on your web site.

Claims Period

Claims for defects, damages, and/or shortages must be made by the client in writing to Noir & Ink within a period of seven days after project completion. Failure to make a claim within the stated period shall constitute irrevocable acceptance and an admission that the project fully complies with terms, conditions, and specifications.

Digital Download Shop

Digital files from Noir & Ink may not re-distributed. You are not allowed to sub-license, re-sell, lend, assign or gift our products. You cannot distribute or publish the product as is.

Downloads are non refundable and not exchangeable. 

NOTE: Before you sign and/or complete payment for this project, please make sure you understand all of the above terms & conditions. Payment of a Noir & Ink invoicesmeans that you agree to all of the terms and conditions listed above.

3/30/2018 – Terms & Conditions are subject to change.