TERMS & CONDITIONS
Below are the Cove Creative ("Cove Creative", "Cove", "CC", "We", "Us", "Our", "the designer", "the photographer" ) standard terms and conditions for all projects. If you have any questions you would like to discuss, please do so at the beginning of the project otherwise your agreement at the commencement of any project will constitute full and total agreement with these terms. Unless otherwise stated, these policies form the basis of every/all contracts between CC and our clients.
It is vital that you ("the user", "the client", "you") take time to read through thoroughly and ensure you fully understand these terms and conditions and their implications before you agree to commence any project with Cove Creative. Please contact us if you do not understand any of the terms or conditions in this document.
HOURS
Scheduled operating hours are between 8am and 5pm CST Monday through Friday. Cove Creative is closed on weekends or major holidays.
ESTIMATES & QUOTES
All quotes are based on time estimates and may be subject to change if additional work is required.
OVERTIME - If projects exceed the time estimated, you will be billed for the extra time. The first 8 hours of extra time will be charged at 1.5X our regular hourly rate. After 8 hours of overtime work, you will be charged 2X our regular hourly rate.
RUSH FEE - If any services are requested with a shorter turnaround than quoted, a rush fee of 20% may be quoted if time is available.
SCOPE - Changes requested beyond the original scope of the project will be charged at an hourly rate.
Cove Creative has a commitment to clear communication with our clients. We will communicate with you prior to incurring overtime, rush or scope related charges.
If you're late for a meeting with our team, you lose that time. If you don't show, you'll still be charged in full.
THE PAUSE CLAUSE
If a client deliverable (such as content, approvals, payment) is more than 10 business days late the project will be considered "on hold." Once the deliverable is received by Cove and the project is reactivated it will be rescheduled based on our current workload and availability. Just be aware, it could be weeks or even months to be back on the calendar if your project is put on hold. Cove will notify you if the Pause Clause is activated.
BILLING
A non-refundable fee of 50% is required up front as a retainer for our services. We will not begin work until this fee is paid in full.
The remaining 50% will be due upon completion of the project. For larger projects, fees may be broken down into smaller payments.
Websites will be launched & transferred to client once final payment is received.
Invoices from Cove Creative are due within 10 days of the client’s receipt of the invoice. At Cove Creative’s discretion, unpaid balances beyond 10 business days will incur a percentage based late payment fee. Balances 11 - 30 days past due will incur a 10% fee. Balances past due beyond 31 days will incur an additional 5% fee per 30 days.
STOCK, PRINTING & EXPENSES
STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY & GRAPHICS will be purchased and costs will be billed to the client. Otherwise, the client will be required to obtain the photos and graphics through their own means.
Any stock photography and/or graphics required for inclusion in the client's website or design work remain the property of Cove Creative and may be used in multiple, separate projects. Should the client require full ownership of the provided photography or graphics, these terms must be disclosed in writing. CC will charge per hour for the time for finding stock photography and graphics and will bill the expenses to the client with a markup percentage.
PRINTING: If requested, Cove Creative can print your project if discussed before the start of the project. CC can get quotes from multiple printers and come up with the best solution for your print needs. You will be charged per hour for the additional time and a markup fee on top of the printing costs.
EXPENSES: CC will bill any expenses for the project to the client and will charge a markup for time on top of every expense.
SERVICES
LOGO DESIGN: Logo design consists of the unique design of a mark
Corporate Identity consists of the digital design of a business card, letterhead, and envelope.
WEBSITES: Websites are designed to work with current technologies and browser versions. If future unforeseeable changes to technology or browsers cause website errors Cove Creative can repair these quoted at the standard hourly rate.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Customized commercial photography for the client. We hire only the best photographers for the job. Read the Photography section below for more details about this service.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Customized commercial videos for the client.
PRODUCTION: Cove Creative will provide art direction, style guides, location suggestions, conceptualization and oversee the details.
TO READ OUR PHOTOGRAPHY TERMS AND CONDITIONS, CLICK HERE.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Plugins that are installed will be checked the best of our ability that they are working properly, but if they malfunction later, we will not be held responsible. We do not support plugins.
Quoted delivery dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances, delays in client response times or excessive design changes.
It is understood that Cove Creative is an independent professional contractor and that will not in any event be construed as or held to be an employee of the customer. It is further agreed that at no time will we or any work efforts be under the supervision or control of the customer, although we agree to comply with all reasonable requests and regulations applicable to any other business invitation. It is also agreed that CC, as an independent contractor, is not restricted to working exclusively for the customer during the term of the agreement.
Ownership of the designs and development ‘code’ remain property of me until such time as all monies are received.
Work that is refused by you, or remains unpaid will remain CC's property and cannot be used in whole or in part by you or you company.
Cove Creative will not be responsible for any damage, loss or liability the client or any third party may suffer. This includes loss of revenue, profits or data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, wrong delivery, and any and all service interruptions caused by CC or otherwise.
DESIGN CREDIT AND PROMOTION
DESIGN CREDIT: A link to Cove Creative will appear in either small type or by a small graphic at the bottom of the Client's website. If a graphic is used, it will be designed to fit in with the overall site design. If a client requests that the design credit be removed, a nominal fee will be applied. The Client also agrees that the website developed for the Client may be presented in CC's portfolio.
PROMOTION: Designer retains the right to reproduce, publish and display the Deliverables in Designer’s portfolios and websites, in galleries, design periodicals and other media or exhibits for the purposes of recognition of creative excellence or professional advancement, and to be credited with authorship of the Deliverables in connection with such uses. Promotional Approval: Either party, subject to the other’s reasonable approval, may describe its role in the Project on its website and in other promotional and marketing materials, and, if not expressly objected to, include a link to the other party’s website.
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY
CC takes pride in professional courtesy and manners and hope our clients do too. "The Client" agrees to behave through all communications in a professional, courteous and respectful manner towards designers and staff at CC. Any actions deemed by us a disrespectful, unprofessional, abusive or verbal/written cruelty on the part of "The Client" may result in cancellation of the project and the deposit will serve as a cancellation fee, along with a prorate payment based up the time spent if exceeds 50% of the quoted work.
Actions that may result in the cancellation of the project may include: insulting language, profanity, unwarranted criticism of the designer's general ability, disrespectful comments, personal insults, swearing, blaming on social media sites, threats not to pay for the work for unwarranted reasons and general lack of respect. Please note: It would be extremely rare for CC to use this clause, and the client behavior would have to be extreme and affect other areas of our staff and designers' work.
CANCELLATION
DESIGN - Any design services (branding, collateral, web) will forfeit the non-refundable deposit and any additional hours worked will be billed as well as any additional expenses or fees.
If cancelled;
All materials delivered in connection with the project must be returned.
Use of work done in connection with the project without consent could result in additional fees or legal action.
All original artwork and digital files prepared in connect with the project belong to Cove Creative
PHOTOGRAPHY - A signed contract and non-refundable retainer fee are required to reserve the dates and times of the photoshoot. If the photoshoot is rescheduled, postponed or cancelled; or if there is a breach-of-contract by the client, the non-refundable retainer fee shall be liquidated damages to Cove Creative. The client shall also be responsible for payment of any of Cove's material charges incurred up to the time of cancellation. If Cove advises the rescheduling of the shoot due to weather concerns, the retainer will be transferred to the new date agreed upon by the client and Cove Creative. Reschedule requests submitted at least 10 business days (or earlier) preceding the scheduled shoot will be accepted and the retainer will be transferred to the new date agreed upon by the client and Cove Creative. Reschedule requests must be emailed to rachel@covecreative.co and contain the client's full name, current shoot date and top 3 choices of alternate shoot date. Rescheduled dates are subject to the updated schedule and availability of Cove Creative.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Either party may terminate our contract without cause upon thirty (30) days written notification to the other party. We may terminate this agreement immediately upon the refusal to, or inability to perform under the contract or a breach of the contract. Furthermore, the contract shall be terminated automatically in the event of Rachel Hostetler's death. On termination of the contract, your obligation to pay CC, except for services already accrued or incurred, will forthwith cease and terminate.
COMPLETION
In the estimate provided for your project, we provide the estimated time it will take to be completed. This time frame may be longer if you fail to provide content in a timely fashion. Time frame does not start until deposit is made and sites will be created in the order in which retainers were received.
We only warrant work from us, not third party providers. This includes hosting companies, domain services and email services.
Delays: Illness, injury, or other events beyond CC's control such as: theft, fire, computer failure, and Acts of God may result in a delay of unpredictable length.
Delinquency: CC reserves the right to remove web pages or the entire site from viewing on the Internet until final payment is made. If case collection proves necessary, the client agrees to pay all fees incurred in that process.
SOURCE FILES
Unless otherwise state in our contract, charges for design work do not cover the release of copyright design files including indeed, psd, png or any other source files. If the client requires these files, they will be subject to a separate quote or a 'buy-out' charge.
These Terms and Conditions supersede all previous representations, contracts, understandings or agreements, unless specifically agreed otherwise by both Parties, in writing.
We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time.